The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) office in Brussels represents FIDH before the institutions of the European Union (Council, Commission, European Parliament, and other associated bodies), as well as to the representations of its member states. It ensures the visibility of FIDH’s actions and those of its member organisations to the European Union and develops advocacy strategies to effectively mobilise the EU on human rights issues worldwide, while identifying ways to strengthen its lever.
FIDH is recruiting a : REPRESENTATIVE TO THE EUROPEAN UNION IN BRUSSELS – FULL-TIME PERMANENT CONTRACT
MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES Under the responsibility of the Advocacy Director based in Paris, your main responsibilities will be :
A / Define EU advocacy strategies in consultation with internal stakeholders, to support the implementation and strengthening of EU human rights policies, including :
Supporting FIDH member organisations and the FIDH Operations Directorate teams in defining and guiding FIDH recommendations targeting EU institutions;
Developing advocacy directions, the annual activity program, and implementing specific action programs led by FIDH offices, in coordination with the Operations Directorate and member organizations, and monitoring their progress;
Analysing the effectiveness and impact of EU human rights policies and proposing ways to strengthen them;
Developing the delegation’s communication strategy towards the EU, in collaboration with the Communications Directorate.
B / Implement the delegation’s activities:
Coordinate and supervise the participation of FIDH member NGOs or partners in various EU institutions;
Coordinate and supervise the provision of information to EU institutions based on inputs from FIDH, its members, and partners;
Represent FIDH before EU institutions, member state representations, and other stakeholders (funders, NGOs, media), ensuring strong relationships;
Oversee the strategy for promoting FIDH’s activities to the public;
Ensure reporting and evaluation of delegation activities, including advocacy actions and other reporting requirements (internal monthly and annual reports, narrative reports for other funders).
C / Foster and strengthen interaction with internal and external actors, ensuring quality support for FIDH member organisations during interfaces, sharing information on delegation strategies and activities, and developing partnerships with other NGOs.
D / Manage a team (currently one staff member + one intern).
E / Oversee the delegation’s day-to-day logistical and administrative management, with the support of delegation staff.
SKILLS REQUIRED
Education & Experience:
Master’s degree in law, political science, or international relations, with at least 5 years of professional experience in a similar role, including 3 years in human rights advocacy;
Excellent knowledge of EU human rights policies, allowing you to identify and mobilise the most effective levers to achieve concrete results;
Strong understanding of international human rights standards and mechanisms.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT :
Full-time permanent contract – 39 hours/week
Based in Brussels – FIDH recognises the importance of flexible working arrangements for work-life balance and offers remote work options after the probationary period.
Salary: €57,000 gross per year
FIDH contribution to health insurance: €80/month; public transport subscription reimbursement in Brussels; meal vouchers of €8/meal (employee contribution: €1.09)
Leave and RTT: 25 days of paid leave per year, 24 compensatory rest days per year
Position to be filled : As soon as possible
How to apply
Send your CV AND cover letter to recrutement@fidh.org quoting reference DOIG-UE-0126 in the subject line no later than Friday, February 6, 2026.
Interviews will take place as applications are received.
FIDH reserves the right to close the recruitment process before the deadline for applications.
Transnational repression (TNR), the cross-border targeting, intimidation, and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders, is increasingly undermining press freedom and human rights in Europe and beyond. Journalists in exile often remain subjects of sustained threats, surveillance, cyber-attacks, psychological pressure, and harassment long after reaching presumed safety. These tactics are used by authoritarian states to silence dissent, extend their reach beyond borders, and weaken the role of independent media globally. This is demonstrrated in the 18 December 2025 Position Paper written by Katrin Schatz, Journalists-in-Exile Programme Manager,
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) stands firmly against any form of repression that endangers journalists in exile and undermines fundamental freedoms. As a Europe-focused organisation, our mandate centres on strengthening press freedom across the continent. Much of our documented experience with transnational repression comes from our support work in Germany, particularly through the Journalists in Exile (JiE) programme, which gives us direct insight into how these threats continue even after relocation. Our analysis, monitoring and advocacy consistently show that current policy frameworks are insufficiently equipped to address the reality of transnational repression.
