News Archive
Page 51 of 134 (1332 articles)
Human Rights Defender of the Month: Omot Agwa Okwoy
In Ethiopia, land grabbing and villagisation has resulted in severe human rights abuses, however, being vocal about these abuses can be extremely risky. Omot Agwa Okwoy, our human rights defender of the month for December 2019, has fought for land rights and the rights of indigenous people in the Gambella region in Ethiopia for almost 20 years – leaving him with visible and invisible scars.
2019: End of Year Message
Dear friends and colleagues, 2019 has been a busy and fruitful year for DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders. As we near the end, I would like to take some time to reflect on our achievements and challenges during the course of this year. I am happy to report that these eventful 12 months were diligently spent enhancing […]
Resolution on the Establishment of the Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders Coalition
We, the undersigned human rights defenders (HRDs) and organisations, meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the initiative of DefendDefenders (the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project), and in collaboration with Association of Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE), Consortium of Ethiopian Human Rights Organisations (CERO), and Ethiopian Human Rights […]
Communiqué: Claiming Spaces for Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders
In celebration of Human Rights Defenders Day (9 December) and International Human Rights Day (10 December), DefendDefenders and more than 60 human rights defenders (HRDs) gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the occasion of the 2019 edition of DefendDefenders’ annual flagship event, Claiming Spaces: Tactical Tools for Human Rights Defenders (9-13 December 2019). The forum […]
Claiming Spaces: Equipping Ethiopian Human Rights Defenders with Tactical tools
In commemoration of International Human Rights Defenders Day and International Human Rights Day, celebrated on 9 and 10 December respectively, DefendDefenders hosted 70 Ethiopian human rights defenders (HRDs) for its flagship event, Claiming Spaces: Tactical Tools for Human Rights Defenders. The event, taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 9-13 December 2019, aims to equip […]
The Three Women
A campaign about African women human rights defenders and courage in relation to 16 Days of Activism. By DefendDefenders & AfricanDefenders Illustrations: Primordial M Story: Gentrix Barasa The Story of Martha (1:3) Listen to the podcast here: A woman could be heard screaming from a distance in the town square. The distinct sound of a whip hitting […]
Navigating Justice: Lawyers as Human Rights Defenders in Ethiopia and Somalia/Somaliland
In a new report launched today, Navigating Justice: Lawyers as Human Rights Defenders in Ethiopia and Somalia/Somaliland, DefendDefenders examines the work of lawyers to identify their best practices, vulnerabilities, and needs in these rapidly changing environments. This report outlines several avenues governments, donors, and non-governmental organisations can take to help effectively promote the work of […]
Reflections on the 65th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
I had the honour in my capacity as Chairperson of AfricanDefenders and Executive Director of DefendDefenders to lead a joint delegation of more than 20 persons, including staff and human rights defenders (HRDs) from Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, and Uganda to attend the 65th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and […]
Updates from November 2019!
Dear friends and colleagues, This month, the East and Horn of Africa sub-region tragically lost some of their finest human rights defenders (HRDs). The killing of Almaas Elman, the outstanding Somali-Canadian activist, in Mogadishu on 20 November, shock us all. It was a brutal reminder of the dangers linked to protecting and promoting human rights […]
Human Rights Defender of the Month: Brenda Kugonza
Brenda Kugonza has fought for women’s rights in Uganda for more than 13 years, and is currently the Executive Director of Women Human Rights Defenders Network-Uganda (WHRDN-U). “As a defender, you lose friends and family members – they don’t want to be associated with someone who brings them shame. We are viewed as women with bad manners and I struggle daily with discrimination,” she affirms.