3. The objective of the event was to promote the work of the HRDs and equip them with new tools to claim their civic space, in addition to enabling networking of HRDs to ensure future cooperation.

4. The first day of the event welcomed the Ambassador of Sweden to Kenya, Her Excellency Anna Jarfelt, as the key note speaker, with opening remarks from Mary Simat, NCHRD-K Chairperson, and Hassan Shire, Executive Director of DefendDefenders. In her key note address, the Ambassador stressed that "I am very honoured to be here among all of you who fight daily and even risk your life to protect human rights. Your dedication and braveness is admirable.” Hassan Shire stated that "[w]e need to work together to achieve our goals and to ensure that HRDs can operate in a safe space.”

5. Two reports were launched by the Swedish Ambassador at the opening of the event. DefendDefenders launched the report "To Them, We’re Not Even Human”: Marginalised Human Rights Defenders in Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, based on a one-year research scheme, highlighting the challenges faced by indigenous minority defenders, women human rights defenders (WHRD), and LGBT+ defenders, and presenting concrete recommendations. NCHRD-K launched the report A Race against Extinction: the Plight of Indigenous Women and HRDs in Kenya Embobut Forest, examining the situation of WHRD among the Sengwer people. The report launches were followed by an insightful and informative panel discussion, which, among others, welcomed two WHRD representatives from the Sengwer people to share their experience.

6. Memory Bandera, Director of Programs and Administration at DefendDefenders, stated that "[t]he dedication witnessed among the HRDs has been great. They are very eager to learn, to improve, and to increase their impact in order to enhance their human rights work”. "I am not here to eat, I am not here to sleep, I am here to learn” was stressed by a participant, illustrating the strong motivation and need for such training.

7. Following the opening was a four-day training for the HRDs, focusing on: digital and physical security, and risk assessment; strategic advocacy; monitoring, documenting, and reporting human rights violations; and realising the right to privacy for human rights defenders. Additionally, a workshop on sustaining activism through self-care workshop was held. The participants had one day of training in each of the four main topics, which encompassed a variety of methods, as role play, presentations, group work and case studies.

8. The training was practical and productive, offering the HRDs basic tools to increase and improve their human rights work, while ensuring personal safety. "The training taught me to think differently and more strategically when carrying out my human rights activism in my local area. I will definitely use the information and tools shared with me,” said one of the participants.

9. There was a broad range of national HRDs at the event, with the majority of Kenya’s 47 counties represented. In addition to covering a vast part of the country, the event invited HRDs that had received little prior human rights training, in order to reach a broader spectrum of persons, and ensure greater human rights awareness at local levels.

10. The facilitators included expert trainers including DefendDefenders and NCHRD-K staff. "It was a pleasure training these human rights defenders. If we wish to improve the human rights situation in Kenya, we need to empower local human rights defenders - they do so much great work, and we are here to support and protect them in any way we can,” said trainer Njoroge Waithera.

11. On the last day, the NCHRD-K commemorated their 10th anniversary. The NCHRD-K was established by DefendDefenders in 2008 to ensure the protection and empowerment of Kenyan HRDs, in addition to ensuring human rights education, advocacy, monitoring, and reporting. "We have supported many Kenyan HRDs, but our job is not done until Kenyan HRDs can operate and speak up freely, without fear of any kind of threats or violence” said Kamau Ngugi, the Executive Director. The 10th anniversary event took place in Nairobi on 7 December, welcoming the 110 HRD training participants, in addition to over 100 representatives from the Kenyan civil society and diplomatic and development partners.

For more information, please contact

Hassan Shire Executive Director, the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project executive@defenddefenders.org or +256 772 753 753 Kamau Ngugi Executive Director, National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders-Kenya dkngugi@hrdcoalition.org

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

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