Transnational Repression targets journalists in exile
Many Journalists in exile remain at risk. ECPMF’s research on transnational repression in Germany from 2025 finds that journalists who fled authoritarian contexts continue to experience threats, intimidation, surveillance and psychological pressure in their host countries. These tactics are part of a broader strategy by autocratising states to control dissent.
ECPMF’s Mapping Media Freedom (MapMF) platform shows exactly this – through the recently initiated category documenting threats against journalists in exile, ongoing surveillance, digital harassment and family members being targeted are reported. However, cases of transnational repression are rarely documented, not because they don’t exist, but because of the extreme sensitivity of the issue: publicity can endanger journalists’ families at home, expose those in exile to additional targeting, and many affected journalists choose or are advised to remain discreet for safety reasons.
Transnational repression threatens press freedom and democratic space
Transnational repression is not only an attack on individual journalists, it is a direct assault on press freedom and democratic spaces globally. However, acknowledging the personal strains of those affected is essential: many journalists in exile face isolation, trauma, financial precarity, and the constant fear that reprisals could reach them or their families, friends, and colleagues.
TNR tactics take place across multiple contexts: through digital harassment, spyware, coordinated smear campaigns, threats to family members, diplomatic pressure, misuse of international legal instruments, or using diaspora networks to intimidate critics abroad. Together, they form a pattern: a systematic effort by authoritarian and autocratising states to suppress independent journalism far beyond their borders. Coupled with the EU’s lack of reaction, this perpetuates cycles of violence and silencing.
By creating a climate of fear among critical voices and disrupting professional and personal safety TNR systematically undermines freedom of expression, independent journalism and the safety of journalists. Journalists in exile play an indispensable role in informing the public through international reporting, providing independent coverage from authoritarian contexts where local journalism is heavily restricted or impossible.
Gaps in policy and protection in the EU
Increasingly restrictive migration and return policies
The EU’s use of “safe country of origin/ third country” frameworks and streamlined return mechanisms risk exposing journalists to environments where they continue facing repression. Recent decisions by the European Council, endorsed by 39 MEPs , including the designation of countries with documented human rights violations, including press freedom violations as “safe” contradicts the very essence of protection that asylum and refugee policies are meant to provide.
The EU-wide list of safe countries will include: Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, Kosovo, India, Morocco and Tunisia. ECPMF is highly concerned about the dangerous implications of this policy for journalists and human rights defenders.
Lack of comprehensive frameworks
Current EU instruments still do not provide a systemic approach to TNR. There is no binding definition, no integrated action plan, and no framework that aligns migration policies, human rights obligations, digital safety, and cross-border policing responses to transnational repression. Existing mechanisms remain fragmented, leaving journalists without coherent pathways to protection.
Fragmented national responses
At the EU member state level, responses to TNR are inconsistent. Few governments started to formally acknowledge the threat and explore legal or policy measures, while others lack official recognition and structured responses. Even when awareness exists, protection mechanisms remain fragmented, under-resourced, or inaccessible. Journalists, just as any other person seeking refuge, also face racial discrimination within domestic systems, which can influence how their cases are treated.
Civil society has often stepped in where states have not taken responsibility. In Germany, the Coalition Against Transnational Repression has emerged as a key actor, bringing together human rights and diaspora organisations to push for stronger national policies. At the same time, many institutions and law enforcement bodies lack sufficient knowledge or training to identify transnational repression patterns, assess cross-border threats, or understand the jurisdictional complexities involved. Limited cooperation between migration authorities, police, prosecutors, and security services further weakens effective responses. As a result, national responses remain predominantly reactive rather than preventive, leaving journalists in exile exposed to ongoing risks.
