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Front Line Defenders

Website:

www.frontlinedefenders.org
Location:

Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland
Formation:

2001
Company No.:

593190
Registered Charity No.:

20204494

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Front Line Defenders is a nonprofit organization that works to protect and aid “human rights defenders at risk (HRDs),” a United Nations term for peace workers and activists who help refugees. The organization is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, has an office in Brussels, Belgium, and has field staff in the Americas, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere in Europe. 1

Front Line Defenders works to provide HRDs with grants for practical security needs, training and education materials, shelter, networking opportunities, legal assistance against governments, and an emergency 24-hour phone line in multiple languages. In special circumstances, the organization can help with the temporary relocation of HRDs. 2

Activity

Every four years, Front Line Defenders publishes its “strategic plan” for its next four-year period of operations. 3 The description to their 2019-2022 plan asserted that this period will “undoubtedly be more complex than the previous Strategic Plan period” because “Democratic values are under threat with authoritarianism, unaccountable governance, systemic corruption, and extremist politics all on the rise.”

#DefendersBeyondWalls

In 2019, Front Line Defenders launched an advocacy campaign with Programa de Asuntos Migratorios (PRAMI) de la Universidad Iberoamericana (UIA) and Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos Todos los Derechos Para Todos (RED TDT) to defend and celebrate individuals that had been arrested for smuggling and for facilitating mass migration to the United States, such as Irineo Mujica, Bartolo Fuentes, and Nicole Ramos. The campaign called “for an end to attacks on migrant rights defenders along all migrations routes to the United States (US).” 4

Front Line released an in-depth report, dated to September 2019, to go alongside the campaign based on research conducted by Front Line Defenders, Programa de Asuntos Migratorios (PRAMI) de la Universidad Iberoamericana-Ciudad de Mexico-Tijuana, and Red Nacional de Organismos Civiles de Derechos Humanos. In it, Front Line claimed that U.S. border authorities have been “intentionally forcing migrants fleeing violence and persecution to cross remote, dangerous desert terrain” by blocking their illegal entry near urban areas. 5

The report praises Al Orto Lado, an organization based in Tijuana, Mexico that provides legal services to migrants apprehended by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and celebrates Trans Queer Pueblo for its activism in advocating for “queer ICE detainees,” disrupting “corporate and police cooptation of Pride marches,” and operating “media collectives to decolonise stories of transgender people of colour.” 6

The “human rights defenders” (HRDs) that Front Line is primarily concerned with in the report are those who accompany migrants to the border and document the actions of border authorities, especially any incidents of violence, coercion, or denials of their ability to seek asylum. Front Line made note of the surge in numbers of migrants seeking entry at the southern border of the United States between February and May 2019, 7  and condemned the Mexican government’s decision to close down migratory regularization offices in Tapachula at the time. 8 It also made note of the October 2018 migrant “caravan” as it was known in media reporting at the time. 9

Front Line reports that HRDs in both the United States and Mexico work to provide legal representation for asylum seekers navigating bureaucracies, who work “in the context of sharply increased denial rates since President Trump took office.” The HRDs aid asylum seekers by preparing them for interviews with government employees, helping them fill out forms, giving them orientation sessions on migration laws, preparing their case files for the legal process, providing legal and “psychosocial” assistance, tracking the location of asylum seekers if they are transported to ICE and CBP detention centers, and providing financial assistance to caravan leaders. 10 The report advertises REDODEM, a network of migrant shelters throughout Mexico that offer protection and services to people as they move northward seeking asylum in the United States. Front Line explains that this shelter network serves to “educate migrants about their rights, regardless of their legal status, and promote labour inclusion processes for migrants and refugees.” 11

Affiliations

Front Line Defenders grounds itself in the United Nation’s “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and promotes the UN’s legal definition of a Human Rights Defender. 12 13 14 Front Line Defenders voices its support for the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, a seat within the UN’s larger Human Rights Council bureaucracy currently held by Michel Forst, and has Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. 15 16 FLD also has official partnership status with the Council of Europe, Observer Status with the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, and has internship programs with multiple UN Human Rights Council offices. 17

Front Line Defenders serves as a leading partner of the consortium of twelve non-governmental groups that make up ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism. 18 19 Front Line Defenders and Lifeline Embattled CSO Assistance Fund are partnered in a collaborative program that provides “security grants” to HRDs. 20

Front Line Defenders is also a member of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, the International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (ESCRNet), the International Human Rights Funders Group, and the Journalists in Distress (JID) Network. 21

Funding

In 2018, Front Line Defenders spent a total of €5,785,201. Spending on protection grants for human rights defenders amount to 39 percent of its total budget. 22

Front Line Defenders receives financial support from the 11th Hour Project, the Iris O’Brien Foundation, Al Jazeera, American Jewish World Service, the Arcus Foundation, Bread for the World, the Channel Foundation, Environmental Defenders Collaborative, European Commission, the Ford Foundation, the Foundation for a Just Society, the Goldman Environmental Foundation, Google, Helmsley Charitable Trust, Hivos International, Lifeline: Embattled CSO Assistance Fund, the Lifes2Good Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the Mize Family Foundation, the Oak Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Overbrook Foundation, the Roddick Foundation, the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Agency, the Swedish Postcode Lottery, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, and the Tides Foundation.

