Have you ever wondered what personal challenges human rights defenders face as a result of their work?

Have you ever thought about what impact their fight might have on their families and their life?

Human rights defenders and leaders of civil society are important to our daily lives - they help make our governments more transparent, our environments cleaner and safer, our schools and workplaces fairer, and our futures more sustainable.

Yet we see governments increasingly afraid of constructive criticism, afraid of voices that question their authority. And that fear causes them to crackdown on civic space and engage in - or allow - the intimidation, harassment, and violence against human rights defenders.

What we don't see is how this can affect the families of those individuals, who may be caught in the crosshairs.

It was only in 2015 that the UN passed a resolution on human rights defenders that recognised the role their families play, and the need for governments to protect them.

At ISHR, we are committed to contributing to a movement that sees human rights defenders in all their roles - lawyers, journalists, trade unionists and organisers, but also daughters, wives, parents and loved ones.

Watch our latest video about “Human rights defenders & their families” to learn more, and share if you care!

Human rights defenders featured in the video:

Mohamed Zaree is an Egyptian lawyer who works with the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. He currently faces criminal charges and a travel ban in association with his work to promote and protect the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and to uphold the rule of law. Mohamed Zaree is the 2017 Laureate of the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. More information: [ Ссылка ]

Doaa Hassan is criminal justice programme director at the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Justice. More information: [ Ссылка ]

Nyima Lhamo is a niece of Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, who was tortured for 11 years and then found dead in a Chinese prison. More information: [ Ссылка ]

Maryam al-Khawaja is Special Advisor to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and former Acting President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. She is a leading human rights defender and activist and was tried and sentenced to prison in absentia in Bahrain on 1 December 2014 in connection with her exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. She is Vice Chair of the Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, and Board member of ISHR. More information: [ Ссылка ]

Bertita Caceres is a daughter of environmental activist Berta Caceres, who was murdered on 3 March 2016 in her home. Berta was the leader of the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organisations of Honduras. Her murder followed years of death threats and harassment for her work on the rights of the Lenca indigenous peoples and against the construction of a hydroelectric project, Agua Zarca, by the Honduran company Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. More information: [ Ссылка ]

Help us amplify the voices of the families of defenders, and make sure that they and their loved ones can have the future they hoped for all of us. Share if you care!

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