As global challenges intensify and civic space continues to shrink, HRDs remain on the front line, supporting victims, exposing abuses, and holding power to account. Their work is essential for protecting the rights enshrined in international treaties and for advancing sustainable development. Yet across regions, HRDs continue to face increasing threats, reprisals, and restrictions that undermine their ability to operate safely and effectively.
In 2024, ProtectDefenders.eu published The Landscape of Public International Funding for Human Rights Defenders, a first-of-its-kind analysis of Official Development Assistance (ODA) directed toward HRDs from 2017 to 2020. The findings were clear: despite rising needs, support remained limited and largely stagnant.
We are now preparing to release an updated study, presenting the most recent available data on public funding for HRDs from 2021 to 2023, along with insights into what the coming years may hold.
The upcoming report highlights both progress and persistent gaps. While public donors contributed USD 612 million to HRDs over the last three years, an annual increase compared to 2017–2020, this growth has not kept pace with wider ODA trends. Funding for HRDs now represents just 0.10% of total ODA, and at this rate, meaningful expansion in resources risks being decades away.
The analysis also explores how funding reaches HRDs, revealing that international NGOs continue to serve as the main channel of support, while local organisations receive a smaller share directly. Regional patterns show notable declines in support for both the MENA and Asia regions, while issue-based funding continues to prioritise women’s rights, freedom of expression and association, environmental and land rights, and LGBTIQ+ rights. Protection remains a key donor focus—particularly through temporary relocation programmes.
This forthcoming publication offers a critical, data-driven look at how public institutions are supporting (or failing to support) those who defend our fundamental freedoms.
Stay tuned, our full report will be released soon.
