Defenders' stories

‘Environmental conservation requires the involvement of local communities living close to natural resources. These communities are key to effective protection and should be included in all decision-making processes to ensure their livelihood.’

‘Human rights organisations, activists and defenders only exist to ensure that all persons can live with dignity,' says Oscar Calles. 'Do not turn your backs on the hundreds of victims who are still awaiting justice to this day,’ he further urges States at the UN Human Rights Council, calling on to renew a key accountability mechanism for Venezuela.

'With everything happening around the world, the international community may be stretched thin, but it’s very important to look at places that may not have as much public visibility.'

‘All we are asking for are the most basic rights. We hope to see Bahrain healing from over a decade of ordeal, of repression, of imprisonment, of torture, into a State where individuals can challenge their State without fear.’

Farukhleqa is a woman human rights defender from Afghanistan. She has been working for the promotion and protection of women's right for almost 20 years and is currently actively opposing gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

Tamana is a human rights and women’s rights activist who leads in Germany the campaign to 'End Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. In an interview with ISHR, she tells us a little more about her work and vision for Afghan women.

Elham Kohistani is a human rights defender from Afghanistan. Having witnessed successive governments trample human rights in her country since her childhood, she has dedicated her life to fighting for the basic rights of women and girls.

'Since the Taliban came to power, Afghanistan [has become] the only country where we see that women don’t have any kind of rights.'

'From the time we grow up, our grandparents teach us to love nature and the environment, to respect rivers, lakes and mountains, because, as children, they explain to us that all of it is sacred.'

'They can take our homes, our titles or our surnames, but the hope and joy that sustain us, and with which we continue to work, still remain.'

Sila, a German college student, and Esma, an Uyghur from Frankfurt, co-founded the Uyghur Youth Initiative to advocate for Uyghur rights. Through protests, social media, and educational campaigns, they aim to raise awareness of the Uyghurs' plight and empower both Uyghur and allied youth in Germany.

'My passion is the defence of the right to land and territory,' says Lourdes Gómez, a land rights defender and professor working on issues affecting Indigenous women defenders and the impacts of palm oil production.