International Human Rights
Programme
Protecting and promoting the human rights of all people
Overview
Since 1948 the international community has developed an extensive body of laws and principles to protect human rights. The laws provide all of us with the tools to live full lives with access to justice. Unfortunately, there remains a gulf between human rights rhetoric and the lived experience of many people. We support efforts that seek to close that gap. We provide core, project, and seed funding in multi-year grants to organisations that work on five key funding priorities.
Where we fund
We work internationally at the global, regional, and national levels. We remain committed to the EU, USA, UK, Brazil, and various geographies in the global East. There is limited capacity to expand our geographic coverage. Exceptionally, we work with intermediary organisations in those geographies where there is potential to advance specific lines of work.
What we fund
We support efforts that help victims of serious human rights violations get the truth, justice, and reparations they deserve. Sometimes, these efforts face challenges like not having enough evidence, legal support, or political will. This is why we support initiatives that build the case for putting the issue of international crimes to the forefront of public and political discussions, engage in research and evidence collection for prosecution, and assist in holding perpetrators accountable.
We support efforts that promote the use of detention only as a last resort, ensuring it is a necessary and proportionate response to concerns of public order and/or flight risk, as stated by international law. We support initiatives that ensure independent oversight of detention regimes, promote alternatives to detention, and uphold detainees’ due process rights. Additionally, we support the development and implementation of technologies that protect individuals, uphold the prohibition of torture, and ensure that victims have access to justice.
We support efforts that promote justice, safety, and full dignity for everyone. Many people face prosecution, persecution, and violence based on their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. This is why we support initiatives that work to end the criminalisation, hate, and violence that many Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTQI) people experience.
We support efforts that ensure everyone has access to reliable, trustworthy, and accurate information. With the rise of information technology, it is crucial to focus on positive developments that enhance the quality of news and information. This is why we support initiatives that build an evidence base demonstrating the benefits of accurate information, and support independent public interest journalism and media pluralism. Additionally, we support efforts that secure an open, transparent, and accountable digital information sphere, especially in environments where citizens have limited access to objective factual reporting.
We support efforts that protect human rights defenders who stand up for rights and hold power to account, whether they are community leaders, journalists, lawyers, students, trade union officials, artists, or peaceful demonstrators. They all deserve protection. This is why we support initiatives that provide emergency support to defenders at risk, create an enabling environment for human rights defenders by equipping them with necessary skills and technology, and build a resilient human rights movement supported by a broad public and diverse revenue streams.
Discover our partner stories
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Watch our latest videos
Around the world, immigration detention is increasingly imposed, not as a ‘last resort’, as required in international law, but as a routine tool of migration management. The collective efforts of our partners successfully garnered cross-party support for an amendment to the Immigration and Social Security Coordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill, which set out a 28-day time limit to immigration detention. Our partners remain committed to seeking ways to implement the amendment’s measures in the new parliament, and to securing a strict time limit to detention with robust judicial oversights.
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