Ukraine: MFRR partners reiterate call for safety and support of media 6 months after invasion - Article

Today, 24 August, marks both the Ukrainian day of Independence and six months since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. On this occasion, the partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response reiterate our continued solidarity with the journalists and media workers who risk their lives and safety to bring the world independent, balanced, and accurate information from the frontlines

Turkey: MFRR calls for swift and thorough investigation into murder of Güngör Arslan - Article

The partners in the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) strongly condemn the murder of Güngör Arslan, the owner and managing editor of the local Ses Kocaeli newspaper in Turkey

Poland: Journalists must be allowed access to Belarus border - Article

Since early September, access to the border with Belarus is denied to journalists. MFRR partners urge the Polish authorities to immediately allow journalists to re-enter the border zone, stressing the fact that the free and uninterrupted flow of information at the border is vital

The Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Selected OSCE Participating States - Reports

The report provides an analysis of findings of ODIHR's assessment visits to the Czech Republic, Georgia, Italy, Mongolia and Montenegro, undertaken as part of the first country-specific assessment cycle focused on human rights defenders

Shelter City - Support Centres

Shelter City is a nationwide initiative of Justice and Peace Netherlands to protect human rights defenders, in cooperation with a growing number of Dutch cities and local organizations.

Human rights defenders defend the rights of themselves and of others. Through their work they play an important role in the promotion of democratic values, political freedoms, and civil rights. This is a challenging and dangerous fight: they are often silenced, threatened, arrested, tortured and sometimes they disappear.

Justice and Peace established Shelter City in 2012 on the request of their network of international human rights defenders. After the first Shelter City in The Hague, Middelburg joined in 2014, followed by Nijmegen, Maastricht, Utrecht, and Amsterdam in 2015, Tilburg and Groningen in 2016 and Zwolle and Haarlem in 2017. In 2018 Deventer also joined the Shelter City network. Rotterdam followed in 2020. Tbilisi & Batumi (Georgia), Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania), Cotonou (Benin) and San José (Costa Rica) have joined the network as International Shelter City Hubs. The expectation is that other cities (in or outside the Netherlands) will join in the future as well. The growing number of applications from Human Rights Defenders under threat shows that new Shelter Cities are strongly needed.

In every Shelter City the municipality, local organizations, universities, and Justice and Peace provide the shelter and take care of the program for the human rights defender. Together with the human rights defenders they organize meetings and workshops that contribute to the raising of awareness about human rights issues among the inhabitants of the Shelter Cities.

Shelter City is affiliated with the EU Human Rights Defenders Relocation Platform

What do fundamental rights mean for people in the EU? - Fundamental Rights Survey - Reports

FRA’s Fundamental Rights Survey collected data from 35,000 people about their experiences, perceptions and opinions on a range of issues that are variously encompassed by human rights

Freedom in the World 2020 - A Leaderless Struggle for Democracy - Reports

2019 was the 14th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. Some highlights from Freedom House's annual report on political rights and civil liberties

Human Rights Defenders in the Western Balkans. Intimidation instead of Recognition - Reports

This landmark report by Civil Rights Defenders explores how human rights defenders face intimidation instead of recognition in the six Western Balkan states

EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World 2018 - Reports

The EU engaged in activities across the globe in line with the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2015-2019). Focusing on a number of thematic issues, this report provides a snapshot of this commitment

M.L. AND W.W. v. Germany: Recent Developments in Judicial Balancing of Privacy and Free Speech Online - Legal Resources

Recently, ECPMF reported on a ECtHR case concerning the “right to be forgotten” vis-à-vis two convicted criminals. A more in-depth analysis of this case follows, including a look into the question of judicial balancing online