The Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network (PAHRDN) has opened the call for nominations for the 3rd Edition of the African Human Rights Defenders Shield Awards, in celebration of 20 years of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. The awards will honor exceptional individuals who have contributed to changes in their community in peacefully promoting and protecting universally recognized rights as stated in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rightsand the the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.Altogether six awards will be presented, one overall award and five sub-regional awards:

Pan-African Shield Award (Overall); East and Horn of Africa Shield Award; West African Shield Award; Southern Africa Shield Award; Central Africa Shield Award; Northern Africa Shield Award. Both individuals and organisations are eligible for the award. Nominations will be open until 1 September 2018. To make a nomination please fill out one of the online forms inEnglish,French, orPortuguese. A jury will select the winners, and will be composed of: Two UN Special Procedures; Two African Commission Human and Peoples’ Rights Special Mechanisms; One representative from each sub-region. The awards will be presented to the winners at the margins of the 63rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

For more information, please contact

Joseph Bikanda Coordinator, Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network on panafrica@defenddefenders.org or +256 705 613 950 (English and French)

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project DefendDefenders seeks to strengthen the work of human rights defenders throughout the region by reducing their vulnerability to the risk of persecution and by enhancing their capacity to effectively defend human rights. DefendDefenders focuses its work on Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia (together with Somaliland), South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Visit us atwww.defenddefenders.org