Since 2016, the IHRC EU Office coordinates IHRC advocacy activities with EU Institutions, including the European External Action Services, European Parliament, European Commission and EU Delegations.

IHRC advocacy work in the EU currently focuses on three main strands:

– Campaigning for the release of the political activists and human rights defenders e.g. Sheikh el-Zakzaky and Mallama Zeenah in Nigeria

– Protecting migrants’ rights in Southern European Countries

– Combatting Islamophobia in Europe

These actions are pursued through the following activities:

• Follow-up of the policy developments on a number of issues that relate to anti-discrimination, anti-racism, counter-terrorism, media laws and regulation at the EU and national levels;
• Reinforcing existing networks (network-strengthening and community-building activities) of human rights and civil society networks in Brussels and across Europe;
• Presenting IHRC and its positions on a number of policy areas to International and European stakeholders at institutional and civil society levels;
• Writing position papers, briefing documents, press releases, research, newsletters to be promoted and disseminated in relevant EU arenas;
• Advocating on behalf of individual cases of human rights activists to the EU officers as laid down in the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, e.g. raising cases with national authorities, observing trials, visiting detained human rights defenders.