ECPMF’s position and demands
Transnational repression is pervasive and increasingly dangerous. Journalists who have fled oppression continue to face coordinated pressure, digital harassment, legal threats, and physical intimidation across borders. As seen through the experiences of fellows in ECPMF’s Journalists-in-Exile programme, exile does not guarantee safety. Threats often follow them into Europe, leaving them vulnerable even in countries that are supposed to offer protection.
Current human rights and migration policies fall short of addressing the lived realities of journalists in exile and, in some cases, may even increase the risks they face. EU migration policies could force journalists back into the very environments from which they fled, thereby further jeopardizing their safety. This reflects the wider gap in the protection of journalists, where national and EU responses to transnational repression remain inconsistent, under-resourced, and fragmented.
ECPMF calls on the European Union, its member states and international bodies to take the following actions to better protect journalists in exile and combat transnational repression:
Develop and implement comprehensive legal frameworks that recognise the specific cross-border threats faced by journalists in exile, including digital harassment, surveillance, physical attacks, and threats to family members.
Ensure the protection of journalists within migration systems, with clear safeguards against forced returns to countries where they face repression, in line with the international principles of non-refoulement.
Develop and support national and EU-level mechanisms to monitor and respond to transnational repression, including dedicated hotlines, coordinated support services, and legal aid for affected journalists.
Include transnational repression in the EU’s strategic documents and policies for safeguarding democracies and combating disinformation and malicious interference, including the European Democracy Shield and similar documents, to ensure that the protection of those fighting repression is part of a comprehensive approach to preserving our democracies.
Incorporate transnational repression explicitly into EU foreign policy, ensuring that the EU’s human rights policies hold countries accountable for using repressive tactics against journalists in exile, as well as creating a system of sanctions and diplomatic pressure to address perpetrators.
Strengthen cooperation between member states, creating a coherent and coordinated EU response to transnational repression, with particular attention to the intersectional risks faced by journalists, including race, gender, and migration status.
Engage civil society and human rights organisations in the design and implementation of policies related to journalists in exile, ensuring that those who are most affected have a direct role in shaping the response.
This position paper was written by Katrin Schatz, Journalists-in-Exile Programme Manager, with contributions by Basma Mostafa, Journalists-in-Exile Fellow, Edith Bohl, Journalists-in-Exile Programme Officer, and Ena Bavčić, Senior Advocacy and Policy Advisor.
On 14 November 2025, Scilla Alecci of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ) wrote about a parliamentary report which identified China and other authoritarian regimes as harassing and attacking dissidents abroad, echoing findings from ICIJ’s China Targets.
European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution urging member states to confront efforts by authoritarian regimes to coerce, control or silence political opponents and dissidents living in Europe. “Human rights defenders are a key pillar of democracy and the rule of law, and they are insufficiently protected,” a statement from the parliament said.
The resolution, adopted with a majority of 512 votes (to 76 against and 52 abstentions), called for targeted sanctions against perpetrators, market surveillance of spyware and better coordination among European authorities to counter what lawmakers labeled “transnational repression.”
The resolution is not legally binding but signals that European lawmakers want to take a clear position on the issue and draw attention to it, Elodie Laborie, a spokesperson for the Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights, told the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in an email.
It confirms findings by ICIJ’s China Targets investigation, which revealed how Beijing continues to use surveillance, hacking and threats against Chinese and Hong Kong dissidents, Uyghur and Tibetan advocates and their families to quash any criticism of the regime abroad.
On 14 November 2025, Al Jazeera (Mariamne Everett) and other media reported that international NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have decried a sharp decline in civil liberties and a pervading “injustice” in Tunisia since President Kais Saied came to power in 2019, as authorities escalate their crackdown on the opposition, activists and foreign nongovernmental organisations.
“Tunisian authorities have increasingly escalated their crackdown on human rights defenders and independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through arbitrary arrests, detention, asset freezes, bank restrictions and court-ordered suspensions, all under the pretext of fighting ‘suspicious’ foreign funding and shielding ‘national interests’,” Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday.
