VISION: Front Line’s vision is of a world where Human Rights Defenders contribute to ensuring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reality for all.

MISSION: The mission of Front Line is to protect, defend, support, and act for Human Rights Defenders whose lives and/or physical and mental health is at risk, either temporarily or permanently, because of their activities.

Several thousand years ago Sun Tzu set down a concept which has been repeated in the handbooks of oppressors right up to the present day:

'Kill one, terrify a thousand.'

Front Line seeks to do the opposite.

'Protect one, empower a thousand.'

Human rights defenders are often the key agents of change within society. They are at risk because they touch on powerful interests when they promote social justice and human rights for all. The repression against them is a measure of their potential effectiveness. Protecting human rights defenders and expanding the space for civil society to work in is a crucial element in any strategy which seeks to promote peace, development or human rights.

Challenges

a) increased repression of human rights defenders in the context of the “war on terror” including increased legal restrictions, registration etc as well as attacks on foreign funding and international links;
b) reduced moral credibility of Governments advocating for human rights protection as a result of the “war on terror”;
c) increased use of spurious prosecutions of HRD on non-human rights/political charges;
d) UN reform in balance in terms of HRD protection;
e) Human rights defenders still a relatively new concept;
f) Atlantic Philanthropies core funding coming to end in 2007;
g) the more effective HRD are in their work the more they are subject to repression;
h) HRD are at risk from corrupt and power hungry governments and also non state actors;

Strategic Objectives

1. Provide rapid, practical and effective support to human rights defenders at risk:

1.1 Provide fast, flexible and effective 24 hour emergency response that contributes to the protection of HRD at immediate risk.

1.2 Provide practical support that contributes to strengthening HRD capacities to manage security.

1.3 Support networking and exchange between HRD on the subject of security and protection.

2. Strengthen international protection of human rights defenders at risk:

2.1 Support the strengthening of international mechanisms for the protection of HRD.

2.2 Promote and help shape the development of an understanding of the vital importance of the protection of HRD for the broader objectives of human rights, development and peace.

3. Further develop Front Line as an effective and sustainable organization that retains agility and innovation in responding to the needs expressed by HRD.

Crosscutting themes

Ensure Front Line is driven by the needs expressed by human rights defenders themselves.

Ensure that Front Line responds and is present in a real way when HRD are most at risk.

Ensure Front Line works equally for men and women human rights defenders, seeks to address the specific challenges faced by women human rights defenders because of their gender, and gives particular attention to threats faced by human rights defenders working for economic, social and cultural rights, for sexual identity rights and for indigenous peoples rights.

Develop Front Line as an Irish based international organization which reflects its internationalism in the geographic reach of our activities, the diversity of our staff and our commitment to multi-lingualism.

Front Line will continue to play a facilitating/catalytic role in bringing together human rights defenders, decision makers and those with specific areas of expertise to promote innovative approaches to strengthening protection.

Measures of success

The negative political context in which we are working makes efforts to protect human rights defenders more urgent but offers slim prospects that they will be less at risk in four years time. Front Line will be effective if:

• the human rights defenders Front Line works with have a greater capacity to manage the risks that they face;
  

• international mechanisms to protect human rights defenders are more effective;
  

• there is a measurable positive improvement in at least 50% of the cases of human rights defenders at risk that Front Line takes up.