
Making human rights a reality, together: Support ISHR!
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.
ISHR's flagship Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme begins on Monday 11 June, with 14 inspiring human rights defenders from around the globe travelling to Geneva to learn about strategic engagement with the UN mechanisms for even greater impact on the ground.
On Monday 11 June 2018, ISHR will open the 2018 edition of its Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP). The programme equips defenders with the knowledge and skills to make strategic use of the international human rights system. It provides an opportunity for participants to directly engage in lobbying and advocacy activities at the UN level to effect change on the ground back home, with defenders able to rely on the ISHR team for tailored advocacy support for a year and beyond.
ISHR’s Training and Advocacy Support Manager, Helen Nolan, explains that this year’s HRDAP participants were selected from a pool of around 200 applicants – resulting in an extremely tough selection process.
‘We’re incredibly excited to be collaborating with 14 committed human rights defenders working on women’s rights, business and human rights, the rights of LGBTI persons, migrant rights and human rights defender protection,’ said Nolan.
‘They are travelling from around the globe – including Australia, Bahamas, Botswana, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Philippines, Peru, Russia and Tanzania – to spend two highly intense weeks gaining practical advocacy experience in Geneva and developing their network in order to become even more effective locally ,’ added Nolan.
Find out why Paula Wachter from #Argentina thinks you should apply for ISHR’s Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme. Only a few days left! https://t.co/ZzkxXKMp1o https://t.co/yuHg8FTRiD
— Helen Nolan (@Helen_ISHR) December 7, 2017
HRDAP coincides with the 38th Session of the Human Rights Council, and well as receiving training modules on all the UN human rights mechanisms from a range of experts, participants will have the opportunity to build networks in Geneva and around the world, carry out lobbying of UN member States and UN staff, and learn from peers from a range of regions working on a range of human rights issues.
‘Crucially, we know the programme works,’ said Nolan. ‘Last year, 100% of our participants were either very satisfied or satisfied with the programme, feeling they would use what they learnt in their day-to-day work at home.’
In 2017, HRDAP enabled:
‘Our training alumni become our partners. We’ve seen the long-term impact of this programme, and so we’re looking forward to seeing not just what our trainees achieve during the two weeks, but how we can work together beyond HRDAP to achieve change on the ground.’
This is a once in a life time experience you cannot afford to miss… It’s life transforming! https://t.co/bGiIYh1g7k
— Victoria B. Renner (@VbrawcrRenner) November 21, 2017
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.
On 21 November, ISHR celebrated the vital work of human rights defenders at a conference on 'The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Seventy-Five Years On: Achievements and Current Challenges.' A slightly shortened version of our speech is reproduced below.
On 30 August 2022, the UN Human Rights Office concluded that the Chinese State may be responsible for committing crimes against humanity, in a report on human rights in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang). One year later, global pressure on Beijing remains high, ahead of a major UN human rights review in January.