What Way Forward for Human Rights Work? 

The landscape of human rights advocacy has quite shifted in the last few years. Arguably, while for many marginalised groups, this exclusion has been present generally, human rights abuses and widespread discrimination have become particularly brazen. 

It is no surprise that in this climate, there have been many young people protesting for change of governments from Bangladesh to Kenya to Nepal to Madagascar and more recently in Tanzania. These protests fuelled by the worsening soccioeconomic situations in these countries, which are caused by the effects of late-stage capitalism and neoliberalism, have been met with increased crackdowns by police officers. In many ways, this has also mirrored the continued colonial projects in the form or rising debts for global majority countries or active settler colonial projects such as in Palestine.

Funding Challenges and Changing Power Dynamics

It is in this landscape also that funding for human rights work is diminishing, especially for grassroot actors. For instance, for LGBTIQ organisations reliant on USAID funding, operations were completely stalled and likely closed following the freeze and subsequent end of USAID funding. As well, development cooperation especially from European countries and the United States has shifted from human rights-based focuses to quid pro quo measures. Even human rights language is now being co-opted in courts and international organisations, noticeably against migrants, trans and gender nonconforming persons, and racialised minorities to name a few. This for me, as someone who is actively studying human rights law, has been a wake-up call to what human rights work must gravitate towards so that the aim of human rights—the betterment of life for everyone—is achieved.  

It is disheartening as a young person to note the complete disregard that governments have taken on these issues, prioritising their own self-interests and those of billionaires and other elites. However, it is this that still gives me at least a reason to engage in this type of work and I hope that it inspires you too.  

We must make sure that we do not allow this selfish reasoning of governments to become the only way that we commune in this world. We must make sure that we tell our own narratives, support each other, and show up for those who have been minoritised by governments. For instance, we must speak up against the continued demonisation of human rights, social welfare, and particular groups of people, often at the behest of a return to a utopian traditional past which has never existed.  

This for me involves educating ourselves on exactly how we are in the situations we find ourselves in. For instance, in most European countries, it is not migrants, social welfare, or development cooperation but rather the extension of so-called tax rebates, and the refusal to regulate business activity especially from bigger corporations that is leading to lower wages and union busting tactics. It is the insistence to engage in and subsidise war mongering that continues to exacerbate these issues.  And hence, I invite us all to listen and read and challenge ourselves as a first step. 

Towards Genuine Partnerships and New Funding Models

In the funding space, for me having worked both at KIOS and with Kenyan NGOs, this means that there is even more need for boldness. For a while, development cooperation has been marked with the so-called NGOisation which has stamped out grassroot movements. This is not to say that NGOs cannot be a force for change, but it is to accept this critique to ensure that resources are distributed in a way that directly responds to and benefits the communities being served.  

For instance, research done on Global South queer activism has found that only 18% of LGBTIQ funding is directed towards young activists who often work at more grassroot level. Based on this research, Global Philanthropy Project and Purposeful came up with a funders’ brief which I believe would be useful for funders of all types of human rights work.  

For funders, it means that as governments use counterterrorism and securitisation to frustrate the civic space, funders must find ways to diversify to ensure that grassroot movements receive the support they need. It means finding alternative ways for funds disbursement and reporting that are safe and less time consuming for their partners. It means cultivating true, genuine partnership rather than powered dynamics. It means rethinking which organisations get support, which activities are sidelined, and more importantly ensuring that those at the grassroots are most prioritised. It means we need to ensure that funding supports rather than guides organisations on what they should do best. It also means prioritising the wellbeing and safety of those in the grassroots as a paramount step.  

Reclaiming Narratives

Beyond this, I am also reminded of the power of each of us. While properly funded grassroot movements may shoulder some of the work, we all have a role to play. As a first step, we have roles to educate ourselves and to shift the narrative beyond the dominant often individualised narratives to narratives of care, community, and collectiveness. Depending on your own initiatives, this could be a time for us, in one way or another, to contribute to this through joining movements and organisations, making donations, offering our time in volunteer work, and generally taking care of our communities.   

We have roles, now more than ever, to support our communities for instance through mutual aid support, a way of support not often offered by governments or organisations. We have the political power to vote, protest, boycott, strike, and make our voices heard in ensuring that our rights are safeguarded.   

Writer: John Mutiro.
John Mutiro is currently a Masters Student at Åbo Akademi University studying International Law and Human Rights. They have previously worked for the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission in Kenya and have been interning at KIOS since September 2025.