Tunisia’s crackdown on civil society has reached an unprecedented level, according to Amnesty, as six NGO workers and human rights defenders from the Tunisian Council for Refugees are “being criminally prosecuted on charges solely related to their legitimate work supporting refugees and asylum seekers”. The trial’s opening session, initially scheduled for October 16, has been adjourned to November 24.
Within the past four months, Tunisia has temporarily suspended the activities of at least 14 Tunisian and international NGOs, said Amnesty, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and the World Organisation against Torture.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Friday that Tunis’s Court of Appeal will hear on November 17 the appeal of more than 30 people “unjustly sentenced to heavy prison terms in a politically motivated ‘Conspiracy Case’” mass trial in April.
“Four of those detained are on hunger strike, including one who, according to his lawyers, was subjected to physical violence in prison on November 11.”
The defendants were charged with plotting to destabilise the country under various articles of Tunisia’s Penal Code and the 2015 Counterterrorism Law. Human Rights Watch, which reviewed the judicial documents, said the charges are unfounded and lack credible evidence. The NGO has called on the court to immediately overturn the convictions and ensure the release of all those detained.
The 37 people detained include opponents of Saied, lawyers, activists and researchers. Their prison terms range from four to 66 years for “conspiracy against state security” and terrorism offences. Jawhar Ben Mbarek – cofounder of Tunisia’s main opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front – began a hunger strike on October 29 to protest his arbitrary detention. Ben Mbarek was sentenced to 18 years behind bars on charges of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”.
‘In 2024, we have witnessed extraordinary levels of hostility towards democracy, from rampant disinformation and information manipulation by foreign actors, to the silencing of media and human rights defenders, and a strong pushback against gender equality and diversity, undoing years of progress in many countries across the globe. Today, only 29% of the world’s population live in liberal democracies. At the heart of these challenges lies peace. Peace is not simply the absence of war. It is the active cultivation of justice, the protection of the most vulnerable, the realisation of all human rights and the commitment to dialogue and reconciliation.’ – High Representative, Kaja Kallas
The publication of the EU’s Annual Human Rights Report takes place in the context of multiple and cascading crises, including war on the European continent and the resurgence of conflict in many other areas of the world. These developments underscore the strong links between peace, human rights and democracy. Climate change, digital transformation, and rising inequalities add to the growing human rights challenges worldwide.
The report follows the structure of the EU’s Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, particularly the EU’s work on protecting and empowering individuals, building resilient, inclusive and democratic societies, promoting a global system for human rights and democracy, harnessing opportunities and addressing challenges, and ensuring that the EU delivers by working with our partners.
The EU continues to support the strengthening of inclusive, representative and accountable institutions, and promoted a collaborative approach to democracy through the Team Europe Democracy initiative. The fight against information manipulation and interference also continues to be a priority through initiatives such as EUvsDisinfo. Over the past year, the European Endowment for Democracy has kept up its work on fostering democracy and working with free media and civil society in challenging circumstances in Belarus, and Ukraine among others. The EU has carried on supporting and empowering people on the frontlines of human rights advocacy.
While the global outlook is challenging, the EU is steadfastly pursuing deeper international cooperation and stronger early warning and prevention mechanisms. Efforts to ensure accountability for violations and abuses of human rights continue to be a key priority. Together with its partners, the EU is determined to protect the multilateral human rights system and uphold the central role of human rights and democracy in fostering peace, security and sustainable development.
Human Rights Watch, Civil Rights Defenders and many, many other NGOs are deeply alarmed by a new legislative proposal in Hungary that, if passed, would institutionalise sweeping, opaque, and politically motivated repression of independent civil society, the press, and private organisations that receive foreign support or have any kind of income that the Hungarian government feels would threaten the country’s sovereignty.
The draft law, which is deceptively titled ‘On the Transparency of Public Life’, would give the authorities unchecked powers, allowing it to recommend the registration of organisations deemed to be ‘influencing public life’ with foreign funding in ways that ‘threaten Hungary’s sovereignty’. Because this phrasing is vague and ideologically loaded, it risks including any kind of criticism of government policy, including the promotion of human rights, press freedom, gender equality, and the rule of law.
