Annual Report 2019

We are pleased to share with Protection International‘s 2019 Annual Report, a publication which brings together our stories and highlights with women and men human rights defenders (W/HRDs) who protect the Right to Defend Human Rights (RDHR) across the globe.

2019 was a year in which the world witnessed a rise in extremist politics, exacerbated conflicts, deepening inequalities and a further restriction of space for civil society and the right to defend human rights. These trends are nothing new, but the manner in which we respond to them is changing as we grow and search for innovative ways to support and protect W/HRDs at risk.

As you read this report, you will learn about our work with communities of W/HRDs across Europe, Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia. Our activities with W/HRDs included digital protection training in Nigeria, celebrating Indonesia’s first International Women HRDs Day, establishing a group of community communicators in Guatemala, providing capacity training for civil society in Eastern Europe and publishing tailored protection manuals in indigenous languages.

2019 also saw us launch our 2019-2023 Global Strategy, one that incorporates important changes on the road ahead: a shift from protecting W/HRDs to working towards the Right to Defend Human Rights (RDHR), and transforming our governance structure into a network of de-centralised Regional Hubs. Such changes reaffirm our grassroots ethos, keeping us closer to collectives of defenders across the globe.