HRDAP23 Group Photo by Ben Buckland
This December, the International Service for Human Rights is fundraising to support defenders around the world with valuable skills and resources to achieve meaningful change.
Before we delve deeper, let’s clarify who these ‘defenders‘ are. Human rights defenders are individuals and groups who, in various capacities, strive to promote and protect the human rights of others. They can be activists, lawyers, journalists, or even ordinary citizens who take a stand against injustice and work towards creating a fairer society. Their efforts range from grassroots activism to international advocacy, addressing a wide range of issues like environmental justice, gender equality, and freedom from discrimination or situations specific to countries. They are the catalysts for positive transformation in our communities and across the globe.
In fact, we can all be human rights defenders!
Across different cultures, communities, and countries, we all want the same thing: to be able to live freely, with justice and dignity for ourselves and our loved ones. We strive for peace and respect, and to live in fair environments that encourage us to be the best versions of ourselves. At our core, ISHR works tirelessly with human rights defenders across the globe to make this a reality for all.
This is why we remain committed to fighting for safe, enabling environments for human rights defenders to work in, because we understand that they are not just activists, organisation founders, feminists, lawyers, and unionists – they are also parents, significant others, and beloved family members that should not fear for their or their loved ones’ safety.
We’re able to carry out our efforts with defenders around the world thanks to the unwavering support of human rights allies like you! If you share our commitment to supporting those who defend human rights and seek justice, we invite you to join us in this vital work. Your support can significantly help amplify the voices of defenders and contribute to making a future of justice and dignity a reality for everyone.
This holiday season, we believe that donations to ISHR are a great way to give back to the international community. We are ready to continue making effective change for human rights in 2024. Here are just three examples of what we were able to achieve together in 2023:
In addition to this work, ISHR effectively trains defenders in developing and expanding their international advocacy skills and networks to leverage them for community-wide change. Apart from building their capacities as defenders through the online component of our Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP), the in-person component of the Programme in Geneva is vital in giving participants access to influential networks and human rights mechanisms that can be used in their respective advocacy roadmaps. Read more about the achievements of HRDAP alumni here. To learn more about the 2024 edition of HRDAP, click here!
Your donation to ISHR will allow us to train even more defenders from all around the world and keep our educational tools up-to-date to not only support their on the ground work in holding perpetrators accountable for human rights abuses, but also to keep promoting equality and peace for their communities by using international law and the United Nations.
Big or small, your contribution will help us to keep campaigning in support of defenders and organisations so that the world’s human rights mechanisms and leaders listen and act. Please join us: make a donation, spread the word, and help us to deliver change. Thank you!
Established in 2012, Giving Tuesday is celebrated as an opportunity to encourage acts of good. The global generosity movement has grown over the past decade and continues to inspire people worldwide to positively transform their communities with collaboration and giving.
‘GivingTuesday inspires people all around the world to embrace their power to drive progress around the causes they care about, not just on one day but throughout the year,’ said Asha Curran, GivingTuesday’s CEO, and co-founder. ‘With country and community leaders, millions of organisations, and countless givers of all kinds, GivingTuesday is creating a shared space where we can see the radical implications of a more generous world.’
This year, we hope you join us in celebrating Giving Tuesday by contributing to the causes you care about most and make real change in the world.
The ECOSOC Committee on NGOs concluded its 2025 regular session today reiterating the need for reform to improve its working methods to enable effective civil society engagement at the UN.
On the fifth anniversary of the 'Xiamen Gathering' crackdown, 38 civil society organisations and activists across the world reaffirm their solidarity with Chinese human rights defenders and lawyers persecuted for advocating for human rights.
Civil society urges States to ensure a resolution at the upcoming 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council addresses the protection of human rights defenders from emerging risks resulting from technological trends and shifting online spaces.
