..night of celebrations with friends from all nationalities on the occation of #KingsDay2025 and the 58th birthday of His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, hosted by Ambassador Frederieke Quispel and her team at the residence Embassy of the Netherlands in Uganda DefendDefenders, we are grateful for our

Today, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and best wishes for health and happiness to Their Majesties King Willem-Alexander, Sovereign of the Netherlands, and Queen Máxima on the occasion of the Dutch national unity celebrations and King’s Day. Our core mission and that of

Last night, our Executive Director, Hassan Shire, joined the #EuropeDay2025 celebrations in Kampala, marking 75 years of peace, integration, and shared values since the Schuman Declaration laid the foundation for the European Union. The evening provided a moment of reflection on

🎉 Defenders Coalition Somalia is now on X!🎉 We're excited to share our journey and connect with human rights defenders across Somalia and Somaliland. Follow us to stay connected and informed! #HRDs #Somalia #Somaliland

Congratulations to Aloikin Praise Opoloje , the recipient of the 2025 EU Human Rights Defenders’ Award, in recognition of her courageous efforts in advocating for accountability and justice in Uganda. We also extend our heartfelt congratulations to her fellow nominees, Hussein Kato Muyinda and

Our 5th Interactive Dialogue on Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) in Exile is currently underway. This year’s dialogue holds special significance as we commemorate 20 years of promoting, protecting, and amplifying the voices of HRDs forced into exile. Despite facing significant

Our Executive Director, Hassan Shire, officially opened the dialogue this morning with a reflection on DefendDefenders’ journey—a journey built on goodwill. He took those in attendance back to our inaugural conference in October 2005, where among the over 40 attendees were

Honoured to represent Hassan Shire and DefendDefenders in Moroto. Productive exchange and discussions with PACER partners on strengthening collaboration and delivering lasting impact in #Karamoja Denmark in Uganda Embassy of the Netherlands in Uganda Embassy of Sweden in Kampala Ireland in Uganda

Meet our human rights defender of the month, featured in our April newsletter: Dr. Zahara Nampewo. Dr. Zahara Nampewo is a prominent Ugandan human rights lawyer, academic, and gender justice advocate with over two decades of experience in legal education, public interest

Our Leadership Summit officially began with powerful opening remarks from key dignitaries Prof. Adriano Nuvunga Hassan Shire, H.E. Satu Lassila Ambassador of Finland to Mozambique, and Dr. Mateus Saize, Minister of Justice, Constitutional and Religious Affairs. #ADLeadershipSummit

Earlier today, our management team led by our Director of Programs and Administration, Memory Bandera held our annual partnership meeting with Hildigunnur Einars, Head of Mission of Iceland in Uganda , and Sveinn Gudmarsson , Head of Cooperation and Deputy Head of Mission for

We join the world in commemorating World Refugee Day and echo the global call for solidarity with refugees, honouring a powerful yet often overlooked group: human rights defenders forced into exile for standing up against injustice. We stand with them, not in pity, but in power.

It was an honour to host Her Excellency Fardowsa Mohamed Qanyare, the Somali Ambassador to Uganda, this morning at the invitation of our Executive Director, Hassan Shire. The visit, which followed Somalia’s 65th Independence Day celebrations earlier this week, was an opportunity

Pacifique Nininahazwe, Founder of Forum pour la Conscience et le Développement (FOCODE), reflects on our shared journey and the work describing it as a professional standard that naturally draws people in, building trust and making everyone, regardless of their cultural

🔊 We welcome the extension of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on #Eritrea, today at UN Human Rights Council 📌 #HRC59's #HRC59. Our press release: defenddefenders.org/eritrea-mandat… 🇪🇷🇺🇳

Our Executive Director, Hassan Shire, opened the retreat with reflections on the state of civic space across the African continent, highlighting how the past six months have seen the human rights protection ecosystem shift in response to a changing world order. "Much of Africa

We’re proud to share our 2024 Annual Report: Bridging the Gap – Enhanced Resilience and Safety of Human Rights Defenders. In a year marked by shrinking civic space and rising threats, we stood firm in our commitment to protect, equip, and advocate for HRDs across Africa. In

Our Board Secretary, David Kaggwa, reflects on DefendDefenders’ 20 year journey in this video, sharing how he first met our Executive Director, Hassan Shire, in July 2005. At the time, Kaggwa & Kaggwa Advocates represented several international organisations, including Amnesty

Today, in a strategic collaboration aimed at reinforcing the protection of human rights defenders, Mr. Hassan Shire, Chairperson of AfricanDefenders, handed over essential equipment to the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) to strengthen its operational capacity. This

This is how our journey began. Our Executive Director, Hassan Shire , envisioned a continent where human rights defenders (HRDs) are safe and better equipped to defend the rights of the marginalised. Two decades later, that vision has grown. We’ve protected thousands of HRDs,