At a time of unprecedented backlash against them, dozens of the most at-risk human rights defenders (HRDs) from all regions of the world will come together with dignitaries and civil society leaders in Dublin for three days from 23-25 October at Front Line Defenders’ flagship event, the Dublin Platform. This is Front Line Defenders’ 12th Platform, bringing together around 100 HRDs from close to 100 different countries.
First held in 2002, previous Dublin Platforms have given HRDs from almost every country the opportunity to share strategies for advocacy and protection, build solidarity with colleagues around the world, and network with high-level decision makers.
“Human rights defenders represent the best of the human spirit. They steadfastly champion the human rights of others, often at great personal risk, to push for fairer, more just societies,” said Alan Glasgow, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders.
“But the challenges they face are enormous. For their courageous work, human rights defenders are often targeted with the worst forms of violence, surveillance, criminalisation and other repression.
The dignitaries addressing this year’s Platform will include: Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights; Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe; and Seán Fleming, Minister of State in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2024/10/human-rights-defenders-are-oxygen-human-rights-ecosystem
Among the HRDs attending the Dublin Platform are LGBTIQ+ rights defenders; Indigenous, land and environmental rights defenders; women human rights defenders; journalists facing threats and persecution; those fighting against corruption and corporate abuse, and those working on a range of other issues.
The HRDs taking part in the Platform face a wide range of risks, from digital surveillance and online harassment, to death threats and violent attacks, to criminalisation and vilification through smear campaigns. Some work in extremely challenging circumstances amid armed conflicts, crackdowns and other large-scale crises. Front Line Defenders documents the wide array of risks faced by HRDs in its Global Analysis, published annually.
The HRDs in attendance will also attend a special tribute at the HRDMemorial monument in Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens, to commemorate the hundreds of their colleagues around the world who are killed every year for their peaceful work. According to the HRD Memorial initiative – which Front Line Defenders coordinates – at least 300 HRDs across 28 countries were killed in 2023
On 31 May 2024, Front Line Defenders announced the five winners of its top distinction, the 2024 Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk, at a special ceremony in Dublin this morning. Laureates from each of the major global regions travelled to Ireland to accept the Award, including:
Africa: Gamito dos Santos Carlos of AJOPAZ, the Youth Association for Peace (Mozambique)
Americas: The Trans women collective Muñecas de Arcoíris (Honduras), represented by Jennifer Bexara Córdova
Asia and the Pacific: Sammi Deen Baloch of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (Balochistan, Pakistan)
Europe and Central Asia: Doros Polykarpou of KISA (Cyprus)
Middle East and North Africa: We Are Not Numbers (Gaza, Palestine), represented by Ahmed Alnaouq
“Given the immensity of the challenges we face and the adverse forces working against human rights in many parts of the world, it might seem tempting to lose hope that a better world is even possible,” said Alan Glasgow, Executive Director of Front Line Defenders. “But these courageous human rights defenders have defied that temptation and inspire us to keep hope alive. They say ‘no’ to the perpetrators and ‘yes’ to optimism – they know a fairer, more equal, rights-respecting world is worth fighting for.
Gamito dos Santos Carlos, a human rights defender from Nampula, northern Mozambique, is the executive director of AJOPAZ, the Youth Association for Peace. His human rights work centres around social, civil and political rights and accountability. Gamito has been advocating for the protection of human rights activists and engaging with young people to advocate for significant social change in his community, to foster justice and sustainable decision-making by authorities. He is also a member of the Friends of Amurane Association for a Better Mozambique -KÓXUKHURO, as well as an analyst and Provincial Coordinatorof the Mozambican Network of Human Rights Defenders (RMDDH). He has faced ongoing intimidation for his human rights work, including repeated raids on his home and the loss of his job, and in March 2023 he was kidnapped and tortured after he organised a demonstration.
Muñecas de Arcoíris (Rainbow Dolls) is a collective of trans women from the city of Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela in Honduras, founded in 2008. Muñecas works under the LGTBI+ Arcoíris Association of Honduras with the aim of creating a safe space for trans sex worker women. The members of Muñecas started as volunteers of the Arcoíris Association, where they became more aware of the situation that trans people were facing in Honduras. With the support of the Arcoíris Association, Muñecas members received training related to their rights as LGTBI+ people. They then started to document human rights violations specifically against trans women in 2006 and two years later, on 31 October 2008, the collective was formally created as a trans women organisation. Most of its members are sex workers, informal workers, stylists, and housekeepers,among others.
