Human Rights Defenders & Closing Civic Space
Protecting human rights defenders (HRDs) and defending against threats to civic space are fundamental to advancing human rights. In this area, we bring funders together to better support movements and activists in highly restricted contexts, from closing civic space to acute crisis.
Our approach combines future-looking analysis, crisis preparedness, and cross-sectoral collaboration to address the intersectional impacts of crisis and closing civic space. Through research and analysis, focused learning journeys, and our Community of Practice, we seek to build a more resilient approach to funding. Partners in this work include Funders Initiative for Civil Society (FICS), Peace and Security Funders Group (PSFG), Ariadne (European Funders for Social Change and Human Rights), and HRFN members.
Reports, Publications, & Stories
- Chronicles of Crises Foretold: How Funders Can Prepare, Respond and Build Resilience in Human Rights Crises (Kellea Miller, HRFN)
- Freedom in the World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule (Sarah Repucci and Amy Slipowitz, Freedom House)
- Rethinking civic space in an age of intersectional crises: a briefing for funders (Funders' Initiative for Civil Society)
- Funding for Ukraine: An Incomplete Response (Rachel Thomas, HRFN)
- Before disaster strikes, harness the calm – How the philanthropic sector can prepare for crises (Kellea Miller, HRFN)
- Turning crisis into long-term action: Seeding a Collaborative Fund for Central and Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central and North Asia (CEECCNA) Region (Nino Ugrekhelidze and Angelika Arutyunova, Collaborative CEECCNA Regional Fund Co-Founders)
- Reflections on Discovery Journey on Crisis Preparedness for All Funders (Soheila Comninos and Kristy Delgado, Open Society Foundations, and Cath Thompson, Peace and Security Funders Group)
- Advancing Human Rights: Foundation Funding for Human Rights Defenders (HRFN)