On 3 May 2026, UNHCR published “I am addicted to the truth”: A Venezuelan journalist finds safety and purpose in Canada“, written by Zeba Tasci in Ottawa.
© Halim Naim
For more than 15 years, Venezuelan journalist Halim Naim built his career on one principle: telling the truth. “I am addicted to the truth,” he says. However, that commitment came at a cost. Reporting in a country where freedom of expression was steadily eroding, Halim faced threats, censorship, and detention. As his visibility grew, so did the risks. Despite the danger, he continued his work—leading political coverage, interviewing senior public and political figures, reporting national events, and defending the public’s right to be informed. But the pressure intensified. After speaking about contested elections and giving a platform to opposition voices, threats extended beyond him to his family.
“I separated from my family to protect them,” he recalls. Soon after, Halim fled Venezuela. He sought refuge in Colombia, where he continued advocating for human rights and supporting fellow Venezuelan refugees. But life remained uncertain. Without secure legal status and amid ongoing safety concerns, he struggled to rebuild. “I felt like I was working in hiding.”
In 2025, after years living in exile, he was identified by UNHCR as a journalist at risk and was referred to Canada’s Human Rights Defenders resettlement program. The program is designed to protect individuals who face threats because of their work defending human rights—journalists, activists, and community leaders whose voices are often targeted. For many, it offers a rare and urgent lifeline: a safe pathway out of danger and a chance to continue their human rights work in freedom.
For Halim, the process moved quickly. Within months, he and his family arrived in Canada. “Canada saved me,” he says simply. Beyond safety, the program also provided recognition. “I never felt like a number. I felt like a professional who could contribute.”
By offering a pathway to safety and a supportive resettlement process, the program allows human rights defenders not only to escape persecution, but to rebuild their lives with dignity and purpose. It also enables them to continue contributing their expertise, whether through journalism or advocacy, in their new communities.
Canada’s Human Rights Defenders program offers safety to people defending human rights and face serious risk because of their work. These individuals may be journalists, lawyers, activists, environmental defenders, people working in women’s rights, LGBTQI+ activists, and community leaders. In 2025, UNHCR identified over 100 cases to be recommended for the program.
Halim hopes to use his experience to contribute both to Canada, and one day, Venezuela. His goal remains the same: telling the truth to defend human rights. For Halim, the program that brought him to safety represents something larger than his own story: a commitment to protecting those who speak out against injustice, and ensuring voices are not lost.
“Exile did not silence us. Exile ignited voices, made them stronger, made them more solid, more secure.”
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
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