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In October 2022, human rights defender Olena Vinsent, fled increasing danger in occupied Crimea with her mother, their three cats and their dog, driving through Russia to reach safety in Georgia. Today she lives and carries out human rights work in Batumi and is still getting used to feeling safe.

“We work with those who provide support to others and we call them ‘helpers’.” As a result of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the country’s population has a greater need for support from human rights defenders, social workers, psychologists, psychotherapists, etc. Wika Solonitsyna (top photo), Programme Coordinator and Co-founder of AHALAR (member organisation of Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv), sheds light on how her organisation provides valuable assistance to helpers in Ukraine.

On May 18, the “Stories from occupied Crimea” photo exhibition opened in the capital cities of Ukraine, Belgium and Lithuania, marking the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Deportation of the Crimean Tatar People. The exhibition sheds light on the renewed repressions of Crimean Tatars since the 2014 occupation of the peninsula by Russia.

Between May and December 2022, the “Platform for Children” project co-organised by the Georgian Centre for Psychosocial and Medical Rehabilitation of Torture Victims (member organisation of Human Rights House Tbilisi) and Indigo Fund provided more than 150 children and teenagers from 16 cities in Georgia a chance to speak up and discuss the issues that affect their physical and mental well-being. From these discussions, twelve multimedia resources were produced and have been disseminated to both children and adults across the country.

2022 was a year of unprecedented assaults on human rights stemming from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More than ever, the Network of Human Rights Houses came together to strengthen and advance human rights. Read our 2022 Annual Report.

Human Rights House Banja Luka has joined the network of Human Rights Houses as its newest member. The House will play a crucial role in promoting and protecting human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region.

Throughout March, Human Rights House Foundation, alongside members of the network of Human Rights Houses and other civil society partners, renewed calls at the 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council urging accountability for severe human rights violations in Eastern Europe, and highlighting the situation for civil society in the wider region.

There are 1400+ political prisoners in Belarus, as of February 2023 and that number continues to rise. The “Letters from Lukashenka’s Prisoners” campaign aims to ensure the unjustly detained are not forgotten and that their voices are still heard from behind bars.

In the early weeks of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv (EHRHC) was damaged during an attack in the area by Russian forces. Attacks in the Chernihiv region left many injured and dead, and severe damage to the local community. Since then, and in partnership with other civil society actors, EHRHC has been working tirelessly to repair the House and to assist the healing process in the community as Russia’s military aggression continues.