2025 Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP) participants and ISHR staff in front of the UN building in Geneva ©Ben Buckland for 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.
'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.
Tala Odeh, a young human rights defender, serves as a regional coordinator for the NAMA Network, immersing herself in the MENA region's socio-political complexities. Her efforts to advocate for individual rights and address systemic issues highlight the critical need for resilience and adaptability.
Moses Von Kallon is a human rights defender and the co-founder of Aquarius Supervivientes, a group that advocates for the rights of immigrants in Spain and supports their integration.
Cyrine Hammemi is a human rights defender from Tunisia. Her work focuses on the human rights of persons belonging to minority groups, through alerts on discriminatory situations and the violence they suffered. In an interview with ISHR, Cyrine shares her personal journey into activism and her vision for a more inclusive and equitable future.
Kadar Abdi Ibrahim is a human rights defender and journalist from Djibouti. He has drawn inspiration from historic figures in the human rights movement in the hopes of building a solid and lasting democracy in his country.
Cynthia Palacios Reckziegel works in international advocacy for the Center of Legal and Social Studies (CELS) in Buenos Aires. She shared her hopes for a future in which women in Argentina can access reproductive health services without being discriminated.
Andreza Jorge is a human rights defender and activist working to empower communities in favelas in Brazil. She was also a participant to the 2023 edition of ISHR’s flagship training course, the Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP).
David Yambio is a community advocate and spokesperson at the NGO Refugees in Libya. His own experiences of forced exile inspired him to fight for the human rights and well-being of migrants and refugees on both sides of the Mediterranean.
Camila Zuluaga is an international advocacy lawyer at the Colombian Commission of Jurists (CCJ). She spoke to ISHR about her history of activism and hope for Colombia, which is about working to make a safer country for human rights defenders.
Days before facing trial on baseless charges, activist and trade union leader Kaddour Chouicha renewed his call for democracy and the independence of the judiciary in Algeria.
Anexa Alfred Cunningham is a human rights defender and an advocate for the rights of Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities in Nicaragua. In response to her engagement with UN bodies, the government of Nicaragua has sent her into forced exile.
Olga Valle is a human rights defender and activist from Nicaragua who works for the citizens’ electoral watchdog Urnas Abiertas.
