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10 Human Rights Blogs Everybody Should Know

#1. Human Rights Now Blog

Amnesty International is probably one of the biggest global movements in the world comprising of more than seven million people who take injustice and violations of human rights personally. The movement is well known for employing research, advocacy, action and campaigns to fight against abuses of human rights around the world. One of its core activities is putting pressure on governments and lobby those in power to undertake the necessary measures to prevent and stop human rights violations. One of the ways the organization fights against injustice is through informing the public on their human rights centered blog. The blog of Amnesty USA covers a broad spectrum of issues from women’s rights and political freedoms to regional and global conflicts.

#2. Global Voices

If you are interested in a wide range of human rights related topics then the Global Voices Blog is just the right place for you. The Global voices represents an international and multilingual community of bloggers, journalists, translators, academics, and human rights activists who ‘’leverage the power of the internet to build understanding across borders’’. They report on people whose experiences and stories often cannot be found in mainstream media and advocate for free speech online encompassing technical, legal and physical threat to people who use the web to raise their voices for the public interest. The Global Voices also provides mentorship and training to local communities that are marginalized and want to tell their stories through the media. If you are curious to read about worldwide issues that matter to human rights activists in multiple languages from English to Swedish, you should visit the Global Voices Blog.

#3. Committee to Protect Journalists Blog

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is a non-profit organization that promotes worldwide freedom of press. It defends the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. The CPJ has been helping hundreds of attacked and imprisoned journalists for more than 30 years, by defending them and their freedom. With the headquarters in New York, the CPJ employs about 40 experts around the world and mobilizes a network of correspondents who report and take action on behalf of targeted journalists. Its work is based on research and documenting of hundreds of attacks on journalists each year. Through its blog, the CPJ publishes reports on violations in repressive countries, conflict areas, as well as established democracies. If you are interested in the issues around the freedom of press and human rights violations surrounding it, you can visit the CPJ’s blog here.

#4. Human Rights Watch Blog

Being one of the largest human rights organizations that acts on the international level by investigating and reporting on human rights violations across the world, the Human Rights Watch is highly committed to reaching goals of equality, dignity and compassion. Lawyers, journalists, country-based experts and human rights workers with the Human Rights Watch advocate for change and force governments, armed groups and businesses to changes and policies and laws that have a negative impact on human rights. They work to uncover and expose human rights violations so that millions of people across the world are familiar and know about what is going on within the human rights sphere. If you are one of those people you can read Human Rights Watch daily blog briefs here.

#5. The Advocates Post

The Advocates Post is a blog by the Advocates for Human Rights, the human rights NGO that fights for a world in which all people are equal and free, and live with dignity, justice and peace. The Advocates for Human Rights investigates and exposes a broad range of human rights violations across the world, from rights of refugees to violence against women. It helps and trains human rights advocates to use research, education and advocacy to assist in protection of human rights by involving broader public in fight for implementation of international human rights standards. Through the Advocates Post Blog you can learn how to support human rights or learn about fight against death penalty. The topics are numerous and you can read about them here.

#6. The International Observatory of Human Rights

The International Observatory for Human Rights (IOHR) is a London-based NGO made up of human rights experts, lawyers, academics, researchers and award-winning journalists of diverse nationalities and backgrounds. The IOHR advocates for human rights around the world by meeting with governments, members of parliament and global groups such as the UN, European Union, and the Council of Europe, as well as private businesses, to push for justice and respect of human rights. The organization works to “defend the dignity of people stripped of their rights including unjustly jailed journalists, human rights defenders, refugees and victims of oppression”. The IOHR is known for “blogging about human rights from every corner of the world” and if you are interested to read about human rights from the first hand, you can access their blog here.

#7. Freedom House Blog

Freedom House is a watchdog NGO that works on the expansion of freedom and democracy worldwide. Founded in 1941, it advocates for civil liberties and political rights, and supports human rights defenders in their quest to promote democratic change. The organization acts as a catalyst to achieve greater civil liberties and political rights through action, analysis and advocacy, and conducts research and analysis of policies in the US and around the world to monitor the progress and decline of freedom. Freedom House advocates for the US government and other like-minded governments to oppose oppression and dictators. If you want to learn more about struggles for freedom in repressive societies and fight for political and civil rights, you can read Freedom House Blog here.

#8. Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition

The Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC) is a network that supports and protects women human rights defenders in their fights against human rights abuses. It has 28 members from all over the world, from local grassroots organizations to large international NGOs. The WHRDIC “wants the world to recognize that people who advocate for women’s human rights, whatever their gender or sexual orientation, are in fact human rights defenders”. The WHRDIC takes strength from the principles of feminism and provides its members with resources, tools and analysis to be effective women’s rights advocates in their societies. If you are interested to learn about women’s rights defenders across the world, you can read the WHRDIC’s blog here.

#9. Chinese Human Rights Defenders

The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) is a coalition of Chinese and international human rights NGOs. The CHRD works on promotion of human rights to push for rule of law and democratic activism and to strengthen grassroots activism in China. The CHRD is dedicated to monitoring and investigating human rights situation in China by alerting to urgent situations, making statements about important developments, and publishing news and research reports to keep policy makers, human rights agencies, media and the general public updated. If you are interested in the in the current state of human rights in China, you can real the CHRD’s blog here.

#10. Voice of Salam Blog

Voice of Salam, or in English Voice of Peace, was founded in 2015 with an aim to raise awareness about global issues and advocate for the protection, promotion and understanding of human rights, as well as interfaith, social and cultural issues. The Voice of Salam is “all about exposing injustice, breaking down barriers and building mutual understanding”. It shares stories and views, leads campaigns, raises awareness and creates change. You can check out the Voice of Salam Blog for all the latest opinions, thoughts and views on human rights issues across the world here.

About the author

Ada Hasanagic

Ada Hasanagić is a human rights professional currently working as a researcher at the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Previously, Ada graduated with honors from the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology and the University of Buckingham in the fields of Political Science and International Relations. Also, she earned a master’s degree in Democracy and Human Rights from the University of Sarajevo and University of Bologna.