A Critical Approach to Collective Protection: Taking Stock of Protection International’s Experience
Protection International is delighted to introduce our new paper: A Critical Approach to Collective Protection: Taking Stock of Protection International’s Experience. Defending human rights is inherently a collective practice. Human rights defenders act both individually and as a group. Therefore, protection should also be collective. However, existing protection mechanisms often focus on individual HRDs, potentially […]
Women’s movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FR, EN)
Report in FR, executive summary in EN – Rapport en français, résumé exécutif en anglais With the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in collaboration with SOFEPADI and the CFDDH, Protection International is proud to present its newest report on women’s movements in the DRC. This report is the result of a […]
Strengthening the Inclusion, Protection and Wellbeing of Human Rights Defenders with Disabilities
A year ago, we launched our guide “Strengthening the Inclusion, Protection, and Wellbeing of Human Rights Defenders with Disabilities”. Today, we take another step forward in accessibility by offering it in Spanish, French, Russian, and Swahili. Nuestra guía “Fortalecer la inclusión, protección y bienestar de las personas defensoras de los derechos humanos con discapacidad” está […]
Towards a Safe and Enabling Environment for the Right to Defend Human Rights
In recent years, the global landscape has witnessed a concerning erosion of democratic values and civil rights, which has resulted in human rights defenders (HRDs) facing increasing challenges. Factors such as rising authoritarianism and the influence of non-state entities have contributed to restricting civil society’s role in shaping societal affairs. In this position paper, Protection […]
The Right to Defend Human Rights, not for all? A Case Study of Public Policies on Human Rights Defenders in the DRC
Megan Thomas In the regions of North and South Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs) faces significant challenges due to structural constraints and active efforts by authorities to limit civic space. While the introduction of protective edicts offers hope, various obstacles hinder their full implementation. […]
2021 Annual Report
Protection International is pleased to present our 2021 Annual Report. In this year’s report, we divided our chapters by pathways, which reflect our 2019-2023 Global Strategy. This way, readers can more effectively see relevant examples of how Protection International (PI) staff around the globe are operationalising our strategic framework and furthering the human rights movement […]
The Worldwide Growth of National Policies for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
[5 August 2022] Over the years, and especially since 2012, we have seen a growing number of countries adopt national public policies for the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs). For the purposes of this work, it is broadly understood that public policies for the protection of HRDs includes any piece of legislation, decree, policy […]
Human Rights Defenders Poetry Book
We are very proud to publish the Human Rights Defenders poetry book. This book is a result of the Human Rights Defenders Poetry Challenge, where we asked HRDs to tell us their stories and reflect on their struggles in defending human rights. The right to defend human rights is the right of everyone, individually and […]
The Psychosocial Approach, Applied to the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Protection International aims to enable and protect the free exercise of the right to defend human rights. To achieve this, we promote a comprehensive approach to the protection of human rights defenders (HRDs). Our approach is multifaceted, interdisciplinary and ever-evolving. There are a few core elements that constitute the foundation for our interventions at the […]
Germain Rukuki: Timeline of the Case
In July 2017, the human rights defender Germain Rukuki was arrested in his home and later charged with “rebellion”, “threatening state security”, “attacking the authority of the State” and “participation in an insurrectionist movement”, although no conclusive evidence was ever presented to back the prosecution’s counts. Four years later, Germain has been released from prison. […]