Front Line Defenders, or The International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, is an Irish-based
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
organisation founded in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in 2001 to protect those who work non-violently to uphold the human rights of others as outlined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal D ...
.
History
The organisation was founded by
Mary Lawlor, former director of the Irish Section of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
with a US$3 million donation from businessman and philanthropist
Denis O'Brien
Denis O'Brien (born 19 April 1958) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and owner of Digicel. He was listed among the World's Top 200 Billionaires in 2015 and was Ireland's richest native-born citizen for several years. His bus ...
. Front Line Defenders has Special Consultative Status with the
United Nations Economic and Social Council
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization, specifically in regards to the fifteen specialized ...
, and has Observer Status with the
African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) is a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples') rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Char ...
.
In 2006 Front Line Defenders established a
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
office in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
.
Front Line Defenders received the
King Baudouin International Development Prize in 2007 and the
United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights
The United Nations Prizes in the Field of Human Rights were instituted by United Nations General Assembly in 1966. They are intended to "honour and commend people and organizations which have made an outstanding contribution to the promotion and pr ...
in 2018. On 3 July 2014, Lawlor was presented with the Order of Chevalier of the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...
by French Ambassador to Ireland, Mr Jean-Pierre Thebault, on behalf of the French government.
Front Line Defenders' overall goal is to enable human rights defenders, as key agents of social change, to continue their work without the risk of harassment, intimidation or arrest.
Notable work
In October 2021, Front Line Defenders found evidence that various Palestinian citizens belonging to human rights groups which had been outlawed by Israel, had been targeted by spyware made by the Israeli technology company,
NSO Group
NSO Group Technologies (NSO standing for Niv, Shalev and Omri, the names of the company's founders) is an Israeli cyber-intelligence firm primarily known for its proprietary spyware Pegasus, which is capable of remote zero-click surveillance ...
.
Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk
In 2005 this award was established, which according to the organisations website is awarded to a human rights defender "who through non-violent work, is courageously making an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others, often at great personal risk to themselves". The award brings international attention to its recipient's cause, and a cash prize.
The recipients of this award since its inception are as follows:
[ Front Line Defenders.]
*2005 –
Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, Sudan
*2006 –
Ahmadjan Madmarov, Uzbekistan
*2007 –
Gégé Katana, Democratic Republic of Congo
*2008 –
Anwar al-Bunni, Syria
*2009 –
Yuri Melini Yuri may refer to:
People
Given name
*Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc.
*Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...
, Guatemala
*2010 –
Soraya Rahim Sobhrang, Afghanistan
*2011 –
Joint Mobile Group, Russian Federation
*2012 –
Razan Ghazzawi, Syria
*2013 –
Biram Dah Abeid, Mauritania
*2014 – SAWERA –
Society for Appraisal and Women Empowerment in Rural Areas, Pakistan
*2015 –
Guo Feixiong, pen name for
Yang Maodong, China
[Thoolen, Hans (12 September 2015)]
2015 Front Line Defenders Award to Chinese Guo Feixiong (Yang Maodong)
''Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders''. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
*2016 –
Ana Mirian Romero, Honduras
*2017 –
Emil Kurbedinov,
Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
*2018 –
Nurcan Baysal,
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
*2019 – Ibu Shinta Ratri,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
[2019. Shinta Ratri strives to give trans children a better future. Jakarta Post.]
*2020 – Africa: Mekfoula Mint Brahim, Mauritania; Americas: Guardia Indígena del Cauca, Colombia; Asia: Juwairiya Mohideen, Sri Lanka; Europe & Central Asia: Lara Aharonian, Armenia; Middle East & North Africa: Fatima Al-Bahadly, Iraq
*2021 – Africa: Aminata Fabba, Sierra Leone; Americas: Camila Moradia, Brazil; Asia: Mother Nature Cambodia, Cambodia; Europe & Central Asia 1: Siarhei Drazdouski & Aleh Hrableuski, Belarus; Europe & Central Asia 2: Mamadou Ba, Portugal; Middle East & North Africa: Sami & Sameeha Huraini, Palestine
*2022 – Liah Ghazanfar Jawad, Afghanistan;
Ameira Osman Hamid, Sudan; Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), Zimbabwe; Javier del Tránsito and María del Tránsito Salvatierra, Mexico;
Volha Harbunova, Belarus
See also
*
List of human rights organisations
References
External links
*
International Human Rights Funders Group
{{Authority control
Human rights organisations based in Ireland
Imprisonment and detention
Organizations established in 2001
International human rights organizations