Since its inception, the Foundation has allocated support to 1,071 human right defenders, groups and NGOs. The overall amount allocated levels EUR 11 million:
- 383 grants were allocated in emergency to protect the lives and safety of these actors in difficult contexts in the amount of EUR 2 million (an average of EUR 5,681 per grant);
- 472 grants were allocated to consolidate the operational capacities of these actors to professionalize their activity and increase their sustainability prospects in the amount of EUR 9 million (an average of EUR 18,437 per grant).
The Foundation activity has significantly developed during the period 2005-2017:
Since 2011, 73% of the Foundation’s interventions were carried out in countries in armed conflict situations or in environments increasingly hostile for civil society, such as Syria, Libya, Egypt, Algeria, Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. For example, due to grants supporting urgent relocation or medical needs, over 200 individual defenders have avoided threats against their lives. 111 human rights organisations facing arbitrary suspension procedures have been able to retain a physical presence and implement contingency plans to remain resilient in these countries and abroad. As a result, dozens of Syrian human rights groups rose to become the main sources of information for the international community and the media on developments and violations occurring in Syria. Today, these organizations are further exploring the use of the universal jurisdiction and working in collaboration with UN mechanisms to bring justice to victims. Pro-bono representation services have also been provided to over thousand defenders as well as union leaders, journalists, peaceful protesters, artists and students facing trials on fabricated criminal charges before civilian and military courts in Egypt. Moreover, a group of Libyan defenders has also set up a network to strengthen coordination efforts from outside Libya and present joint recommendations in the framework of the political dialogue held by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). They also supported the UNSMIL and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce a report on threats and assaults against Libyan defenders.
25% of the Foundation’s interventions were aimed at strengthening emerging civil society initiatives to advance reforms and deflect any possible setbacks in other countries transitioning toward democracy, notably Morocco and Tunisia. Since 2011, the Foundation has notably supported over a hundred emerging Tunisian and Moroccan civil society initiatives, which mainly operate outside the capital. Several of these initiatives have, for example, provided critical readings of the constitution drafts, proposed reforms to combat violence against women and provided recommendations on how to reform the education system, the employment sector as well as repealing the discriminatory provisions of the penal code and establishing a regulatory institution for the audio-visual sector. Other initiatives have established support units, such as counselling centres for rural women victims of violence and discrimination, and citizenship clubs for children and young people to empower thousands of young people and women on fundamental rights.