On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the Observatory has developed a unique platform to continue highlighting its extensive work in favour of human rights defenders and to strengthen its commitment to protecting and supporting them.
Since 1997, the Observatory has provided effective protection and support to individuals who are exposed to harassment as retaliation for their peaceful defence of human rights wherever they are, regardless of their specific area of work - be they NGO members, women’s rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, trade union leaders, land and environmental rights defenders, LGBTQIA+ activists, migrants’ rights defenders, anti-corruption activists, or citizens standing up for human rights, to name just a few.
In order to carry out this mission, over its 25 years of existence the Observatory has set up a range of activities aiming to:
– alert (urgent appeals, press releases, statements, open letters),
– protect (emergency material assistance, judicial observations, solidarity missions),
– investigate and analyse (international fact-finding missions, country and thematic notes and reports),
– mobilise (national and international advocacy missions, communication operations, recourse to institutional mechanisms),
– but also train and strengthen (experience-sharing seminars, trainings, capacity-building grants for field defenders).
The use of these tools, alone or in combination, makes it possible to strengthen solidarity with defenders, improve their working conditions and, ultimately, increase their level of protection.
Throughout the year of 2022, the Observatory has made some meaningful changes in order to increase the visibility of its work protecting human rights defenders. In July 2022, the Observatory introduced a new delivery system through which you can receive its alerts, along with a brand new visual identity.
We conclude this year of changes with the launch of our new website and public database! This unique tool will aim to amplify the voices of human rights defenders and highlight their necessary work, to communicate and alert more effectively about attacks on them, and the various issues related to their work.
The website contains the alerts published daily, the thematic, geographical and annual reports of the Observatory, as well as an analysis of the data we produce on human rights defenders at risk.
If you’re interested in staying informed about attacks against human rights defenders around the world, subscribe to our mailing list!