Defenders' stories

'A revolution where you can’t dance is not my revolution,' Ecuadorian environmentalist Nathalia Bonilla told ISHR, arguing for an ‘environmentalism for the people'.

'When we feel the impact of the loss and damages of the environment that we belong to, that's the only source of our strength for doing our subsistance farming and produce food for the family,' says Cressida Kuala.

'I would like to see mining projects, small scale mining for example and hydro power projects or water works that are led by the community and are not proposed by big companies and foreign entities that enter our ancestral lands,' says Casselle Ton in an interview with ISHR.

‘Water is to protected. Water is not for sale. Water is to be defended.’

ISHR spoke with Gladys Mbuya, a lawyer by profession, a passionate human rights defender, and a peace crusader. Discover her story below!

'As Syrians, we have an opportunity for a democratic transition.'

'What we need first is peace. (...) The international community, the UN, has the ability to end what's happening in eastern RDC - what is happening today in the East is truly alarming.'

‘There is currently no law to protect human rights defenders in Madagascar. We need this law to pass. The army and the gendarmes must be trained to understand who we are so they can become our allies.'

'The tragic irony here is that it should be very easy for duty bearers to take immediate and urgent action. States need only to abide by their legal obligations'.

Yuteita Hoyos Ramos is an Indigenous woman human rights defender from Mexico. In an interview, she told us how she came to work in defence of the rights of girls, women and Indigenous peoples, and about her aspirations for the future of Mexico.

'There is a responsibility for big tech companies to uphold human rights to make sure that they are not complicit in the violation of human rights, especially in the context of genocide.'

‘The Egyptian authorities must open the civic space for civil society to play its role. They must stop persecuting human rights defenders, political opponents, and journalists simply for doing their jobs. The UN and the international community must maintain pressure on them to comply with human rights standards.’