Human Rights Protection Fund (formerly Prisoners of Conscience) provides rapid financial assistance for prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders facing persecution. These grants can ensure immediate relief of poverty, reunite families who have been torn apart and help prisoners of conscience requalify – depending on the specific needs of each recipient. Learn about how our support helps those affected by human rights violations around the world:
Hardship Relief
Prisoners of conscience often sacrifice everything when standing up for human rights. Through our emergency hardship grant scheme, HRPF provides a much-needed safety net.
From covering the cost of life-saving medical treatment, to ensuring a family can have a roof over their heads and warm, nutritious food, our grants are there to help when prisoners of conscience need it most.
Juliette was forced to flee her home country after writing a controversial investigative piece. While in hiding in a neighbouring country, Juliette reached out to us. We covered the cost of her emergency accommodation, basic living supplies and medicines- helping Juliette to stay afloat and continue her vital investigative journalism.
Thank you, I have received the money and I really appreciate it. It’s going to pay rent so I have a place to sleep and will help me buy food.
Juliette, journalist from Rwanda
Without the support of a family reunion grant, Aden* and his family may still be stuck thousands of miles apart. Read his story here.
Family Reunion
Prisoners of conscience are often forced to leave their families behind after defending human rights. We hear many stories of men and women forced to live in exile, many thousands of miles away from their partners and children, desperate to see them and hold them again.
We do all we can to reunite loved ones through our family reunion grants. By covering the cost of travel, legal expenses, DNA testing and other requirements for visas, your donations enable families to be reunited.
Bursaries
We want defenders to thrive, not just survive. This is why we run our bursary programme. When people who have been persecuted are forced to flee to the UK, the transition to our culture, language and way of life can be difficult. It can be hard to find work and earn a living. On top of that, many international qualifications are not recognized here.
We fund post-graduate and re-qualification studies in the UK to allow prisoners of conscience to kickstart their careers and become self-sufficient after reaching safety.
Fatma, a Turkish lawyer who champions Kurdish-Alevi rights, received a bursary grant this year.
Join our mission
We believe that no one should suffer for defending human rights. Are you with us? Sign up for e-mails with the latest news, stories and ways you can support human rights defenders
Are you a prisoner of conscience in need of financial assistance? Find out more on our ‘Get Support’ page here.