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- The Case of Human Rights Defenders Around the World
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The Case of Human Rights Defenders Around the World
A Look Back at the Roundtable at the Migration Festival and the Opening of the Defenders Exhibition in Teranga.
Five Luxembourgish NGOs—AEIN, CPJPO, Friends of Tibet, FDH and SOS Faim—joined forces in an exhibition dedicated to human rights defenders. This exhibition highlights those who, often working behind the scenes, act with courage to protect fundamental rights and human dignity.
In March 2025, the “Human Rights Defenders” exhibition was presented at Luxexpo The Box as part of the Festival of Migration, Cultures and Citizenship. A roundtable discussion entitled “Stimulating Global and Solidarity-Based Civic Engagement in Luxembourg: The Case of Human Rights Defenders Around the World” was held at the event. Daniel Pascual, coordinator of the Comite de Unidad Campesina (CUC) in Guatemala, and Tenzin Namgyal, a member of the International Tibet Network, our committed and passionate experts, shared their experiences and struggles for human rights around the world. They provided concrete insights into the challenges related to their respective contexts.
The exhibition and roundtable discussion generated significant public interest and led to rich and constructive exchanges. The entire day contributed to raising awareness of the importance of supporting human rights defenders and promoting spaces for dialogue and solidarity.
The Defenders exhibition was also displayed at Teranga in September and in the town of Strassen in October, each time inaugurated with a private viewing.
During the private viewings, particular attention was paid to the case of Moussa Tchangari, a leading figure in Nigerien civil society and a long-time partner of projects supported by SOS Faim. President of the organisation Alternative Espaces Citoyens, he was subjected to enforced disappearance in December 2024 before being arbitrarily detained in Niger from January 2025. Despite concerns publicly expressed by Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Nigerien authorities have not provided any official response to the accusations of judicial harassment and procedural irregularities against him. Through this exhibition, the partner organisations wished to emphasise that supporting human rights defenders is not only a moral imperative but a necessity for preserving democratic values, social justice and our shared humanity. In a global context marked by the rise of authoritarianism and the erosion of fundamental freedoms, their protection remains a collective responsibility.
