Campaign for the release of Yorm Bopha, Cambodian land rights defender, sentenced to prison in 2012 @ AFP FIRST YEAR OF SUPPORT
EMERGENCY SUPPORT TO HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AT RISK 57 Individual security 30 Legal support LINA BEN MHENNI TUNIS DAMIÁN GALLARDO MEXICO 136 Emergency relocation 338 emergency grants allocated More than 825,000 Other 24 Family support 23 Medical support In 2014, Lina Ben Mhenni, blogger and Tunisian human rights defender, was beaten in the face and kicked while she was on the ground. Lina was formally summoned for a hearing and accused of contempt towards public officials following a complaint filed against her by the alleged perpetrators of the 2014 aggression. OMCT provided her with material assistance in order to allow her to attend the hearing before the Court of First Instance of Medenine, as well as to cover the expenses of her lawyer. Damián has been arbitrarily detained since May 2013, as a consequence of his work for the release of political prisoners and for indigenous rights in the Mixe and Zapotec regions. Damián is accused of criminal charges and has been subjected to repeated cruel and inhuman treatment and denied adequate medical care. The emergency grant for material support provided by the OMCT within ProtectDefenders.eu allowed Damián to cover expenses for adequate medical, psychological and legal attention to alleviate his situation. Grants allocated 64 in countries Main countries of origin of defenders Burundi Syria China Bangladesh DRC ANGELINA SEEKA SOUTH SUDAN The fighting that broke out in July 8th 2016 in Juba became worst and human right abuses unspeakable. My situation before the support was very difficult, as a result of my work, leading campaigns for justice and accountability for crimes committed against civilians by the army. The great support from EHAHRDP and ProtectDefenders.eu allowed me to leave the country immediately and live in a safe and peaceful place, with no sound of weapon, no fear at night. This has had a great impact on my life and family, the words cannot express my appreciation to EHAHRDP and ProtectDefenders.eu.
In 2016, Un ponte per, Reporters Ohne Grenzen and Mundubat joined the European Union Temporary Relocation Platform, gathering 50 ORGANISATIONS from 24 countries all over the world hrdrelocation.eu Middle East and North Africa 11 Americas 9 Regions of origin of relocated defenders Asia 28 KENYA 149 temporary relocated individuals at risk 700,000 granted to 73 relocation programmes NETHERLANDS LEYLA AND ARIF YUNUS, Azeri human rights defenders relocated in The Netherlands with the support of OMCT and Front Line Defenders - At Summer 2014, both me and my husband Arif were arrested for State betrayal. At the end of 2015, we were released under house arrest as the State feared we would die in prison because of lack of medical support. In April 2016, we were allowed to leave Azerbaijan. We remained physically weak and in bad health after our detention and the only thing that could help us recover was to resume our Human Rights work. The assistance we received from international organisation, including ProtectDefenders.eu, was timely and invaluable. I could get my eye operated and recover the eyesight I had almost lost in detention. I could read and write! Now, we have just released the list of political prisoners (including 160 names) we have been working on with colleagues from Azerbaijan. Because of the ongoing repression, we will continue our work. Thank you ProtectDefenders.eu. Africa 18 SPAIN Europe and Central Asia 7 ZERIHUN MULUGUETA, Ethiopian journalist relocated in Kenya with the support of PEN American center and Justice and Peace - I have been in Nairobi for 26 months; I changed four places in Nairobi, including UNHCR safe house. My life was at risk and full of fears. I was targeted by the government security agents and I was locked for two years. I had nothing to survive. However, the EU and its partner organizations supported me and now I find myself safe in US Florida. ProtectDefenders.eu s partners provided me with financial, emotional and counseling support and without their help I wouldn t be in US. The financial assistance helps me to pay my house rent and basic expenses. Currently, I am struggling to begin life from nothing; but thanks to the support I do all my effort to keep on my journalistic activities, I have confidence that the EU and its partners will remain defending the defenders. I express heartfelt thanks for all you did and for all the support you ve shown. GUSTAVO CASTRO, Mexican human rights defender relocated in Spain with the support of Amnesty International Spain - After the assassination of Bertha Cáceres and the killing attempt against me, members of the army, hired assassins and the manager of the DESA company have been charged. As a surviving victim and as the sole witness to the murder, my life has been in danger ever since. Thanks to the relocation program, me and my family enjoy security and improved conditions so that I can continue with the legal process and legal demands in Honduras to claim for justice and for the protection of human rights defenders in Honduras.
CAPACITY-BUILDING AND CORE SUPPORT TO LOCAL ORGANISATIONS More than 1600 defenders around the world have received training and capacity-building to better manage the security issues they are facing because of their work. INDONESIA Grants were given to enable ten Human Rights Defenders working in remote areas of Papua (Indonesia) and from a variety of backgrounds -working on issues including indigenous rights, discrimination against the trans-gender community, or land-grabbing- to attend an extensive capacity building program in Jakarta. For many of the Human Rights Defenders, it was their first time in Jakarta, where they are able to have a break from their usually stressful work environments to improve their knowledge and skills, including protection measures to take to make their work environment safer. SUPPORTING ORGANISATIONS IN... ALGERIA ARMENIA BANGLADESH BURUNDI CAMBODIA CAMEROON COLOMBIA DRC GUATEMALA HONDURAS INDONESIA ISRAEL/ OPT LIBYA MEXICO MOROCCO NICARAGUA PAKISTAN PHILIPPINES SRI LANKA SYRIA COLOMBIA The Colombian Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (CPDH), in partnership with the local organisation CAHUCOPAN, has received a grant to strengthen dialogue between institutions and defenders. The project also aims at developing comprehensive and tailored protection plans within local organisations, in a context where human rights defenders are frequently targeted by threats and attacks. CPDH is also advocating before the Colombian and international institutions for the effective implementation of protection measures for human rights defenders and organisations in the country. More than 300,000 allocated to local NGOs and groups promoting human rights throughout the world, through 36 grants. BURUNDI SOS-Torture/Burundi Campaign, a spontaneous grass-root movement formed by Burundian human rights defenders, received funds to put in place a monitoring and reporting mechanism to gather evidence of acts of torture, violence, systematic arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and extra-judicial executions perpetrated by Burundian authorities. The project is the coordinated effort of a team of 5 defenders who fled their country due to the threats and harassment suffered in their homeland and who want to keep fighting for human rights in exile following the massacre of December 11, 2015, and a team of 9 researchers still living in Burundi and denouncing and raising awareness on the grave violations happening in Burundi.
ProtectDefenders.eu has carried out fact-finding and advocacy trips to TAJIKISTAN, HONDURAS, KYRGYZSTAN and MEXICO, and missions to reach less connected defenders in remote areas of ALGERIA and TUNISIA. The project has also monitored trials against human rights defenders in MOROCCO, GUATEMALA, HONDURAS, KYRGYZSTAN, TUNISIA, TURKEY and CAMBODIA. ProtectDefenders.eu supports ongoing field monitoring and advocacy work in HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, MEXICO AND COLOMBIA. ProtectDefenders.eu has enabled the dispatch of more than 430 appeals aimed at mobilising the attention of concerned authorities, public and media, through urgent alerts, public statements, open letters and petitions to relevant stakeholders on behalf of human rights defenders at risk. ProtectDefenders.eu @ProtectHRD_EU This project is funded by The European Union This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of ProtectDefenders.eu and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union.