Front Line Defenders

Description

Front Line Defenders is an international human rights organisation, founded in Dublin in 2001 to protect human rights defenders at risk. It works worldwide to improve the security and protection of at-risk defenders and organisations, responding to needs the defenders themselves identify. It does this through grants, capacity building, visibility support, networking and advocacy at international, regional and local levels.

Its support includes international advocacy and emergency assistance for defenders in immediate danger, and grants for security needs such as temporary relocation. It also provides capacity-building resources on holistic and digital security, plus a wellbeing programme called Rest and Respite.

It offers media outreach and campaign support, including the Front Line Defenders Award, and a biennial exchange called the Dublin Platform. It runs a 24-hour emergency phone line in Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish, and maintains headquarters in Dublin, an EU office in Brussels, and field staff across the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and the Middle East.

It holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, partnership status with the Council of Europe, and Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It is a member of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, ESCR-Net, the Human Rights Funders Network, and the Journalists in Distress Network. Front Line Defenders received the United Nations Human Rights Prize in 2018 and the King Baudouin International Development Prize in 2007. It is registered in Ireland as a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity.