On the eve of Human Rights Day (on December 10) EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica, announced the first ever EU comprehensive Human Rights Defenders Mechanism.
The initiative is set to become one of the European Union’s key tools to assist human rights defenders at high risk, including in remote areas. Commissioner Mimica said: “Human rights are at the core of EU’s values. Therefore, it is only logical that those who risk their lives to defend them must be able to count on us for support. Thanks to this first-of-its-kind mechanism, we will provide them with essential help, from urgent relocation to legal advice“.
The mechanism will have a budget of €15 million from EU funds until 2018. This funding is in addition to the continuous support to Human Rights Defenders already provided by the EU, including under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human rights (EIDHR). Since 2007, the EIDHR has allocated €200 million to Human Rights Defenders worldwide.
