Last month, I was honoured to accept Refugee International’s Richard C. Holbrooke Leadership Award during their Annual Gala in Washington, D.C., recognising our efforts to support the ever-increasing number of human rights defenders living in exile across the East and Horn of Africa sub-region.

 

This award represents an important acknowledgement of the fundamental role played by HRDs in the sub-region, who increasingly do their work at grave personal risk. Our European partner ProtectDefenders.eu reported that 59 HRDs have been killed in the first four months of 2017 alone. During the ceremony, Refugee International also made specific mention to our work in Burundi and South Sudan, two countries where humanitarian and human rights work are often conducted with deadly consequences.

 

Today, we are confronted by the reality that standing up for people’s rights, or even bringing relief to those that suffer, means putting your life at risk. I would be remiss not to mention the White Helmets, who received Refugees International’s Humanitarian Award during the Gala ceremony, in this context. As volunteers in Syria’s rebel-held territories, these brave men and women work in the perhaps the world’s most dangerous conditions to uphold human dignity. Their commitment is an inspiration to us all, and I stand in solidarity with the families of those recently reported killed in Hama.

 

There is another deep symbolism in the choice of recipients. On 25 April, the stage in Washington D.C. was shared by citizens from Somalia and Syria, two nationalities that would be banned from entering the United States under President Trump’s travel ban. This month, Reporters Without Bordersreleasedits annual World Press Freedom Index, which echoes otherrankingsthat signal a dangerous and persistent shrinking of civic space worldwide, including in the United States. In the face of these challenges, it is essential that we as HRDs do not let artificial borders separate us, and stand together as we continue to claim our space worldwide.

 

Yours in solidarity,

 

Hassan Shire