Against a backdrop of rising authoritarianism, democratic backsliding and deteriorating armed conflicts worldwide, people working to defend human rights and freedoms are facing growing threats and attacks. Indeed, over 401 human rights defenders were killed in 26 countries around the world in 2022, according to HRD Memorial, while thousands of other attacks were recorded in the same year. In the year marking the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 25^th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, States, multilateral agencies, philanthropies, and other donors need to step up their commitment and investments towards the protection of people at the forefront of struggles to uphold these very rights.

The staggering figures on attacks on defenders fall short of representing the personal tragedies of people who lost their loved ones; were wrongfully arrested and detained, harassed, threatened, and displaced; and the devastating impact on the collective struggles that depend on human rights defenders. Through surveillance, repression, and limitations on the ability to organize, speak out and receive funding, governments and other powerful actors employ an array of tactics to silence dissent and stifle activism.

Human rights and environmental defenders, indigenous leaders, LGBTQ+ activists, journalists, whistleblowers, and protesters face high risks for standing up to human rights violations and do it at great personal costs to their freedom, livelihoods, health, and wellbeing. Women and LGBTQI+ defenders face additional forms of violence based on their gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender expression. Intersecting factors like race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, socioeconomic status, and disability, also affect the degrees of risk that defenders endure. Many defenders are obliged to relocate within their home countries or abroad, leaving everything behind and being cut off from their families, communities, and movements.

At the People Power conference held in Denmark in September 2023, activists expressed their frustration towards governments, multilateral institutions, and funders for not answering their grievances and failing to support them at times of crises, especially as they put their lives in danger to speak up against human rights violations perpetrated in their countries.

In this somber context, funders supporting the defense of human rights – governments, international organizations, philanthropies, and the private sector – have the responsibility to stand in solidarity with defenders and activists experiencing increased risks by contributing to mitigate and manage such risks. We urge funders to embed protection throughout their programming and grantmaking and to meaningfully invest in protection networks and strategies. Investing in the holistic[1] protection of defenders and activists is not only donors’ responsibility towards the individuals and communities they support, but also crucial for ensuring the sustainability and success of their efforts in the long run, as attacks intend to dismantle local capacities and halt struggles.

‘We should make use of ways we can support defenders beyond funding, leveraging our access to governments, embassies, companies, and other actors to act – publicly or behind closed doors – in solidarity with defenders.’

A handful of government and private donors, including Sweden, the United States, the European Union, Norway, the Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, have invested over the years in strengthening and expanding the infrastructure for the protection of human rights defenders. This infrastructure is composed of national, regional, and global organizations that provide activists with vital services, such as digital and physical security, rest and respite, relocation, psychosocial support, and legal and financial assistance.

But despite these investments, protection needs are growing and funding is lagging behind. This observation prompted us to seek to better understand where the gaps and opportunities lie for improving support for the protection of human rights defenders. In the second half of 2023, we carried out more than 30 consultations with grantee partners and fellow funders that yielded six key recommendations for donors:

Center frontline activists in funding strategies and programming:

Too often donors assume they know what activists, local organizations, and social movements need and what is best for them without really listening. At the recent People Power conference hosted by ActionAid Denmark, there was a disconnect between the demands of activists on urgent, life-and-death cases and the responses from state representatives, donors and INGOs, which reflected their own agendas.

For example, to a government representative who was proud to announce a new initiative on digital democracy, an activist remarked that it will do no good in her country where internet access doesn’t reach vulnerable communities. Despite widespread commitments to localization, the majority of donors still channel most of their funds through international organizations, partly due to administrative and legal constraints, but also because of a lack of trust in grassroots actors and reluctance to cede power by letting them take the lead on shaping strategies and programs.

National and local organizations are usually the first responders in cases of violence against defenders but are often limited by budgetary and administrative constraints to take immediate protection actions. Local defenders, social movements and organizations need to receive direct funding and also have a say in designing and implementing the strategies and programs that concern them. Defenders and movements are increasingly organizing around national and regional networks, in Africa, Asia, Central America, to strengthen collaboration on protection and engagement with international funders.

Provide more flexible and long-term support to enable rapid and effective protection

Despite recurring calls for flexible funding for defenders, data shows how few funders provide multi-year, core support and how onerous grant requirements still are, especially for smaller and community-based organizations. This is a major demand from civil society organizations and social movements across the board, including for the protection of defenders, which desperately need long-term, flexible funding to enable them to develop robust strategies, build their capacities, increase their resiliency to adapt to changing circumstances and innovate.

