Frontline human rights defenders seek to protect and promote the rights of vulnerable and marginalized communities in the face of state or corporate repression, doing incredibly important work worldwide to ensure that human rights are upheld in every corner of the planet. Yet, around the world, our human rights defenders are increasingly under attack.
Each year, the Carr Center works with Harvard’s Scholars at Risk Program to bring multiple Human Rights Defenders to Harvard University to sponsor their continued work and research. These human rights defenders become fellows at the Carr Center for one year, connecting with faculty, students, and other fellows. Our most recent Human Rights Defenders include Danson Kahyana, Associate Professor at Makerere University and former President of PEN Uganda; Amani Matabaro Tom, Founding Director of Action Kivu and the Co-Founder and Executive Director of ABFEC in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Maria Kuznetsova, MPP '25 at HKS and Spokesperson for OVD-Info in Russia.
Learn more about our current and past human rights defenders below.
Our Latest Human Rights Defenders
Danson Kahyana
Danson Sylvester Kahyana is an Associate Professor in the Department of Literature, Makerere University, Uganda and is President Emeritus of Ugandan PEN and a former Board member of PEN International (2019-2022). He holds a PhD in English Studies from Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He is a published poet and writer of children’s books, and is also an accomplished curator of anthologies, with several edited titles like Striding to Triumph: Poems from Kasese Secondary School (2023) and I Promise This Song Is Not About Politics: A Poetry Anthology (2022). Most of these anthologies mainstream governance and human rights issues.
Q: What is the current situation in Uganda, including President Museveni’s very lengthy reign, the creation of repressive legislation, and the problems faced during elections?
A: This is President Museveni’s 39th year in power—just imagine that! Thirty-nine years, and the same person is still the President of Uganda, which remains a poor developing country.
This long reign has been made possible through several tactics, including manipulating the Parliament of Uganda to amend the constitution in two major respects: removing term limits (in 2005), and removing the age limit (in 2017). Previously, the term limit provision had stipulated that one could serve as President for two 5-year terms (i.e., a maximum of 10 years), and the age limit provision stipulated that one could not serve as President beyond the age of 75. By manipulating the parliament to remove these two provisions, Museveni ensured that he could rule Uganda till he dies. How did the manipulation take place? Uganda media reported that on both occasions, members of parliament had been paid by the president to amend the constitution.
As for elections, it is common knowledge that they are not free and fair in Uganda. The military and other security forces are always heavily involved in them for the benefit of the ruling party. Unfortunately, we have seen people lose their lives in every election we have held; others get maimed as they are beaten by security forces. What we have is an electoral autocracy—the use of elections to sanitize a tyrannical regime.
This situation has led to apathy and a sense of hopelessness—there is a feeling that the future of the country is doomed, since President Museveni is repeating the mistakes that the rulers before him (like Milton Obote and Idi Amin, for instance) made... But there are also people who believe that sooner or later, the country will be liberated since President Museveni is getting older.
This response has been edited for length. Read our full interview with Danson Kahyana.
Amani Matabaro Tom
Amani Matabaro Tom is the Founding Director of Action Kivu and the co-founder and Executive Director of ABFEC (Action for the Welfare of Women and Children in Congo), a Congolese grassroots organization for which Action Kivu, a U.S. based nonprofit organization, raises awareness and funds to provide the resources for ABFEC’s community-based initiatives that foster equality for conflict-affected women and children in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Tom works every day to advance human rights, good governance and justice in his home country and his work has put him at high risks on a daily basis.
Q: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, what are the impacts of former colonization, deadly wars, and now the proliferation of widespread mining on local communities, environment, and living conditions?
A: It is a very unfortunate situation for the Democratic Republic of Congo. The reality is that history has been repeating itself over and over again through the perpetuation of undocumented and untold human rights violations, mass atrocities, and crimes against humanity. Between 1885 and 1908, King Leopold II of the Belgium ruled the Congo as his personal dominion. During this period, the country was forced to endure the systematic and brutal economic exploitation of its natural resources, especially ivory and rubber, via forced labor. Each person working on the rubber plantation had to meet a daily rubber quota, and if they did not meet their quota, their relatives were killed, dismembered, or sold as slaves.
These inhumane practices resulted in the death of 10 million people and has resulted in a hidden history of genocide—simply because there was high demand for rubber to power the economy of the automobile industry revolution. Similar practices are happening today in the same territory, perpetuated by feuding foreign and local militias that seek control over the strategic minerals essential to the tech industry and the ‘’green’’ energy transition. These endless and deadly conflicts in the previous and present centuries have all been centered on the extraction of natural resources. Local communities in the DRC, especially in the eastern region of the country, are left very vulnerable because the world needs strategic minerals to power the technology industry.
