Brussels, 27th February 2020 - On World Non-Governmental Organisation Day, we celebrate, commemorate and support civil society organisations promoting and protecting human rights, good governance, democracy and the rule of law. For this reason, Protection International decided to release today our Focus Stories, formerly Top Impact stories, to showcase some emblematic examples of how, together with plenty of other No profit organisations, movements and communities worldwide, we are, slowly but steadily, taking incremental steps towards a greater respect for the right to defend human rights.
On the 28th and 29th of November 2019, celebrations took place in numerous locations in Jakarta to mark International Women Human Rights Defenders Day as well as to raise awareness about the difficult situations that women face when acting to promote or protect human rights. Protection International coordinated initiatives of various organisations to amplify the voices of WHRDs in the community and draw the Indonesian public’s attention.
On the 11th November 2019, the provincial assembly of North Kivu finally adopted a new edict protecting W/HRDs.Protection International has accompanied and technically supported the advocacy work throughout this legal and political process for the whole province of North Kivu. With the adoption of this provincial edict, a fundamental step was taken towards the effective recognition of the fundamental right to defend human rights in the DR Congo.
Local W/HRD communicators in communities across San Pedro Carchá, Alta Verapaz, harnessed the power of communication to defend their rights .Through a partnership between Protection International and the Guatemalan Federation of Radio Schools (FGER), a W/HRD from each community took part in various trainings. Six community members took on roles as local communicators by applying their training to raise awareness on the collective rights work of the community.
