Front Line Defenders and the global struggle to protect human rights defenders

Front Line Defenders and the global struggle to protect human rights defenders | Photo: Clem Onojeghuo

To defend human rights in hostile environments often means confronting violence, surveillance and imprisonment. Across continents, those who stand up for justice, equality and the environment find themselves targeted simply for speaking out. The Irish-based organisation Front Line Defenders, established in 2001, has become a crucial ally for these activists, providing rapid protection and amplifying their voices on the global stage. Its work underscores a fundamental truth: without safeguarding defenders, the struggle for rights and freedoms cannot endure.

Celebrating courage in hostile environments

Through its annual Front Line Defenders Award, the organisation shines a spotlight on individuals whose courage has brought them into direct confrontation with oppressive systems. Recent awardees include Olivier Bahemuke Ndoole from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who campaigns against illegal resource extraction that devastates communities, and Ameira Osman Hamid from Sudan, who has taken on entrenched patriarchal practices such as forced marriage. Perhaps most emblematic of the risks faced by defenders is Narges Mohammadi of Iran, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate repeatedly jailed for her campaigns against capital punishment.

These awards do more than honour bravery: they internationalise local struggles, making it harder for regimes to silence voices in obscurity.

Tackling new forms of repression

Threats faced by defenders today are not limited to physical violence. Increasingly, repression occurs through digital surveillance. In 2021, Front Line Defenders exposed the targeting of six Palestinian human rights defenders with Pegasus spyware, manufactured by the NSO Group. Its forensic investigation brought unprecedented attention to the abuse of surveillance technologies and intensified international debate over their regulation.

The case highlighted how activism is now threatened in the digital sphere as much as in the physical one. Protecting defenders therefore requires not only legal and political advocacy, but also technical expertise in cybersecurity.

Rapid response when danger strikes

Beyond advocacy, the organisation delivers tangible support to individuals at immediate risk. In Nigeria, performance artist Jelili Atiku faced arrest and prosecution for a politically charged piece. Following urgent appeals and coordinated advocacy, all charges were dropped, with Atiku crediting international pressure as decisive. In Kenya, John Mathenge, who leads an organisation supporting male sex workers, received relocation grants and legal assistance after being publicly outed and threatened with violence.

These interventions are often the difference between vulnerability and survival, offering defenders the means to continue their work when the odds appear overwhelming.

Protecting land and Indigenous defenders

A persistent theme across the organisation’s Global Analysis reports is the disproportionate risk borne by Indigenous and environmental defenders. In Colombia, Mexico and Brazil, activists resisting land grabs and resource exploitation are frequently assassinated. According to the 2023 Global Analysis, Latin America remains the deadliest region for environmental and land rights activism, reflecting the toxic intersection of extractive industries, organised crime and state complicity.

By amplifying these voices internationally, Front Line Defenders ensures that those protecting their communities and ecosystems are not erased by violence.

Campaigning for those silenced in prison

Some cases require not just immediate intervention but sustained international pressure. The organisation’s Long Term Cases campaign highlights defenders unjustly detained for years, including Dawit Isaak, the Eritrean-Swedish journalist held incommunicado since 2001, and Ilham Tohti, the Uyghur academic serving a life sentence in China. By keeping these names alive in public consciousness, the campaign resists the strategy of silencing through indefinite imprisonment.

Why protection matters

The stakes extend far beyond individual lives. Human rights defenders safeguard democratic accountability, gender equality, environmental protection and freedom of expression. Their work aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions, yet their vulnerability threatens progress on all fronts. Without robust protection, the global movement for rights risks losing its most courageous leaders.

Front Line Defenders embodies a vital principle: that those who risk everything to defend the rights of others should never stand alone.

For further reading, see Front Line Defenders Global Analysis reports and testimonies of defenders at risk.