Uphold sexual minority rights in the great lakes

1. Introduction

The Human Rights First Rwanda Association (HRFRA) is implementing the project “Uphold Sexual Minority Rights in the Great Lakes”, aimed at contributing to the protection and promotion of human rights, access to justice, and dignity of sexual minorities and other vulnerable communities in the region.

During the reporting period, HRFRA continued implementing activities focused on legal support, human rights awareness, documentation, capacity strengthening, referrals, and stakeholder engagement.

2. Activities Implemented

During the reporting period, HRFRA undertook the following activities:

• Legal support and referrals: Provided legal information, counselling, and referrals to individuals experiencing human rights concerns.

• Human rights awareness: Conducted awareness and information-sharing activities on fundamental rights, equality, non-discrimination, and access to justice.

• Documentation: Continued documenting reported human rights concerns using confidential and safeguarding-sensitive approaches.

• Capacity strengthening: Supported community actors and civil society stakeholders to strengthen their knowledge of human rights, legal protection, documentation, and advocacy.

• Networking and collaboration: Strengthened cooperation and referral linkages among civil society organizations, legal professionals, human rights defenders, and community actors.

• Advocacy and engagement: Promoted constructive dialogue and evidence-based advocacy on human rights protection and access to justice.

3. Key Achievements

The implementation of the project contributed to:

• Improved access to legal information and referral services.

• Strengthened mechanisms for documenting human rights concerns.

• Increased capacity of community and civil society actors to respond to human rights issues.

• Improved coordination and collaboration among relevant stakeholders.

• Increased availability of evidence to support human rights advocacy and engagement.

4. Challenges

Implementation continued to face challenges related to the sensitive nature of sexual minority rights, including concerns regarding confidentiality, stigma, and the safety of individuals reporting human rights concerns.

Limited resources also affected the scale and geographical coverage of some activities. HRFRA addressed these challenges through a confidential, risk-sensitive, and community-centered approach.

5. Lessons Learned

The project demonstrated the importance of maintaining community trust, confidentiality, and safe referral mechanisms when working on sensitive human rights issues. It also confirmed the value of collaboration between community actors, civil society organizations, and legal professionals in strengthening access to justice and protection.

6. Next Steps

HRFRA will continue to:

1. Provide legal information, counselling, and referrals.

2. Strengthen confidential human rights documentation mechanisms.

3. Build the capacity of community actors and human rights defenders.

4. Strengthen partnerships with civil society organizations and legal professionals.

5. Use documented evidence to inform advocacy and stakeholder engagement.

6. Maintain safeguarding and confidentiality throughout project implementation.

7. Conclusion

Overall, the project has contributed to strengthening access to human rights information, legal support, documentation, referral mechanisms, and advocacy. HRFRA remains committed to ensuring that vulnerable communities can access appropriate support while maintaining their dignity, safety, and confidentiality.

HRFRA sincerely appreciates the continued support of GlobalGiving and its donors, which has enabled the organization to advance human rights protection and access to justice through this project.