Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen has signed a commitment to increase the funding for the protection of human rights: €30 million for the next 4 years and a half. This is a substantial increase, for the new phase of the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism, in the presence of civil society organisations and human rights defenders.

The EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism is a critical EU programme for supporting human rights defenders around the world, a key priority of the €1.5 billion Global Europe Human Rights and Democracy programme. The Mechanism is managed by ProtectDefenders.eu, a consortium of 12 human rights NGOs.

The additional funds will enable ProtectDefenders.eu to provide more at-risk human rights defenders with efficient, strategic and flexible support in the immediate-, medium- and long-term, including:

• Physical and digital protection, legal and medical support, trial and prison monitoring;
• Capacity development, advocacy, outreach, training on risk prevention and security, development of strategies (to counter restrictions, sanctions, defamation, or laws that seek to criminalise their work), situation monitoring and early warning;
• Temporary relocation schemes in the EU and at regional or local level;
• More focus on women, young, LGBTIQ and environmental rights defenders.

In its new phase, the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism will incorporate the EU Emergency Fund for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.  This EU Emergency Fund, which is managed by the Commission in close cooperation with the European External Action Service, provides emergency grants of up to €10,000 to human rights defenders and their families. Since 2014, the Emergency Fund has supported approximately 1,600 human rights defenders and their family members from about 100 countries.

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