Status: OPEN / RAPID RESPONSE | Verification: VERIFIED | Last verified: 30 September 2026.
Front Line Defenders provides Protection Grants to human rights defenders at risk and their organizations for urgent security and protection needs connected to peaceful human rights work.
Funding: up to EUR 7,500.
Application route: encrypted online application.
Purpose: practical protection and security measures.
What can the grant cover?
Examples include physical or digital security, communication security, legal fees for defenders facing judicial harassment, medical costs resulting from attacks or human-rights work, and family assistance where defenders or family members are at risk.
What is not funded?
The program does not support retrospective costs, international organizations, duplicate support for the same purpose, general human-rights projects not tied to a specific defender’s protection situation, routine office costs or armed guards.
Official application
Submit through the encrypted Front Line Defenders Protection Grant form.
Should you apply?
Best fit for: human rights defenders or organizations facing a concrete, current protection risk directly linked to peaceful human-rights work.
Probably not a fit if: the request is for routine office costs, a general human-rights project without a specific protection need, retrospective expenses or armed security.
Africads application tips: explain the threat and its connection to the defender’s work; request only the protection measures necessary to reduce that risk; and use secure communications when sharing sensitive details.
Before you apply: Organise only the safe evidence needed to explain the protection risk
Applicants should use a safe device, secure internet connection and a safe contact method where communication itself could create risk. Use the Africads Grant Evidence Inventory to identify what non-sensitive proof you can safely organise, what is missing, and what should not be shared unnecessarily.
Need a fit or application review?
If you request Africads support, share only the minimum non-sensitive information needed to assess fit or proposal completeness. Request support.
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