Ways to Support Human Rights Defenders Saving Our Planet and Protecting Our Rights

Over 331 human rights defenders were killed in 2020 alone, with thousands more threatened, attacked, detained, and abused in other ways. But attacks are only part of the story. Human rights defenders courageously put themselves on the line to save our planet and to create a more just and equitable world for all. Although we rarely hear their names or learn their stories, we’ve all benefited from their small successes and major wins. Get to know some of the groups supporting and working in solidarity with human rights defenders around the world and learn how you can help.

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Who are human rights defenders?

Human rights defenders (HRDs) promote or protect human rights in a peaceful manner.  They raise their voices and risk their safety to protect and preserve our basic human freedoms and expose human rights violations.  HRDs are often on the frontlines of war, exploitation, resource extraction, and state violence. They are leaders in the struggle for rights, equality, and justice for all.  They protect our environment and access to clean air and water.  They demand our rights to food, health, and education and fight against economic injustice and corporate greed.  

Human rights defenders are present in every country and come from a wide variety of backgrounds.  They are ordinary citizens and everyday people.  They also include professionals such as lawyers, journalists, union leaders, teachers, and academics.  They are feminists, LGBTQ+ activists, water and land protectors, among many more.  HRDs also include collectives, coalitions, and groups of individuals working together to defend human rights.

Human rights defenders worldwide

Around the world, including in the United States, HRDs experience threats, intimidation, violence, torture, false charges, and imprisonment for their peaceful activism.  Governments and multinational corporations use police, military, and private security forces to threaten, arbitrarily arrest, and detain HRDs.  They face harassment, smear campaigns, surveillance, frozen bank accounts, eviction, and dismissal from jobs.  And in 2020 alone, at least 331 human rights defenders were disappeared, died in detention, or murdered. 

The following organizations are working to ensure HRDs have the support they need to carry out their vital work. 

Amnesty International fights for the freedom of people around the world who are imprisoned for their activism, changes laws to protect human rights defenders, and ensures that activists can take to the streets to express their views peacefully. Learn more and donate.

The Fund for Global Human Rights equips grassroots activists with the financial and strategic support they need to improve lives, mobilize movements, and build a better future for their communities.  Learn more and donate. 

Human Rights House Foundation advocates for the freedoms of assembly, association, and expression, as well as the right to be a human rights defender. These four rights underpin a strong and independent civil society and protect and empower human rights defenders.  Learn more and donate. 

Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. The Observatory is a joint project of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).  It works to prevent and provide early warning on dangerous situations and raise awareness among policymakers and the general public.  It also builds the capacity of human rights defenders by providing them with direct assistance and supporting local groups to continue their action in hostile contexts.  Learn more and donate at FIDH and OMCT. 

Peace Brigades International provides protection, support, and recognition to local HRDs who work in areas of repression and conflict. PBI uses an integrated approach that combines a presence alongside HRDs on the ground with an extensive network of international support. Learn more and donate.

Women human rights defenders

Women’s human rights defenders (along with environmental human rights defenders) face greater threats than other types of HRDs.

Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) are women, trans women, and other LBTQ+ people who challenge gender norms and fight for the equal rights of women, girls, and anyone else who is marginalized because of their gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.  Their work challenges gendered power structures, male dominance, and the system of patriarchy.  WHRDs experience the same types of risks as other human rights defenders.  However, they are also exposed to heightened risks and gender-based violence.  That is, WHRDs are targeted not only because of what they do but because of who they are.  

The following organizations help ensure the work of WHRDs is prioritized, recognized, and supported. 

AWID is a global, feminist, membership, and movement-supporting organization.  It works to create a safer world for WHRDs, their families, and communities. AWID believes that action for rights and justice should not put WHRDs at risk; it should be appreciated and celebrated.  Learn more and donate.

Global Fund for Women funds bold, ambitious, and expansive gender justice movements to create meaningful change that will last beyond our lifetimes.  Learn more and donate. 

JASS is an international feminist network working to build women’s collective power for justice.  It is dedicated to strengthening and amplifying the voice, visibility, and collective power of women for a just and sustainable world.  Learn more and donate.

