HARARE, December 13, 2021 – The President of the United States announced on November 29th his administration’s revitalized and more robust public-facing guidance on U.S. government policy on human rights defenders, which will be supplemented by similar internal guidance. The announcement comes with a guidelines paper that human rights defenders — of all genders and identities in all their diversity – can refer to as they play a critical role to expand civic space and strengthen democracy and justice for all in their countries. The guidelines for Civil Rights Defenders can be found on the State Department website and downloaded here.
Additional Resources:
General and Emergency Assistance
- Fact Sheet: Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the United States
- Fact Sheet: Advancing Human Rights: Best Practices and Opportunities to Partner with U.S. Embassies
- U.S. Agency for International Development: Supporting Vibrant Civil Society and Independent Media
- Lifeline: Embattled civil society organizations (CSOs) Assistance Fund
- Global Equality Fund: Global Equality Fund: Emergency Assistance for Human Rights Defenders supporting LGBTQI+ Organizations
- Freedom House: Emergency Assistance and Thematic Programs
- Fact Sheet: U.S. Support for Democracy, Good Governance, and Human Rights in the Global Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Digital Defenders Partnership: Support for digital threats and local response networks
Business and Human Rights
- Business and Human Rights: S. Government Approach to Advance Business and Human Rights
- Fact Sheet: Responsible Business Conduct
- OECD: Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (OECD Guidelines)
- UN: Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)
- Voluntary Principles Initiative: On Security and Human Rights