YouthDefend- Youth Defenders Empowerment Initiative

YouthDefend project addresses the shrinking civic space in Europe by focusing on young human rights defenders (YHRDs), who are increasingly subject to harassment, surveillance and criminalisation. These restrictions limit their ability to participate in democratic life and to defend fundamental rights. The project provides a concrete response by establishing a systematic monitoring and advocacy mechanism that documents violations, strengthens the protection of YHRDs, and supports the resilience of civil society. Coordinated by Fair Trials Europe, together with Civil Rights Defenders, Hungarian Helsinki Committee and Italian Coalition for Civil Liberties and Rights, the project runs for 24 months and combine legal expertise, advocacy capacity and technical know-how. It will develop a monitoring methodology aligned with EU and international civic space indicators and apply it in three representative Member States (Hungary, Sweden and Italy). The evidence will be centralised in a digital platform functioning as a civic space observatory. This platform will provide real-time access for CSOs, policymakers and institutions, and will enable analysis and comparison across countries. The findings will be translated into concrete policy recommendations through briefs, legal submissions and targeted advocacy.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.