On Human Rights Day, HURIDOCS will host a webinar to showcase the critical role of documentation and technology in protecting defenders, advocating for the rights of those who are wrongfully detained and supporting those who are detained to claim their rights.
Around the world, human rights defenders persist in their work despite shrinking civic spaces and relentless attacks. HURIDOCS stands in solidarity with these defenders, especially those at risk or unjustly detained for their pursuit of justice. The price they pay remains steep and deeply unconscionable.
Join HURIDOCS on 10 December 2024 for this webinar that will feature four initiatives that recently collaborated with HURIDOCS to safeguard those who champion human rights:
- Observatory for Human Rights Defenders in Chiapas
- SOS-Defenders
- Detention Landscapes
- Papuans Behind Bars
Event details
Date: Tuesday, 10 December 2024
Time: 15:30 – 17:00 CET
Register on Zoom
Moderated by Matel Sow, Director of Programmes at HURIDOCS, the discussion will explore the strategies and tools these initiatives use to spotlight arbitrary detention and oppression while mobilising support for systemic change.
Featured projects
Observatory for Human Rights Defenders in Chiapas
A community-led state-wide coalition
The southern Mexican state of Chiapas is marked by poverty, social inequality, conflict, militarisation and violence. Despite these challenges, a strong social network of communities, human rights organisations and human rights and land defenders exists who resolutely continue their work of building strong, healthy, and secure communities.
This initiative is a community-led state-wide coalition that brings together more than 20 organisations and defenders to document and share information related to the growing security threats for human rights and land defenders in the region. The Observatory will be launched in 2025, and will equip Chiapas civil society with the necessary mechanisms to push back against the increasing pressures of the region.
SOS-Defenders
Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT-FIDH)
The soon to be launched SOS Defenders initiative supports human rights defenders worldwide who face arbitrary detention. This secure database and public microsite document cases of detained defenders and advocate for their release.
By leveraging technology-driven documentation, SOS Defenders amplifies advocacy efforts and gives voice to those persecuted for defending human rights. This initiative highlights the urgent need to protect those on the front lines of justice.
Detention Landscapes
Border Criminologies, Faculty of Law, Oxford University, Mobile Info Team and the Border Violence Monitoring Network
Detention has become a worrying fixture of asylum and removal procedures across Europe, subjecting individuals to reprehensible conditions and systematised violence that takes place within closed structures that are increasingly restricted from the public. This results in a vacuum whereby detainees find it virtually impossible to claim their rights. By pooling knowledge and making it freely available, this project documents the conditions and behaviour of law enforcement personnel inside detention centres, serving as an evidence base to support further research, legal action and advocate for justice and accountability.
Detention Landscapes is an ongoing collaborative project that seeks to develop and maintain an interactive, open access database of human rights violations inside immigration detention facilities, with an initial focus on Greece.
Papuans Behind Bars
TAPOL
In West Papua, the criminalisation of free expression and activism has led to a troubling surge in political arrests. Relaunched in 2024, Papuans Behind Bars is a vital online platform documenting political prisoners to ensure their stories are not forgotten.
Led by TAPOL in collaboration with a coalition of civil society groups, the initiative provides accurate, transparent data to fuel advocacy for justice and freedom. Published in English and Indonesian, it connects local struggles with global solidarity, sparking debate and action to defend human rights in West Papua.