Potential disastrous consequences
No legal remedy: If the government demands an organisation register itself, the organisation in question would not be able to appeal this decision. Once listed, organisations would have no access to effective legal redress;
Broad definitions: ‘Foreign support’ is defined as any financial input, no matter how small, from practically any international source (including EU institutions and dual citizens) as well as commercial revenue;
Sweeping prohibitions and sanctions: Listed organisations would have to seek permission from the tax authorities to receive foreign support. Financial institutions would be required to report and block transfers, meaning NGOs would effectively be permanently monitored;
Loss of domestic support: Listed organisations would lose access to Hungary’s 1% income tax donation scheme, which would prevent them from receiving support from regular Hungarian citizens;
Political targeting: Leaders of registered organisations would be labelled ‘politically exposed persons’, which would expose their private financial transactions to invasive scrutiny;
Severe penalties: Any violations could lead to fines of up to 25 times the amount received, suspension of the organisation’s advocacy activities, and even forced closure.
EU must speak out against proposed law
Hungary’s draft law is not about transparency: it is a calculated attempt to criminalise dissent, silence watchdogs, and entrench one-party control over the democratic public sphere and civic space. If passed, the law would violate multiple provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, including freedom of expression and association and the right to an effective remedy.
In an open letter to President Ursula von der Leyen and Commissioner Michael McGrath of 22 May 2025, the NGOs urge to take the following immediate steps:
Immediately request the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to grant interim measures in the ongoing infringement procedure on the Law on the Defence of National Sovereignty (Case C-829/24). The Sovereignty Protection Office is crucial to the new bill and therefore this is an imminent and effective way to halt the progress and impact of the bill. Cognizant of the impending danger, the European Parliament and civil society have been calling for this step since 2024. Interim measures are designed to prevent irreparable harm — in this case, the effective paralysis of civil society organisations, independent media and dissenting voices – and with this new development comprehensive interim measures should be requested immediately.
At the same time, call on the Hungarian government to withdraw the bill and if unsuccessful, open a new infringement procedure on new violations that are not linked to the ongoing case on the Defence of National Sovereignty.
With the forthcoming Article 7 hearing on Hungary on 27 May 2025 and recognising the escalation of a systematic breakdown of the rule of law, support the Council of the EU to move to a vote on Article 7(1).
This new bill represents a severe and existential threat to democratic principles, human rights and the rule of law in Hungary and in the EU as a whole. If the existing tools are not effectively deployed, we risk an unravelling of the rules on which the EU was founded and a clear step towards authoritarian practices. We call on you to stand in solidarity with Hungarian civil society and their counterparts across the region and remain available to provide additional information and support.
A European project of the Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, presents a round-up of the latest and most innovative research on the European Union’s role in an evolving global context in a quarterly newsletter, featuring summaries of key findings and access to more in-depth discussions through EU-RENEW webinars, blogs and podcasts.
The eighth issue focuses on human rights defenders.
Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) often stand on the frontlines of global struggles—exposing injustice, seeking accountability, and working to prevent further rights violations. While the European Union has long been committed to the protection of HRDs, shrinking civic space and democratic backsliding within its own borders have exposed troubling gaps: from limited pathways for HRDs to enter or remain in the EU, to the criminalization of HRDs’ work and the rise of strategic lawsuits designed to silence them.
In its latest blog, Anna Puigderrajols Triadó examines the EU’s evolving approach to HRDs and the urgent need for stronger, more consistent protections.
Some recommendations:
Human Rights Violations Committed Against Human Rights Defenders Through the Use of Legal System: A Trend in Europe and Beyond Aikaterini-Christina Koula. Human Rights Review, 25, 2024This article explores the growing weaponization of legal systems to silence human rights defenders, particularly in Europe, developing a taxonomy of legal tactics used against HRDs
Just Pathways to Sustainability: From Environmental Human Rights Defenders to Biosphere Defenders, Claudia Ituarte-Lima et al. Environmental Policy and Law, 53(5-6), 2023
Building on the concept of Environmental Human Rights Defenders, the authors advance a new concept of ‘Biosphere Defenders’ and a ‘Defend-Biosphere Framework’ to analyse the role of these actors as agents of change in pathways towards just sustainability.
