Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Artists at Risk (AR) and City of Helsinki to launch pilot programme to support human rights defenders

During 2025, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Artists at Risk (AR) and the City of Helsinki will implement a pilot programme to provide temporary support and protection to human rights defenders in Finland. The programme will support a three-month temporary stay relocation in Finland.

Human rights defenders work in increasingly dangerous conditions and may face a variety of different challenges due to their work, such as threats and harassment. In the worst case, even their lives may be at risk.

This small-scale pilot programme will provide two human rights defenders with an opportunity to continue defending human rights, democracy and civil society in a safe and stable environment. During the pilot programme to be implemented in 2025, two human rights defenders will be given an opportunity to stay in Finland for three months (90 days). During their stay, they can continue their work and build networks.

The main coordinator of the programme is the Finnish organization Artists at Risk that has over ten years’ experience of protection programmes for vulnerable and persecuted professionals in the field of arts who are human rights defenders or fleeing the war, for example in Ukraine. Artists at Risk operates both in Finland and internationally. The City of Helsinki is the host city of the programme. The programme is funded by the European Union Human Rights Defenders mechanism ProtectDefenders.eu, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the City of Helsinki.

Decisions on the future of a national support programme will be made on the basis of the experiences gained from the pilot programme.