WWAV’s Executive Director, Deon Haywood, will be part of a select group of 100 human rights defenders to participate in the Seventh Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders.
Since our founding, WWAV has known that our work is not just for our participants, or even for women and LGBTQ communities across the South, but for all people who have been criminalized across the world.  We are thrilled to have this opportunity to learn from and with the international activists brought together at this event, and to amplify the voices of our community on the global stage.
Established in 2002 the Front Line Defenders’ Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders is a biannual event which provides a truly unique opportunity for human rights defenders at-risk, from every corner of the world, to come together to share experiences, learn from one another, discuss relevant issues and engage with decision makers from governmental and intergovernmental bodies.
As part of each Dublin Platform, Front Line Defenders works with all of the participants to coordinate panel discussions, defender testimonies, presentations and working groups to address the most pressing security and protection issues facing human rights defenders in their daily lives. Each year considerable focus is given to methods of strengthening the mechanisms of protection, engaging the international community, holding perpetrators accountable and providing support to those under attack.
To date, the six Dublin Platforms in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2011 have each brought together more than 100 human rights defenders from over 80 countries around the world.
The Seventh Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders is due to take place in October 2013.