The environmental rule of law and the protection of human rights defenders: law, society, technology, and markets Elif OralInternational Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 24, 2024, This article considers the importance of legal regulation and state intervention for creating a safe and just space for the activities of the Environmental Human Rights Defenders.
Gender-Transformative Remedies for Women Human Rights Defenders. Aleydis Nissen Business and Human Rights Journal, 8(3), 2023. This article explores gender-transformative remediation – which should bring change to patriarchal norms and unequal power relations – for women human rights defenders who fight against corporate human rights abuses.
The Council decided 14 April to impose restrictive measures on an additional seven individuals and two entities responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran, including for the use of thejudiciary as a tool for arbitrary detention.
The European Union continues to be deeply concerned by Iran’s distressing practice to arbitrarily detain EU mono and dual nationals ..
In this context, the EU is imposing sanctions on the Shiraz Central Prison, located in Fars Province, and the First Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Shiraz. Furthermore, the EU is imposing restrictive measures on members of the judiciary, including Hedayatollah Farzadi, head of Evin prison, and Mehdi Nemati, head of the Fars Prisons Protection and Intelligence Department.
Restrictive measures now apply to a total of232 individuals and 44 entities. They consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban to the EU, and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed. A ban on exports to Iran of equipment, that might be used for internal repression, and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications is also in place.
The European Union expresses its support for the fundamental aspiration of the people of Iran for a future where their universal human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected, protected and fulfilled. The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.
The EU introduced in 2011 a regime consisting of restrictive measures that have been renewed annually since, and last extended until 13 of April 2026. Since 2022, the EU has drastically increased restrictive measures, adopting 11 packages of sanctions in the context of growing concerns about serious human rights abuses and violations in Iran.
The European Parliament’s Sakharov Fellowship is offering up to 14 human rights defenders selected from non-EU countries the opportunity to follow an intensive two-week training in Brussels and at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice.
The empowering programme for human rights defenders has been organised annually since 2016, further to an initiative taken by the Sakharov Prize Community at the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Sakharov Prize.
The Brussels programme focuses on EU policies and tools in support of human rights defenders, accessing funding, developing communications skills, and raising awareness of specific security challenges facing human rights defenders. It further includes meetings with Members of Parliament, officials of the EU institutions and Brussels-based NGOs. The Fellows will also have space for individual advocacy and networking activities.
Training at the Global Campus of Human Rights in Venice combines academic teaching on international human rights law, instruments and mechanisms, with case studies, and provides practical tools for improving the work of human rights defenders to effect change on the ground. Lecturers include prominent academics, representatives of leading human rights NGOs, Sakharov Prize laureates and other outstanding human rights practitioners.
The programme will be organised in person in Brussels and Venice.
Candidates should have a proven record in campaigning for human rights in an NGO or other organisation or in an individual capacity. They must have a high level of English, sufficient to follow and contribute to discussion groups and workshops in Brussels and Venice.
The Fellowship covers return travel from the country of origin, accommodation in Brussels and Venice and a daily living allowance.
The Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize, sponsored by the European Commission (EU), is inviting applications that recognise excellence in writing, radio, and broadcast journalism on the theme of development, democracy, and human rights around the world. Sewe: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/D49ECF35-4B42-444D-B4FA-F7ACE2BF65BC
This year’s contest is focused on related issues of gender equality, human development, climate, environment and energy, digital and infrastructure, sustainable growth and jobs, youth, migration and forced displacement, peace, and governance.
The application encouraged journalists committed to defending democracy and human rights can enter a competition.
The contest has four award categories: Best Emerging Journalist, Investigative Journalism, Feature Journalism, and Special Photojournalism.
Works must have been published or broadcast between May 30, 2023, and May 24, 2024.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 