The panel hosted by the Centre for Fundamental Rights at the Hertie School raised key concerns and offered hope in the face of the legal, political and social pressures facing human rights activists worldwide.
On Wednesday, 2 April 2025, and in front of a full house at the Henrik Enderlein Forum and close to 100 online viewers, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Prof. Mary Lawlor joined German Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance Luise Amtsberg, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)’s Border Justice Director Hanaa Hakiki, and climate activist Carla Hinrichs for a compelling and honest exchange about the challenges and necessity of defending human rights today.
Moderator, Visiting Professor at the Centre for Fundamental Rights Violeta Moreno-Lax, steered the conversation across a range of pressing topics, from the criminalisation of peaceful protest to strategic litigation, drawing on the vast personal and professional experience of the speakers.
“The situation is bleak for human rights defenders,” Prof. Lawlor admitted, but she noted that “the situation has always been bleak for human rights defenders. There are more people working for human rights now than ever before, and therein lies the hope.”
A democratic state confronted with challenges
On her part, Luise Amtsberg delved into some of the challenges in Germany when it comes to the protection of human rights defenders.
“Working with and for human rights defenders is challenging in these times,” she said, underlining the lack of visibility, especially for climate defenders.
“Having a broader understanding of what human rights defenders are would help politics to respond to the challenges, and we have to do more lobbying for this broader understanding,” stressed the Human Rights Commissioner.
Lived reality of criminalisation of human rights defenders
The panel’s diversity of perspectives, from international law to frontline activism, underscored the complexity of defending rights today. Carla Hinrichs, known for her outspoken climate activism for Last Generation, brought the audience into the lived reality of criminalisation, drawing on her personal experience.
“I studied law. I knew if I glued myself to the street, I might end up in court,” explained Hinrichs, who said she had received more than 100 pages in a court inditement for her climate activism the previous week and had had her apartment raided by the police with drawn guns in the middle of the night. “The scariest thing is that we, as an organisation, are now being charged as a criminal organisation with a paragraph that is normally used against terrorists.”
A sign of things to come: Shrinking spaces on Europe’s borders
Hanaa Hakiki, Border Justice Programme Director of ECCHR, discussed the role of legal advocacy in holding states accountable for migrants’ pushbacks and violations at Europe’s borders. Hakiki and iIllustrated how states replicate each other’s actions in undermining the protection of human rights and human rights defenders, with countries bordering EU’s external borders often being the first to walk down that route..
“Whatever was happening on the border, five, six years ago, you can be sure at some point, it is going to come to the Metropolis,” she said, adding that there were indications Germany could be moving in the same direction. This reflects a broader shift: "We are increasingly becoming objects of the law, who can be criminalised, rather than subjects of the law who hold rights." She added.
A call to strengthen support and solidarity
This year’s event not only highlighted the alarming trends but also illuminated the courage and solidarity that continue to drive defenders forward.
In this context, Hertie School President Cornelia Woll highlighted in her opening remarks the crucial role of academia, and universities in particular, in human rights education and human rights research coupled with the dissemination of knowledge, among other things by fostering dialogue that addresses the current significant challenges to the protection of fundamental and human rights.
“I am deeply grateful that people before me had the foresight to create the Centre for Fundamental Rights,” said Cornelia Woll, adding “I am deeply committed to making sure our Centre grows and develops.”
Watch the recording of the event below.