Human Rights Defenders

Human rights defenders expose violations and campaign for redress for victims. They are the people who on their own or with others take action to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights for all. The important thing is not who they are, but what they do. Human rights defenders take peaceful action and believe everybody has equal rights.

More on human rights defenders

 

News and Updates

Saudi Arabia moves to stamp out new human rights NGO

1 May 2013

Four founding members of a nascent human rights group in Saudi Arabia have been interrogated and intimidated in their attempt to get their organization off the ground.

Turkey: Legal reforms fall short on freedom of expression

30 April 2013

A Turkish reform bill passed into law today fails to meet the government’s stated aim of bringing Turkey's laws into line with international human rights standards.

UN 'miss opportunity' to allow Western Sahara human rights monitoring

25 April 2013

The UN Security Council has failed to add human rights monitoring to the mandate of its Western Sahara peacekeeping force, despite ongoing reports of abuses in the region.

Saudi Arabia court orders arbitrary detention of human rights defender

25 April 2013

An arbitrary court order to detain a university professor for four months after he co-founded a human rights organization is the latest blow to freedom of expression and assembly in Saudi Arabia.

Russia: Voters’ rights NGO is first victim of ‘foreign agents’ law

25 April 2013

Today’s decision by a Moscow court to fine an independent non-governmental organization and its leader is an alarming indicator for the future of civil society in Russia.

Appeals for action

Reopen investigation into enforced disappearance in Ingushetia!

On 8 August 2007, Ibragim Gazdiev was reportedly seized by armed men and has never been seen since. No effective steps have been taken to trace him.

Video and Audio

Video: The Price of Silence global musical mosaic

10 December 2008

The Price of Silence is a global musical mosaic that powerfully delivers on the message that human rights begin at home and that people world-wide are united in figh

Video: 60th Anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights

10 December 2008

Amnesty International has called on governments to make the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) a time for action not just for celeb

Video: Amnesty International's Beijing Olympics campaign

1 December 2008

Amnesty International invited the world to call on the Chinese government to deliver a positive and lasting human rights legacy for the Beijing Olympics.

Video: Working against poverty in Kenya

17 October 2008

Michael Nyangi runs a microfinance project called Lomoro in Kibera, one of the largest slums in Nairobi, Kenya.

Video: Anna Politkovskaya remembered, danger for activists continues in Russia

7 October 2008

Two years after the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, human rights activists and journalists are still at risk in the Russian Federation, in particula

Video: Aerial art petition to Chinese authorities

16 July 2008

Thousands of Amnesty International supporters from around the world teamed up with Circle Up Now, to create large images on the ground which are only

Video - Riga Pride 2008

31 May 2008

Amnesty International activists from around 30 countries gathering in Latvia to join Riga Pride 2008 in sol

Video: Amnesty International reaches out for Kenya

31 March 2008

Amnesty International members around the world reached out for the people of Kenya on 27 February 2007.

Video: The origami cranes' journey to Belarus

25 January 2008

When a Belarusian youth activist was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, Amnesty International considered him to be a prisoner of conscience and launched a campaig