One does not hear much about what Australia does for Human Rights Defenders, so it is a pleasure to see the 6 January announcement by Hassan Shire, executive director of the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP).
Human rights defenders in Uganda and South Sudan are to benefit from Australia’s Human Rights Grants Scheme. The grant will allow EHAHRDP and its joint project with Protection International, Protection Desk Uganda, to deliver programs to improve security management among human rights defenders, strategies for coping with stress and trauma, and engagement with international and regional human rights mechanisms. “South Sudan is facing complex challenges in these early stages of independence,” Hassan Shire. “A strong human rights movement is needed for the entrenchment of a human rights culture in this new nation,”
In Uganda the grant will allow to share tools on security management with Ugandan human rights defenders and provide technical support that will enable them to assess risks emanating from their human rights work and develop tailor-made response strategies that mitigate risks and allow for a continuation of their work.
For more information, please contact: Hassan Shire, Executive Director, EHAHRDP at hshire@yorku.ca or +256-772753753
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 