Human Rights First

I want to take a moment to celebrate the incredible work of my Human Rights First colleagues and reflect on all of their accomplishments this year. I hope everyone gets some well-deserved rest this holiday season--ahead of tackling the human rights challenges we face next year. 👇 This snapshot highlights just a few of our efforts. A big thank you to everyone who has championed our cause, uplifted our campaigns, volunteered their expertise, joined us for events, dedicated pro bono hours, or even ran a marathon or biked across the country for us. Your support means everything. As we head into the new year, I hope you'll continue to stand with Human Rights First. ...And there’s still time to donate before the year ends. You can follow the link here: https://lnkd.in/eDaeG6wK

How’s the war going for Ukraine? What difference will President-Elect Trump make? Our senior advisor Brian Dooley spent much of December 2024 in the city of Kharkiv and shared his updates on prospects for 2025 in a new blog. https://lnkd.in/ezAVSG_y

Our senior advisor Brian Dooley reports from Kupiansk, where he's working with NGO Rose on Hand to evacuate civilians from the city that is under almost constant bombardment. Rose on Hand estimates they have rescued 14,000 people from communities under fire since 2022. Yet, their volunteers are being conscripted into the military, leaving no one else to do this essential work. "If civilians are to be rescued from the danger of being stuck on the front line, Ukraine’s authorities should stop forcibly conscripting these volunteer humanitarian activists into the army," Dooley writes. Learn more about this life-saving rescue work in his new piece: https://lnkd.in/eEmffTiM

This holiday season please consider contributing to our Holiday Gift Drive benefiting families seeking asylum. This year there are two ways you can support. 🌟 Purchase a gift card for one of our clients. 🌟 Choose items from the wish lists of our clients’ kids or our unaccompanied minors. There are dolls, rolling backpacks, glow-in-the-dark basketballs, Minnie Mouse blankets, bracelet-making kits, and more! If you would like to contribute please email Niolas Mortiz and Dina Diaz at mortizn@humanrightsfirst.org and diazmaderad@humanrightsfirst.org and they’ll connect you with a person or family in need.

Today, the U.S. government announced new Global #Magnitsky sanctions against two Georgian officials for violent crackdowns on peaceful protests to suppress dissent, including by targeting journalists, opposition leaders, & youth activists. https://lnkd.in/eRzD92Nq Today’s action, in coordination with the UK gov’t, is a welcome show of solidarity with the Georgian people & their right to exercise fundamental freedoms without reprisal. More on the impact of multilateral sanctions here: https://lnkd.in/eB-8y8_A

On #InternationalMigrantsDay, we celebrate the contributions of migrants everywhere, including our former client, Arbana Xharra. A journalist from Kosovo, Arbana fled her homeland in 2018 after facing threats and brutal attacks for exposing corruption and fighting religious extremism. She left behind her career, family, and everything she knew to seek safety in the U.S. for herself and her two young sons. Her journey was not easy. Like many asylum seekers, she faced years of uncertainty, battling fear, isolation, and trauma. But Arbana’s courage, combined with the support of human rights advocates, helped her overcome these challenges. Through our pro bono legal services, we stood by Arbana’s side, navigating the complex asylum process and ensuring her family’s path to safety. Finally, after four years of limbo, Arbana and her family were granted asylum. Today, she continues her work as an investigative journalist and human rights activist. There are countless others, like Arbana, facing violence and persecution in their home countries and hoping to rebuild their lives in the United States. But they can’t do it alone. Together, we can stand for migrant rights and ensure that stories like Arbana’s become stories of hope, healing, and new beginnings. Read Arbana’s full story: https://lnkd.in/eJ-j8qYz

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Von Lintel Gallery in Santa Monica for "Journeys of Belonging," an exhibition highlighting on the resilience and courage of immigrants. We are deeply grateful to Oluwatobi Adewumi for sharing his powerful artwork and to all attendees for supporting our Client Emergency Fund.

For nearly 50 years, we’ve worked tirelessly to uphold human rights and advance justice in the U.S. and globally. This #HumanRightsDay, we are calling on you to join us in our fight to defend democracy and human rights. Here’s how your support has helped in 2024: ✅ Secured asylum for families fleeing persecution. ✅ Advocated for humane and effective immigration policies. ✅ Held human rights abusers accountable and protected frontline advocates. ✅ Fought hate and disinformation that threaten democracy. ✅ Leveraged innovative tools, including AI, to support asylum seekers and uphold democratic values. As we look ahead to 2025, your commitment is essential to resist rising authoritarianism, safeguard democracy, and defend the rule of law. Together, we can create a future where human rights are universally respected. Support our mission today: https://lnkd.in/eb8-ybAt

On International #HumanRightsDefendersDay, we want to recognize our local human rights defenders (HRDs) in Kharkiv and their incredible work since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Our senior advisor Brian Dooley regularly travels to these areas under fire to work with civilians like Sasha, Olga, and Vasyl providing vital aid to those affected by war. We are proud to work alongside these HRDs.

Digital harassment, violence against women, girls, and gender-minorities, and a rollback in reproductive rights - these might seem like a random grab bag of issues impacting our world, but they are in fact deeply connected. To support the United Nations’ UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, Human Rights First’s Associate Director of Democracy Protection Hanah Stiverson considers the links between these three concerning trends, and how collectively they portend a rise in global authoritarianism. #NoExcuse #16DaysOfActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence https://lnkd.in/ghefdNCy