Human rights defenders Protection & Safety
The Protection Programme aims to develop appropriate preventative and intervention strategies for the protection of HRDs, including community-based activists working on civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, independent journalists, environmental activists, and women’s rights activists.
In addition to frequently analysing HRDs’ working environment and developing security strategies accordingly, protection programme staff undertake risk assessment and fact-finding missions on reported cases of threats and violations of HRDs’ rights, to ensure the safety of HRDs and bring those responsible to justice.
Typical protection interventions for HRDs at risk include.
Legal Support
The protection programme offers legal assistance to HRDs who are arbitrarily arrested and maliciously prosecuted by providing them with advocates to represent them at places of detention and in court or provides bail. The Coalition also undertakes trial observation of cases that involve HRDs to ensure that the judicial process is free and fair.
Medical Support
Medical support is offered to HRDs/activists who are injured or fall sick due to their work. Medical support either covers the payment for medical services and/or medicine for HRDs and their families.
Psychosocial Support
Psychosocial support caters for the well-being of those HRDs who have been emotionally affected by their work. HRDs who are exposed to incidences of torture, gender-based violence, assault or extra-judicial executions, to name but a few of the most serious human rights violations that HRDs fight against, often find that their work is taking a toll on their emotional well-being. Defenders Coalition engages the services of counsellors offer counselling support in such situations.
Relocation
Protecting those HRDs whose work has exposed them to threats and high levels of risk, often requires that they be relocated. This is normally a short-term measure put in place while other strategies are pursued. Relocation can be local, regional or international, depending on the gravity of the case. During such periods of absence from routine work, the Coalition often arrange for the affected HRD to be attached to another organization to ensure human rights work is not disrupted or to gain some skills.
The Defenders Coalition recognizes that enhancing the intrinsic competencies, agency and voice of HRDs is critical to their effectiveness, well-being and sustainability.
Among others, Defenders Coalition enhances the capacities of HRDs in physical and digital security management; monitoring, documenting and reporting human rights violations.
The Defenders Coalition offers digital security support for human rights defenders and human rights organizations to equip them with the knowledge and skills to protect their online presence and activities, safeguarding their work and personal information from potential threats and attacks.
These include:
- Risk Assessments and Security Enhancement
- Digital Security Helpdesk
- Emerging Technologies