Leadership

Denis O’Brien is the chairman of Front Line Defenders, as well as a co-founder of the organization. 23 O’Brien is a major business figure in Ireland, with substantial investments in communications, healthcare, media, and other sectors. 24 Denis O’Brien provides financial supports to a number of philanthropic organizations in addition to running a private foundation of his own, the Iris O’Brien Foundation. 25

Mary Lawson co-founded Front Line Defenders with Denis O’Brien in 2001. She is currently a board member, but previously served as the executive director of the group. Before starting Front Line Defenders, Lawson served as the director of the Irish branch of Amnesty International from 1988 to 2000, as well as the chair of its board from 1983 to 1987.  In 2015, she became an adjunct professor in the School of Business at Trinity College Dublin. 26

Other board members include Arnold Tsunga, the Africa Director of the International Commission of Jurists; Mary Jane N. Real, a co-director of Urgent Action Fund‘s Asia Pacific branch and founding member of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition; Kieran Mulvey, a consultant with the International Labour Organisation and the European Union; Verónica Vidal, the solidarity tactic lead at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID); Jim Conway, the founder of the eminent Irish print company Print and Display Group; Maria Mulcahy, the CEO of the Iris O’Brien Foundation; and David Sykes, an investment advisor to New York real estate investment firm Island Capital Ltd. 27

Andrew Anderson has served as the executive director of Front Line Defenders since 2016. Prior to becoming executive director, Anderson served as deputy director since 2003. He previously worked at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, first as their director of the Campaigning and Crisis Response Programme and later as the director of the Africa Programme. Anderson represents Front Line on the board of the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism. 28 Andrea Rocca currently serves as Front Line’s deputy director. Before joining Front Line, he worked at the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) in Geneva.

References

  1. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  2. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  3. “Strategic Plan.” Front Line Defenders, November 27, 2018. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/strategic-plan.
  4. “#DEFENDERSBEYONDWALLS.” Front Line Defenders, September 23, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/campaign/defendersbeyondwalls.
  5. “#DEFENDERSBEYONDWALLS.” Front Line Defenders, September 23, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/campaign/defendersbeyondwalls.
  6. “#DEFENDERSBEYONDWALLS,” page 14. Front Line Defenders, September 23, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/campaign/defendersbeyondwalls.
  7. “Southwest Border Migration FY 2019.” Southwest Border Migration FY 2019 | U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/stats/sw-border-migration/fy-2019.
  8. “#DEFENDERSBEYONDWALLS,” page 14. Front Line Defenders, September 23, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/campaign/defendersbeyondwalls.
  9. “The Daily Caller.” The Daily Caller. The Daily Caller. Accessed April 29, 2020. https://dailycaller.com/buzz/migrant-caravan/.
  10. “#DEFENDERSBEYONDWALLS,” page 15. Front Line Defenders, September 23, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/campaign/defendersbeyondwalls.
  11. “#DEFENDERSBEYONDWALLS,” page 14. Front Line Defenders, September 23, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/campaign/defendersbeyondwalls.
  12. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations. United Nations. Accessed March 18, 2020. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/.
  13. “Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.” OHCHR. Accessed March 18, 2020. https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/srhrdefenders/pages/declaration.aspx.
  14. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  15. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  16. “Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders.” OHCHR. Accessed March 19, 2020. https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/srhrdefenders/pages/srhrdefendersindex.aspx.
  17. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  18. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  19. “International Civil Society Implementing the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism.” About ProtectDefenders.eu – ProtectDefenders.eu. Accessed March 19, 2020. https://www.protectdefenders.eu/en/about.html.
  20. “International Civil Society Implementing the EU Human Rights Defenders Mechanism.” About ProtectDefenders.eu – ProtectDefenders.eu. Accessed March 19, 2020. https://www.protectdefenders.eu/en/about.html.
  21. “About Us.” Front Line Defenders, November 29, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/who-we-are.
  22. “Financial Information.” Front Line Defenders, January 8, 2020. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/financial-information.
  23. “Board of Directors.” Front Line Defenders, January 22, 2020. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/board-directors.
  24. Author – Business & Finance, and |. “Global 100: Denis O’Brien, Digicel.” Business & Finance, February 26, 2020. https://businessandfinance.com/global-100-denis-obrien-digicel/.
  25. “Board of Directors.” Front Line Defenders, January 22, 2020. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/board-directors.
  26. “Board of Directors.” Front Line Defenders, January 22, 2020. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/board-directors.
  27. “Board of Directors.” Front Line Defenders, January 22, 2020. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/board-directors.
  28. “Andrew Anderson.” Front Line Defenders, April 18, 2019. https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/profile/andrew-anderson.
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Front Line Defenders

Grattan House, Temple Road
2nd Floor
Blackrock, County Dublin,
Ireland