Sammi Deen Baloch is a Baloch woman human rights defender from Mashkai, Awaran District of Balochistan province,Pakistan. She is the General Secretary of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), a non-governmental organisation that represents and supports victims and relatives of enforced disappearances in Balochistan. In June 2009, at the age of 10, Sammi’s father, Dr Deen Mohammed Baloch, was forcibly disappeared in Khuzdar, Balochistan. She began persistently campaigning for the release of her father, which further led to her deeper, collective involvement in advocating against enforced disappearances in Balochistan by state forces.
Doros Polykarpou is a leading human rights defender and founding member of KISA (the Movement for Equality, Support, and Anti-Racism). He is an expert on migration, asylum, discrimination, racism, and trafficking in Cyprus. For over 27 years, he has dedicated himself to defending and advocating for the rights of people on the move and tackling discrimination and xenophobia in Cyprus, navigating the unique socio-political environment of the small island nation with strong conservative elements. This has exposed him and the organisation to a backlash, and earlier this year KISA’s office was targeted by a bomb attack. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/01/19/attack-against-cypriot-anti-racism-ngo-kisa/]
We Are Not Numbers (WANN) is a youth-led Palestinian nonprofit project established in the Gaza Strip in 2014, with the aim of telling the everyday, human stories of thousands of Palestinians. Their vision is to spread Palestinian voices and narratives, based on respect for human rights through the work of peaceful, non-violent, youth led Palestinians. When co-founder Ahmed Alnaouq lost his 23-year-old brother, Ayman, during an Israeli military attack on Palestinians in the summer of 2014, he was devastated, and sunk into a depression from which he thought he would never escape. During this time, he met American journalist Pam Bailey, who encouraged him to celebrate his brother’s legacy by writing a story about him. Like many young people in Gaza, Ahmed was majoring in English literature to improve his language skills. Pam published the story on a Western news website, which was well-received beyond expectation. Ahmed and Pam realised that writing the story had brought some healing to him and that this could be done on a much bigger platform.
On 17 April 2024 Front Line Defenders announced that Alan Glasgow will take up the role of Executive Director of the organisation in late May 2024.
The appointment follows a competitive, international recruitment process led by Front Line Defenders’ Board and an external recruitment agency.
“As a longtime admirer of Front Line Defenders, I am delighted to have this opportunity to progress its work in supporting and protecting human rights defenders at risk,” said Alan Glasgow, incoming Executive Director of Front Line Defenders. “I feel privileged to work with human rights defenders from all around the world, in addition to our partners in civil society and government, and our supporters and donors.”
“There is no doubt that human rights defenders in many parts of the world face an increasing danger and a stark reality. I hope to draw on decades of work on some of the world’s most challenging contexts – as well as the strength of Front Line Defenders’ existing skills, its remarkable global team, and knowledge base built over two decades – to help bring positive change for defenders and their crucial work.”
Alan has worked for 25 years in development, humanitarian, and human rights contexts. He joins Front Line Defenders from the position of Regional Director for Asia and Europe with the international aid agency, Mercy Corps. Prior to this, he served as Mercy Corps’ European Migration Director. He has also worked with International Rescue Committee in New York and West Africa and with GOAL as Country Director and Director of Global Business Development.
Alan’s leadership experience has focused on work at the frontlines of the world’s most challenging human rights environments, including Afghanistan, Gaza, Liberia, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen.His career has demonstrated a profound commitment to the rights of the marginalised and his work has been underpinned by a belief in human rights principles.
Alan will be Front Line Defenders’ third Executive Director since the organisation was founded in 2001. He follows in the footsteps of Front Line Defenders’ founder Mary Lawlor who served from 2001 until 2016, and former Executive Director Andrew Anderson, who held the role from 2016 to 2023. Olive Moore, who held the role of Interim Director for the last year, will resume her role as Deputy Director.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 