Futures thinking encourages us to identify small ‘signals of change’ which might help to identify and influence the futures that come to pass. At ISHR we’ve identified and, together with advocates and activists from around the world, helped contribute to a number of small but significant signals of positive human rights change in recent weeks.
"We try to defend happiness from a principle of reality," says Donovan Ortega, working at the Fray Francisco de Vitoria Human Rights Center in Mexico.
Tech tools can provide great opportunities and challenges to document human rights violations, notably in contexts of acute crisis.
The Martin Ennals Foundation has granted Yu Wensheng, a leading Chinese human rights lawyer, the 2021 Martin Ennals Award. Lawyer Yu was among the three finalists to the Award selected by a jury of ten global human rights organisations - among which ISHR -, along with Loujain AlHathloul from Saudi Arabia and Soltan Achilova from Turkmenistan.
It's difficult to encapsulate such a complex year in a word, but "interconnected" is one that comes to mind when reflecting on 2020. We are proud to have remained deeply interconnected with defenders and to have supported, protected and amplified their work at the national, regional and international levels. With them, the "essential workers" of our times, we strive for a 2021 full of freedom, equality, dignity and justice.
"Defending human rights is my passion. For me, there was no better way to feel useful than defending human rights."
In this video, Abdoulaye Kanni, the coordinator of "Collectif des Organisations de Défense des Droits de l’Homme et de la Démocratie (CODDHD) - Niger," speaks about the necessity for his work and how using UN mechanisms can help increase impact and create change on the ground.
The UN Human Rights Council has today adopted a resolution tasking the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other independent human rights experts to investigate and report on systemic racism and police violence globally, specifically including the killing of George Floyd and related incidents.
As we embark on a new decade, the world faces tremendous challenges, from climate change to COVID-19. There are plenty of reasons for anxiety and concern. But we see even more reasons for ambition and hope. We take hope from courageous human rights defenders across the world who continue their vital work to make human rights a reality for all of us. We are proud to serve them, with the solidarity and support of people like you.
Although Chinese lawyer Wang Quanzhang is no longer in prison, ISHR and others worry that the injustice continues. He is still not free.
A number of women human rights defenders from across the world gathered in Geneva last week to bring their voices to the UN Human Rights Council.
