2024 Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP) participants and ISHR staff in front of the UN building in Geneva ©ISHR
Here at ISHR we are constantly being inspired by the brave people taking action to defend human rights and want to share some of their stories with you.
Fundación Pachamama, led by Belen Paez, champions Ecuador's forest conservation and indigenous rights, overcoming challenges like the 2013 government shutdown to advocate for environmental justice and global solidarity.
Yuyun Wahyuningrum is an Indonesian human rights defender who works closely with the ASEAN regional system and in particular the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). She shares her thoughts on the challenges human rights defenders face in the ASEAN system.
Thilaga Sulathireh initially joined the struggle for LGBTI rights in Malaysia in response to her own experience of discrimination and harassment on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. She now devotes herself to promoting and protecting the rights of others.
Three prominent human rights defenders from China, Bangladesh and Mexico have been honoured for their courageous work in the face of great personal risk with the announcement of the Final Nominees for the prestigious Martin Ennals Award 2014.
Shin Dong-Hyuk was born and spent the first 23 years of his life in prison Camp 14 in North Korea. Shin escaped from the camp in 2005, the only person known to have done so, and has since dedicated himself to exposing gross human rights violations in North Koreas and struggling for the freedom of its people.
Rachel Arinii, representing the Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights, navigates UN bureaucratic challenges to advocate for youth empowerment and sexual and reproductive rights on a global stage.
Rikke Nöhrlind guides the International Dalit Solidarity Network towards achieving UN consultative status, striving to address caste discrimination globally. Her efforts emphasise overcoming bureaucratic challenges to elevate Dalit rights on the international human rights agenda.
Rolando Jiménez Perez is a Chilean human rights defender and President of Movilh (Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation), which he co-founded as soon as Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship in Chile ended.
Suleiman Hussein, a dedicated Eritrean human rights defender and chairman of CDRiE, tirelessly advocates for democracy and human rights in Eritrea, a nation plagued by political repression and human rights violations.
Huy Luong works for iSEE based in Ha Noi City, Vietnam. He is a LGBT human rights defender who undertakes public awareness and education campaigns in Vietnam on LGBT issues. He is also engaging around Vietnam’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review, which will take place in January 2014.
Ilwad Elman, a courageous woman human rights defender in Somalia, combats gender-based violence and champions women's rights amidst formidable challenges and widespread opposition.
Jianli Yang is the founder and president of Initiatives for China, also known as Citizen Power for China. He has been politically active for a better China since witnessing the horrors of Tiananmen Square in 1989. He was imprisoned from 2002-2007.
