HRDs being interviewed by journalists

News

13 LUCHA defenders sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment for peaceful protest – a stain on the rule of law so highly praised by the authorities in the DR Congo.

JOINT STATEMENT 01 April 2022 We, the signatory organizations, deplore the unfounded and unjust condemnation of the thirteen human rights defenders (HRDs) of the LUCHA by the Beni Garrison Military Court. Today, 1 April 2022, 13 human rights defenders from the LUCHA movement were sentenced to 12 months in prison by the Beni Garrison Military […]

Solidarity Statement with HEDA Resource Centre, Nigeria

Nairobi, 4 April 2022 We, the undersigned pan-African and international human rights organisations, are deeply concerned about the latest attacks against human rights defenders (HRDs) in Nigeria, and Africa. On the night of 28 March 2022, five armed men forcibly entered the home of Mr Olanrewaju Suraju, the Chairman of the Human and Environmental Development […]

Self-protection Strategies Implemented by Grassroots WHRDs in Kenya

Protection International Kenya launches a new report Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) are targeted for who they are and as a result of their work defending human rights. Many economic, social, cultural, and geographical factors affect how WHRDs experience human rights violations, which are all connected to gender and gender expression within society. These factors […]

A one-month delay in the verdict of the 13 LUCHA defenders– release them now

9 March 2022 – We, the undersigned organizations, express our dismay that the Beni Garrison Military Tribunal has not yet announced a verdict in the case of the 13 LUCHA human rights defenders (HRDs) from Beni, North Kivu. According to legal statutes, this verdict was due within 30 days of the final court hearing, by […]

No Decision About Us Without Us!

Joint African-European Civil Society Statement to All Heads of State and Government Dignitaries attending the 6th EU-AU Summit February 2022 Today’s efforts by the AU and EU to create an equal and fair partnership are entrenched in past colonial and postcolonial cooperation. They are challenged by structural and systemic inequalities between the two parties. The […]

Celebration of the Women Human Rights Defenders Day in DR Congo

By Ephrem Chiruza “We will not stop until all human rights defenders enjoy their right to defend human rights by creating an enabling environment for this work to continue,” said Susan Muriungi, Protection International (PI) Africa Regional Director during the celebration of Women Human Rights Defenders Day held at the Dutch Embassy Liaison Office in […]

Peaceful protest is not a crime, release the 13 LUCHA human rights defenders detained in Beni, North Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of Congo.

JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT [Goma (RD Congo)] 21 January 2022. We, the 35 signatory organizations, urge the Congolese authorities to release the 13 human rights defenders (HRDs) of LUCHA, arbitrarily detained in the town of Beni after having organized a peaceful demonstration denouncing the killings of civilians in this part of the Province of North Kivu. […]

Launch of the Protection Network for Women Human Rights Defenders in DR Congo

[DR Congo] On November 29, the world celebrates Women’s Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) Day. On this occasion, Protection International (PI) is pleased to explain more about the challenges that WHRDs face daily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), especially in the eastern provinces— where women and girls have continued to bear the […]

The Dire Working Environment for Women Human Rights Defenders in DR Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), especially in the eastern part of the country, over two decades of armed conflict and political instability have deteriorated the working conditions for human rights defenders. In 2020, the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) documented 7,909 human rights violations and abuses throughout the DR Congo. […]