MADRE works with women leaders who protect and provide for communities facing war and disaster. Together, they build skills, strengthen local organizations, advance progressive movements, and advocate for rights.  Learn more and donate.

Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights supports activists to seize unanticipated opportunities to make change and to protect themselves when in immediate danger. Activists may apply in any language, on any day of the year, and are guaranteed a response within 72 hours. Learn more and donate.

Environmental human rights defenders

Environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) are another group of HRDs which are disproportionately persecuted for their work.  EHRDs strive to defend and protect environmental rights, land rights, and indigenous rights in order to prevent climate disasters, protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the land on which we live.  They are Indigenous communities most impacted by environmental injustice and whose traditional practices hold solutions to protecting the environment and reversing climate change.  EHRDs are also small-scale farmers, climate and environmental justice activists, land and water protectors, and other everyday people on the frontlines of protecting our natural resources and rebelling against harmful resource extraction.  EHRDs are up against the powerful interests of the fossil fuel industry, mining, and agribusiness, who continue to put profits over people and the planet.  EHRDs are the most targeted of all human rights defenders.  In 2019, nearly four EHRDs lost their lives every week.  And 2020 was the most dangerous year on record for EHRDs; they comprised 69% of human rights defenders killed globally. 

In addition to the global organizations listed above, the following organizations are calling attention to and supporting the work of EHRDs. 

EarthRights International is a global team of community activists, campaigners, and legal strategists who challenge powerful institutions that violate peoples’ rights and destroy our planet for profit.  They work with EHRDs to protect the rights, resources, and livelihoods of their communities; support communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis in their organized resistance against destructive fossil fuel projects; and challenge the systems that allow corporations to exercise power and claim rights without accountability.  Learn more and donate. 

Global Witness works to end the attacks and killings of land and environmental defenders and to address the root causes of attacks against them by raising awareness of the issue with global decision-makers, amplifying defenders’ voices, and supporting their campaigns and advocacy.  Learn more and donate. 

Not One More is a defender-led organization working to ensure that everyone who defends the earth can be safe and free.  They are currently raising funds to create a refuge for EHRDs threatened with murder because of their critical work.  Learn more and donate. 

Human rights defenders against Big Business

HRDs — particularly anti-corruption and labor rights activists, and those on the frontlines of protecting environmental rights, land rights, and indigenous rights — are often up against powerful multinational corporations. All too often, these corporations actively cause harm by protecting their short-term interests and putting profit over all else, including the rights of individuals, the health of communities, and the protection of the common good.  And, our governments let them get away with it, sometimes even providing police and military assistance. 

In its 2020 analysis report, In the Line of Fire, the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre recorded 604 attacks on defenders working on business-related human rights issues.  The majority of attacks came from agribusiness, followed by logging and lumber, the fossil fuel industry (oil, gas, and coal), and renewable energy. 

The following organizations are standing in solidarity with HRDs to hold businesses accountable. 

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre advances human rights in business. They empower HRDs by amplifying their voices, strengthening corporate accountability to address human rights concerns, building corporate transparency by tracking over 10,000 companies, and researching the positive and negative impact of business on civic freedom and the work of HRDs.  Learn more and donate. 

Zero Tolerance Initiative is a global coalition led by indigenous peoples, local community representatives, and supportive NGOs working collectively to address the root causes of killings and violence against HRDs working on business-related issues.  The initiative supports communities to defend themselves and to hold companies and investors accountable by demanding zero tolerance for retaliation and violence against HRDs.  Learn more and donate. 

Human rights defenders and the United States

Attacks on HRDs don’t just happen in and by countries with repressive or authoritative governments.  Human rights defenders are also threatened by and within established democracies, including the United States.  Further, when the U.S. engages in and/or tacitly condones such acts, it lessens its moral authority and diplomatic power to influence businesses and governments around the world to preserve human rights and protect HRDs. 

While most people in the U.S. are able to defend human rights safely and freely, it does not mean that all can. 

