Temporary protective relocation for civil-society actors and artists at risk as a contribution to the creation of pre-political spaces

There exist more than 50 temporary international relocation initiatives which endeavour to assist human rights defenders at risk in relocating outside of their state. The largest of these initiatives are run by civil society and exist on a regional level, relocating HRDs at risk to other states within the region. However, there are also smaller programmes of international relocation that relocate human rights defenders at risk globally (outside of the region), usually to Europe.

The organised provision of international protection by civil society has a long history, with the some of the older temporary international relocation programmes having histories of more than half a century.  Initiatives vary widely in the type of human rights defender to which protection is offered, the length and support given during the relocation, and the organisation of the initiative. 

While these initiatives primarily seek to offer protection to human rights defenders at risk, they have a broader impact on host communities, the larger communities from which the at risk defenders are drawn, and the international human rights movement

This research project asked what Shelter and Relocation Programmes contribute towards enhancing civil-society initiatives, critically cultural scenes and their key players; how the effect of these programmes be measured and possibly improved; and which accompanying measures are particularly effective to enable a meaningful stay for actors at risk in the “shelter”, a safe return to their home country with new perspectives and/or a successful integration in host communities.