FRA accounces a discussion on the impact of COVID-19 measures on human rights defenders.
- When:
- 17 April 2020
- Where:
- Online
- Who:
- EU Member States and Representatives from intergovernmental organisations and EU institutions responsible for cooperation with civil society and for supporting human rights defenders in Europe.
They will discuss the impact of COVID-19 measures for human rights defenders. FRA will look more closely into the effects of these measures on civil society organisations in the coming months.
The informal contact group on human rights defenders was set up a year ago. It allows ongoing, practical information exchange at the working level.
The aim is to enhance coordination and cooperation in supporting human rights defenders.
A very summary outline of the result of the 17 April meeting was published on 23 April:
In going forward, staff working on cooperation will continue to meet to exchange views on a range of issues on how best to support civil society and human rights defenders. These include: how Intergovernmental organisations can ensure continued participation by civil society during these times, including online; assessing the impact of COVID-19 measures on human rights defenders and civil society organisations; how donors could deal with the situation; digital security, safe communications, and the digital divide; and how do deliver capacity building and project support under the current circumstances.
https://fra.europa.eu/en/event/2020/discussing-impact-covid-19-measures-human-rights-defenders
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
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