In June, PBI made an oral statement at the 53rd Human Rights Council Session during the Interactive Dialogue on Violence against women and girls. We raised concern about the situation of women and girls and Women Human Rights Defenders in Kenya and Guatemala. On Kenya, the statement reads:

In June PBI drew the attention of the United Nations Human Rights Council to extrajudicial executions committed in Colombia, Honduras and Kenya.

About Kenya, the full statement reads:

PBI published its 2022 International Annual Review, reflecting upon the challenges facing environmental and human rights defenders around the world, and the impact of their work and PBI’s activities in Latin America, Kenya, Nepal and Indonesia.

The increased militarisation of public security and widespread smearing of defenders were two of the dynamics that affected the ability of activists to work effectively across the regions and communities where PBI operates.

A vital aspect of the Toolkit Organisers network is sharing knowledge between HRDs. This week, Junia shared best practices on effective campaigning as an advocacy strategy and supported the team in practically creating a vision and problem identification.

In 2022, Junia attended a Fellowship for human rights defenders at Dundee University. He worked on well-being and expanded his networks and knowledge of best practices in advocacy. Upon his return, he shared his experiences with the Toolkit Organisers in the session.

The WHRD Toolkit Organizers network has been active since 2016. Last year, several members started a community-based organisation, ‘Toolkit Organizers CBO’. With support from PBI Kenya they held a workshop on Organization Development and Structure Strengthening (ODSS). The Toolkit Organizers brought out the need to strengthen the CBO’s structure and systems. The workshop contributed to the capacity to handle internal and external relationships for greater impact. They touched on leadership, governance and financial resource management.

Women Human Rights Defender Jecinter Agunja from the Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders Kenya and PBI Kenya