Over 10,000 human rights defenders received protection through the EU mechanism in 2025

Over 10,000 human rights defenders from more than 90 countries received support through ProtectDefenders.eu in 2025, in a year when requests for protection increased significantly amid intensified repression and shrinking civic space in numerous states. The program, financially supported by the European Union, assisted 10,184 individuals throughout the year, equivalent to an average of 849 beneficiaries per month, with 80% of the support directed towards individuals operating in high-risk or repressive contexts.

In short, ProtectDefenders.eu supported 10,184 human rights defenders in over 90 countries in 2025, averaging 849 individuals per month. 80% of the support was directed towards individuals operating in high-risk or repressive environments, and 90% of beneficiaries reported improvements in security, work capacity, or the ability to continue their activities. Approximately half of the supported individuals are women or individuals with diverse gender identities, who often face both general threats and specific forms of violence, harassment, and gender-based smear campaigns. Since 2015, the mechanism has assisted approximately 95,000 human rights defenders in danger and their family members. The EU funds ProtectDefenders.eu with a package of 45 million euros for the period 2021–2027, while a separate emergency fund supported another 85 individuals and organizations, as well as 19 family members in 2025.

ProtectDefenders.eu is the main mechanism through which the European Union provides direct support to human rights defenders in danger outside of diplomatic and political interventions. The EU's annual report for 2025 shows that requests for protection have increased significantly, in a context where civic organizations and activists face legislative restrictions, threats, harassment, and detentions in an increasing number of states.

The program can provide direct financial support, temporary relocation, training, capacity building for organizations, and advocacy assistance at local, regional, and international levels. Since 2015, approximately 95,000 human rights defenders in danger and their family members have benefited from one or more of these forms of support.

The geographical distribution shows that most of the individuals assisted since the launch of the mechanism are located in Latin America and the Caribbean, which represent 29% of the total. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 24%, the Middle East and North Africa 18%, Asia-Pacific 17%, and Europe and Central Asia 11%.

In 2025, the intensity of interventions increased. The 10,184 supported individuals came from over 90 countries, and eight out of ten operated in contexts considered high-risk or repressive. According to program data, 90% of beneficiaries reported an improvement in security, work capacity, or the ability to continue their activities.

A significant portion of the support is aimed at women who defend human rights and individuals with diverse gender identities, who represent approximately half of the program's beneficiaries. The report highlights that women often face a combination of threats related to their activities and specific forms of violence or discrimination, including sexualized violence, harassment, and smear campaigns.

Pressures on human rights defenders occur in a broader context of shrinking civic space. The EEAS report finds that in 2025, civil society organizations faced restrictive legislation, funding difficulties, intimidation, and attacks, and in the most repressive environments, there were even cases of arbitrary detention and killings. Unprecedented cuts in public funding for civil society have forced some organizations to reduce activities or close offices.

The EU also uses diplomatic tools to protect individuals in danger. EU delegations and member state embassies meet with human rights defenders, monitor trials when they have access, and visit individuals in detention, while individual cases are raised in dialogues with national authorities and in international forums.

In 2025, the EU intensified its activities against transnational repression, through which authorities attempt to intimidate, surveil, or coerce opponents and activists located in other states. The EEAS also mentions the abusive use of INTERPOL notifications, restrictions on consular services, and pressures on human rights defenders in the diaspora as practices that the Union has focused its attention on.

The training of European diplomats has been expanded to respond to these situations. The EEAS and Commission services organized sessions on monitoring trials of human rights defenders, facilitating visas for those in danger, and identifying forms of transnational repression, together with civil society experts and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Office.

ProtectDefenders.eu has a total budget of 45 million euros for the period 2021–2027 through the NDICI–Global Europe program for human rights and democracy. The program is not the only financial instrument used by the EU in this area, being complemented by an emergency fund managed directly by the Union and by projects funded in specific countries.

The EU's emergency fund for human rights defenders in danger supported another 85 individuals and organizations in 2025, as well as 19 family members. Grants can cover temporary relocation, living expenses, medical and legal assistance, security measures, including digital security, equipment, and training.

In the same year, the EU launched eight new national projects primarily dedicated to human rights defenders, including in Côte d'Ivoire, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, and Venezuela. Other programs for independent media, freedom of association and assembly, or protection of LGBTI individuals also include components to support activists.

Another European mechanism, the EU System for the Enabling Environment, produced 98 reports in 2025 on the conditions under which civil society operates, and its monitoring network issued 462 alerts in 63 countries. The program intervened in 26 states to respond to risks regarding civic space and the activities of civil society organizations.

Support is not evenly distributed among different categories of activists. In the field of LGBTI rights, ProtectDefenders.eu supported at least 807 individual defenders and 15 organizations in 2025, and since the launch of the mechanism, at least 15,000 activists and 373 organizations in this field have received direct assistance. The EU has separately funded projects worth nearly 15 million euros to protect and promote the rights of LGBTI individuals worldwide.

ProtectDefenders.eu has been operating since 2015 as a European protection mechanism for threatened human rights defenders worldwide. Support is provided both to individuals and to organizations and families of individuals in danger and can combine emergency interventions with measures aimed at continuing activities in the longer term.

The increase in requests in 2025 occurred at a time when the EU's annual report notes a shrinking civic space and greater pressure on activists in numerous states. The more than 10,000 individuals supported in a single year thus represent one of the largest measurable dimensions of the EU's external intervention for the individual protection of human rights defenders.