About

What is SOS-Defenders?

SOS-Defenders is a platform collecting cases of human rights defenders (HRDs) arbitrarily detained worldwide and coordinating joint action among civil society organisations and other partners for their liberation. Together, we work to reaffirm the right to defend human rights

Who are human rights defenders?

As defined by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, a HRD is “A person who, individually or with others, acts peacefully to promote or protect human rights in accordance with the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.”

What are the eligibility criteria to be featured on SOS-Defenders?

SOS-Defenders adopts the following eligibility criteria:

  1. The person has acted to promote and/or protect human rights as guaranteed by international instruments
  2. The person has acted peacefully
  3. The person has acted to promote and/or protect not only their own rights but also the rights of other people
  4. The person recognises the universality of human rights
  5. The person is victim of arbitrary detention in retaliation for their human rights action

Which human rights defenders are featured on the SOS-Defenders Platform?

SOS-Defenders features HRDs who are arbitrarily detained in retaliation for their legitimate activities in defence of human rights

When is detention arbitrary?

As explained by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), “'Arbitrariness' is not to be equated with 'against the law', but must be interpreted more broadly to include elements of inappropriateness, injustice, lack of predictability and due process of law.”

What is censorship by detention?

Censorship by detention is a strategy adopted by repressive governments worldwide to silence dissent and obstruct human rights work through the use of arbitrary detention

Who is involved in SOS-Defenders?

SOS-Defenders is a collective mobilisation of HRD-protection organisations from all parts of the world under the auspices of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT-FIDH). See below for the full list of partners

How is information collected and verified?

Information is collected by all participants in the initiative through desk-based research, interviews with relevant stakeholders and visits to places of detention. All partners strive to verify information at the closest possible level to the HRD concerned and assess the fulfilment of the eligibility criteria listed above

How often is SOS-Defenders updated?

The platform is updated at least quarterly and at shorter intervals on an as needed basis.
SOS-Defenders is currently being road-tested in pilot countries. Additional countries and cases will be uploaded in the coming months.

Become a member

Join a global community working together to counter censorship by detention.

cases

Explore all cases collected by SOS-Defenders.