Supporting Defenders for Democratic Change
Freedom House supports and assists frontline activists, human rights defenders, political prisoners, journalists, and others who are working to protect and defend the fundamental rights that are the lifeblood of democracy.
Freedom of speech and expression. A free and independent press. Freedom to practice, or not practice, the religion of your choice. Freedom to peaceably assemble and protest. Freedom to petition the government. These fundamental freedoms and human rights are inherent to and protected by strong democracies.
Freedom House is a leading provider of emergency assistance to human rights defenders globally. Since 2007, we have supported tens of thousands of activists and victims of human rights abuses (and their families) across 150 countries. Freedom House and our partners provide resources for relocation, legal representation, trial monitoring, technical equipment, medical and living expenses, and other essential services. We strengthen these brave individuals’ ability to fight corruption, monitor and document human rights abuses, and demand equal rights—especially for at-risk communities. Often this work is being done in very challenging environments, including within countries run by autocratic leaders.
Freedom House conducts targeted campaigns for the release of activists from prison so they can continue their work—including in exile—to bring democratic change to their countries. In 2022, Freedom House unveiled Free Them All, a project focused on securing releases for political prisoners as well as tracking and researching cases of political imprisonment worldwide. Since 2020, Freedom House has contributed to the release of hundreds of political prisoners, particularly in Latin America.
Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners
Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners is a Freedom House project intended to help free political prisoners and push back against the jailing of activists as a tool of repression. Located around the globe, the stories of these artists, journalists, and activists illustrate the significant pressures and harms that human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists face in reprisal for their work and why they need our support. The initiative is named in honor of pathbreaking American journalist and former Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt.
Learn More About Free Them All
Explore Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners , which examines restrictions on the liberty of human rights defenders and prodemocracy activists, and includes profiles of emblematic cases worldwide. The initiative is named in honor of pathbreaking American journalist and former Washington Post editorial page editor Fred Hiatt.
Visible and Invisible Bars
Visible and Invisible Bars, a report from Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners, draws attention both to political imprisonment and its damaging impacts on prisoners and their families, and the consequences of civil death.
The report is available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Thai, Swahili, Turkish, and Kurdish.
Protecting Human Rights
Democracy depends on everyone having equal rights under the law and being free from discrimination. If the rights and freedoms of one group are violated or denied without consequence, then the rights of all are in danger as well.
Freedom House supports frontline activists in their efforts to defend and expand fundamental rights. These activists play an instrumental role in protecting human rights defenders, documenting the abuses they endure, and holding abusers to account. We provide emergency assistance to activists who come under threat and work with them to broaden public support for upholding human rights and expanding equality.
Spotlight: Freedom House Programs
Emergency Assistance Programs
Freedom House provides critical, often lifesaving, support to human rights defenders, civil society organizations, and survivors of severe religious persecution in some of the world’s most repressive and conflict-ridden environments. Learn more about our emergency assistance programs.
Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism
In January 2022, Freedom House played a leading role as one of the founders of the Afghanistan Human Rights Coordination Mechanism—a coalition that assesses and addresses the needs of Afghan human rights defenders and brings partners together to advocate for full respect for the human rights of all in Afghanistan.
Human Rights Support Mechanism
Freedom House worked with USAID and the PROGRESS consortium to provide technical assistance and support to partners in developing countries around the world in order to protect and promote human rights.
Media Freedom
The ability of journalists to report independently on matters of public interest is a crucial indicator of democracy. Independent media can inform citizens of their leaders’ successes or failures, convey the people’s needs and desires to government bodies, and provide a platform for the open exchange of information and ideas. When media freedom is restricted, these vital functions break down, leading to poor decision-making and harmful outcomes for leaders and citizens alike.
Freedom House assesses media freedom in its annual and special reports. We support local efforts to defend freedom of expression and access to information, especially in countries where the media is most restricted. Freedom House assists embattled journalists, including those who investigate corruption and abuses of power.
Featured Media Freedom Resources
Reviving News Media in an Embattled Europe
In the face of economic hardship, legal attacks, smear campaigns, and harassment, a dynamic group of news organizations across the European Union are finding new ways to push back against the forces that are undermining them.
The China Media Bulletin
The China Media Bulletin was a monthly email newsletter that provides unique insight on censorship, media freedom, and internet freedom issues related to the People's Republic of China.
Moldova MEDIA-M Project
Freedom House partnered with Internews in implementing the multiyear MEDIA-M project, funded by USAID and UK Aid Direct.
Religious Freedom
Freedom of worship and belief is an important element of democracy, contributing to social peace, encouraging full political participation, and strengthening diversity of opinion and belief more broadly.
Freedom House provides emergency assistance to religious freedom defenders, civil society organizations, and survivors of religious persecution in dozens of countries, helping people across multiple faiths. This includes resources for medical treatment, legal representation, prison visits, trial monitoring, dependent support, and temporary relocation. We also support local initiatives to promote tolerance and proactively address hostility toward religious minority groups and ongoing tensions between different faith communities.
More on Religious Freedom
Learn more about how Freedom House supports religious freedom defenders, civil society organizations, and survivors of religious persecution worldwide.
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of expression is a fundamental component of democracy, facilitating open debate, inclusion of diverse interests and perspectives, and the negotiation and compromise necessary for collaborative policy decisions. Efforts to suppress nonviolent expression, far from ensuring peace and stability, can allow unseen problems to fester and erupt in far more dangerous forms.
Featured Freedom of Expression Resources
Defending Latin American Human Rights
Read our 2022 report on the nature of the defense and protection of human rights defenders and prodemocracy civil society organizations in Latin America.
Advancing Fundamental Freedoms in Turkey
Freedom House sought to empower civil society to contribute to the improvement of fundamental freedoms in Turkey and to advocate with national and international decision-makers to uphold the country’s human rights commitments.
The Internationalization of Universities and the Repression of Academic Freedom
Academic persecution is increasing around the world, and financial pressures on universities are presenting opportunities for authoritarian states to assert their influence across borders.
The right to assemble peacefully is a requirement for any open and self-governing society. While most countries’ constitutions promise freedom of assembly, far fewer governments uphold this basic right without excessive restrictions.
Protests around the globe serve as a reminder of the common desire for equality, justice, and freedom. Freedom House documents and analyzes these events extensively, from Beijing to Tehran to Caracas.
Featured Freedom of Assembly Resources
China Dissent Monitor
The China Dissent Monitor features interactive research on collective action in public spaces and cases of online dissent, filling a critical information gap in a country with severe media restrictions and risks associated with exposing dissent.
How Civic Mobilizations Grow in Authoritarian Contexts
This 2022 report examines what helps and hurts civic mobilizations in authoritarian countries and provides insight on how these mobilizations grow.
The Iranian Struggle for Freedom: A Call for Global Solidarity
The end of the Islamic Republic’s system of misogyny would constitute a global landmark in the long march toward a world in which women are treated equally.
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