Donors also need to take the time to explain the reasons for their compliance requirements to grantee partners, whose frustration results from the lack of transparency and communication around complex procedures. Some donors are constrained in how flexible they can be, but changes may be possible, and funders with less stringent restrictions could make it a more systematic practice.

Be bold and innovative when investing in protection

Many high-risk countries and regions for defenders are not receiving enough attention from funders due to geopolitical priorities or to the legal and financial restrictions imposed by governments to curtail dissent. Funders need to be proactive in identifying where these protection gaps exist, be creative to find new instruments and actors to support defenders in closed civic spaces, and not shy away from taking a more political stance for the protection of defenders and human rights.

We should make use of ways we can support defenders beyond funding, leveraging our access to governments, embassies, companies, and other actors to act – publicly or behind closed doors – in solidarity with defenders. To do so, it is key to invest in piloting digital, legal, financial, and organizational alternatives to support the protection of defenders in closed societies. For example, funders we spoke to are experimenting with informal money transfer systems, such as Hawala— an informal method of transferring money without any physical money actually moving– and cryptocurrencies to get funds to defenders in contexts where international payments are restricted. Other examples include researching perpetrators’ strategies to counter them more effectively and establishing early warning systems to prevent and manage attacks.

Ensure protection funding is inclusive and intersectional

Risks are not the same for all defenders and opportunities for accessing protection mechanisms also vary greatly based on their gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, geographical location, immigration status, disabilities, education background, language skills, and many other characteristics. Funders need to support networks and mechanisms that integrate an intersectional perspective, being mindful of vulnerable defenders’ ability to access protection mechanisms and tailoring services to meet the needs of specific individuals and groups.

Funders also need to broaden the definition of who is considered a human rights defender and ensure they do not exclude persons who may not self-identify as such but should be eligible for protection services, such as youth and digital activists, protesters, members of the judiciary, and political dissidents.

Embed a holistic approach to protection in grantmaking and programming

Donors should make it a systematic grantmaking practice to allocate funding for protection – from prevention and emergency response to resilience – and facilitate linkages with protection networks for defenders and organizations that lack the connections and knowledge. For example, funders can allocate funds reserved for protection in grants to organizations that are deemed at risk – regardless of the thematic area they work in –  offer partners training and accompaniment from experts to improve their security and mitigate risks, and increase funding for emergency response mechanisms that provide support to defenders in times of crisis.

Fostering an enabling environment guaranteeing the right to defend rights at the national and international level is also a key strategy for the protection of defenders, through countering stigmatizing narratives, challenging criminalization, strengthening digital governance, and promoting accountability and access to justice.

Diversify the pool of funders that care about the protection of frontline actors and work better together

Whatever cause they support, all donors should fund the capacity of civil society organizations and social movements to prepare for crises, respond in a timely manner, and increase their resilience in the longer-term. Courageous individuals and communities speaking truth to power are at risk of reprisals across issues and geographies. Protecting them should be a priority for all funders, including bilateral and multilateral donors, philanthropic foundations, and private companies.

A number of global and regional protection consortia have emerged in recent years for pooling funds and coordinating protection strategies internationally, such as ProtectDefenders.eu, Lifeline Fund, Defend Defenders, Forum Asia, but more investments and collaboration are still required. In our consultations, a proposal emerged to create a pooled fund with contributions from private foundations, companies, and development funders, managed by civil society organizations, to award funding for the protection of frontline human rights defenders and activists.

In the current context of heightened attacks on defenders and civic space, it is essential for donors to step up in the defense of those who put their lives at risk for democracy, justice and our rights and freedoms. The recommendations outlined above seek to respond to the pressing demands raised during our consultations and spaces such as the People Power conference. As we commemorate 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we cannot afford to ignore defenders at risk and must bring our collective power to bear.

Soheila Comninos is a Senior Program Manager with the Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Global Programs where she manages and funds projects designed to counter the rise of authoritarianism and promote democratic governance, justice and human rights.

Andrés Navas is a Program Officer with the Open Society Foundations’ (OSF) Global Programs where he manages initiatives for the protection of human rights and environmental defenders in collaboration with international and national civil society groups.

[1] ‘Holistic’ refers to an all-encompassing approach to security and protection that integrates physical and digital security, psycho-social well-being, organizational and collective security. Holistic protection for HRDs includes support for preventing, managing and responding to risks, as well as building the resilience of HRDs, their organizations and communities.