HRDs working to challenge entrenched economic and social power are particularly at-risk.  Front Line Defenders reports that some HRDs in the U.S. have “been dismissed from their jobs, are subject to spurious legal proceedings, and have been arrested, detained, placed under house arrest, beaten and been victims of violent and armed attacks.”  Further, police forces have been militarized to undermine the freedom of assembly - using tear gas and rubber bullets against peaceful protestors, including children.  HRDs in the U.S. include undocumented people fighting for a pathway to citizenship, racial justice activists demanding an end to white supremacy,  Indigenous protesters protecting our land and water against harmful resource extraction practices, and many more.  

In the U.S., the right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is a core part of the First Amendment.  Yet, there has been a sharp increase in attempts to restrict or even criminalize the right to protest in recent years.  According to ICNL, since 2017, at least 230 bills have been introduced and 36 laws enacted that restrict the right to peaceful assembly.  Many believe this is a direct backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in Standing Rock.  For example, the United Nations decries the new laws stating that they are a violation of human rights and that the laws specifically target peaceful protesters and the Black Lives Matter movement.

In addition to their global work, these organizations support HRDs in the U.S. and pressure the U.S. government to support HRDs around the world. 

Front Line Defenders provides rapid and practical support to human rights defenders at risk through international advocacy, security grants, a 24-hour emergency hotline, training and resources, rest and respite for HRDs dealing with extreme stress, and networking opportunities.  Learn more about their U.S.-based work and donate. 

Human Rights First helps HRDs secure support for their work. Working alongside defenders, Human Rights First amplifies HRD’s voices and seeks policy changes to benefit their cause. And because defenders are their own best advocates, Human Rights First connects them to U.S officials capable of influencing foreign policy. Learn more and donate.

Water Protector Legal Collective was born out of the No Dakota Access Pipeline (NoDAPL) protest movement. Water Protector Legal Collective serves as the on-the-ground legal team for Indigenous land and water protectors. Learn more and donate.

An ecosystem of groups in support and solidarity with HRDs

There is a strong ecosystem of local, national, regional, and international organizations and coalitions in support and solidarity with HRDs. In addition to the groups mentioned above, there are also coalitions, groups working at the regional and country levels, and others.

Coalitions bring together various groups who have a shared vision so that they can work together to coordinate activism, advocacy, and activities. 

• ALLIED (Alliance for Land, Indigenous and Environmental Defenders) is a diverse group of actors sharing knowledge and access to resources in order to build protection skills among HRDs, strengthen government and business safeguards for HRDs, and protect civil society actors who are addressing root causes of threats and attacks on HRDs.  Learn more and donate.

• Defenders in Development operates as an informal network to prevent and address risks to HRDs who raise their voices about projects financed by development banks (aka Development Finance Institutions that invest in private sector projects in low and middle-income countries to promote job creation and sustainable economic growth).  Learn more and donate. 

If you are interested in a particular country or region, consider diving deeper with these groups and their member organizations.  Regional and national groups are more likely to be led by HRDs and to be more closely connected to the on-the-ground realities of HRDs. Learn from, take action with, and donate to these regional groups and their country-level members:

• IM-Defensoras supports WHRDs in Mexico and Central America.

• AfricanDefenders comprises five African sub-regional organizations dedicated to promoting and protecting HRDs.

• FORUM-ASIA works across 23 countries mainly in Aisa to strengthen movements for human rights.

• Search ALLIED’s extensive list of organizations that support HRDs at the regional and country level.

How you can help

• Learn more by visiting the websites of the organizations in this post.  

  • Commit to donate to or take action with at least one organization.

  • Read about and share the stories of individual human rights defenders.

• Unleash your consumer power by letting corporations know you won’t stand for human rights abuses.  Learn more in our How to Harness Your Consumer Power For Good post. 

• Teach children at an early age about human rights issues through books.

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Originally published December 7, 2021.

Posts identify both fast actions that you can take in under five minutes and more time-intensive actions that deepen your engagement.  Our fast actions tend to be time-bound, as a result, some posts in the archive may contain expired links. Not to fret, we also recommend anytime actions that never go out of date.