In July 2020, Front Line Defenders launched Cypher (@cypher_comics on Instagram), a digital comics magazine that advances the organization’s storytelling and narrative framing work in collaboration with and in support of HRDs. Working with artists from around the world, including the award-winning visual storyteller, Beldan Sezen, as creative director, the ’zine is a monthly publication featuring stories of HRDs, their work and the challenges they face.
In 2019, Front Line Defenders traveled to Manipur, one of the states in the northeast region of India. The state is under the jurisdiction of the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act of 1958, which effectively enables the Indian Army to maintain an ongoing presence in all areas of the state and to place all civilians under an effective rule by martial law. Under this Act, thousands of Manipuri civilians have been detained, jailed, tortured and extra judiciously killed by the armed forces and associated paramilitary forces.
The EU Guidelines of Human Rights Defenders (2004) provide practical actions for EU staff in Brussels and in human rights defenders’ (HRDs) home countries to support and protect HRDs. While useful, the Guidelines do not contain recommendations or actions that consider the varied experiences of women human rights defenders (WHRDs) with regard to gender, sexuality, race, class, family life, etc.
Dispatches 2019 presents the work Front Line Defenders has undertaken around the world for the protection and security of human rights defenders at risk in 2019, including the impact of grants, training, advocacy, visibility, rest & respite and other programs. In 2019, Front Line Defenders hosted 114 HRDs at the biennial Dublin Platform; presented its annual Awards to 5 LGBTI+ rights defenders in honor of the 50th annivesary of the Stonewall Uprising; and provided 626 protection grants to HRDs around the world.
Human rights defenders at risk often find it difficult to talk about their mental and emotional wellbeing, even when they are concerned about it. Cultures of human rights practice tend to emphasise self-sacrifice, heroism, and martyrdom. These norms inhibit defenders from expressing their anxieties and seeking help.
Produced with the support of the European Union, designed for cartoonists and available on the Cartooning for Peace website, this document brings together advice and information that can guide those who face specific or persistent threats because of their profession. With tips, testimonies and useful links, it focuses as much on risk prevention as on the response to threats and attacks.
Human rights defenders at risk often find it difficult to talk about their mental and emotional wellbeing, even when they are concerned about it. Cultures of human rights practice tend to emphasise self-sacrifice, heroism, and martyrdom. These norms inhibit defenders from expressing their anxieties and seeking help.