Consequently, over seven million people are currently internally displaced and 500–600 are forced into refugee status on a daily basis... We see forced child labor in multiple mining operations, and people are working in very dire conditions with, in most cases, no personal protection equipment—in addition to very poor payment. Local communities are evicted with no compulsory purchase request order if minerals are discovered within their land. And because of fraud and smuggling, many mining companies operate illegally and never pay taxes to the government. Consequently, local communities end up remaining in extreme poverty, despite the fact that their country is extremely rich with abundant precious minerals.
This response has been edited for length. Read our full interview with Amani Tom.
Maria Kuznetsova
Maria Kuznetsova is a human rights expert from Russia who tackles political prosecution and anti-war repressions. She has expertise in developing international advocacy campaigns and engaging in strategic communication with journalists and public figures on human rights issues, especially in the context of Russian war against Ukraine. Kuznetsova is a MPP ‘25 candidate at Harvard Kennedy School, a Fellow at the Carr Center, a Belfer Young Leader at the Belfer Center, and Spokeperson for OVD-Info, based in Moscow, Russia.
Q: What goes into an effective advocacy campaign—especially in countries and regions where it is difficult to do this kind of work?
A: One thing about authoritarian regimes, including Russia but probably excluding China and North Korea, is that most are still afraid of both domestic and international publicity, so it is important to get the word out. For example, when Russia tried to block YouTube a few months ago, it actually generated massive outrage inside Russia among non-political people, because kids watch videos on YouTube, moms watch cooking videos, and so on—so Putin unblocked it. Internationally, they still need allies in the United Nations. So, they will pretend that they are not that bad, and that they still have a human face, so as to not generate too much negative international publicity. They still want to trade, they still want to have international relations, and they don't want to be seen as criminals—although, I guess in the case of Russia, it's too late.
One of the most important things about the internet and being interconnected is having more policy around Big Tech. Again, Apple and Google are still often compliant with Putin's censorship. They do the same in India, because India is a huge market for them. They want to keep their profits. And that's sometimes the simplest way in which authoritarian regimes are enforced. In the U.S., not allowing censorship on the internet is probably one of the things that can help both here and abroad.
This response has been edited for length. Read our full interview with Maria Kuznetsova.
Past Human Rights Defenders at the Carr Center
Nicholas Opiyo is the Executive Director and Lead Attorney at Chapter Four Uganda, a civil rights charity working to defend civil liberties. He has worked tirelessly since 2005 to defend civil liberties in Uganda, often for free and on behalf of society’s most vulnerable and marginalized. He grew up in Gulu, Northern Uganda, at the height of the deadly conflict between the government and the Lord’s Resistance Army, trekking long distances to avoid abduction by the LRA. In his practice, he has a diverse clientele, including anti-corruption and pro-democracy activists, and social media activists charged with offending the president. While performing research at the Carr Center, he joined us for a Justice Matters episode to discuss campaigning for civil rights and political freedoms in Uganda, the clampdown on freedom of speech and freedom of press, and the rights of LGBTQ+ communities in the country.
Sima Samar has a distinguished career of unwavering commitment to championing the rights of marginalized communities, with a particular focus on her homeland, Afghanistan, spans decades. Her appointment to the United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement and the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation in 2019 underscores her significant contributions to global humanitarian efforts. Additionally, her tenure as Chairperson of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission showcased her fearless advocacy for the rights of women and marginalized groups, often in perilous circumstances. Dr. Samar's numerous accolades, including a Nobel Peace Prize nomination, attest to the profound impact of her work. She currently serves as a 2024 Fellow with the Fletcher School at Tufts University. While performing research at the Carr Center, she joined us for a Justice Matters episode to discuss the political situation in Afghanistan, the status of women and girls in the country, and the role and responsibility of the international community.
Matthew Smith is co-founder and CEO of Fortify Rights, a human rights organization based in Southeast Asia that supports human rights defenders and investigates human rights violations, combining two commonly separate areas of the human rights movement. Fortify Rights was the 2018 recipient of the Roger E. Joseph Prize for its “extraordinary work” to protect survivors of mass atrocity crimes and hold perpetrators accountable in Myanmar. Smith's work has exposed genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and multi-billion-dollar corruption. While performing research at the Carr Center, he joined us for a Justice Matters episode to discuss the Rohingya crisis, the importance of documentation, and the role of power in constructing narratives around human rights.
Binalakshmi Nepram is an indigenous scholar and human rights defender from Manipur, northeast India. Her work focuses on deepening democracy and championing women-led peace, security, and disarmament in South Asia. She is the founder of three organizations: the Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network, the Control Arms Foundation of India, and the Global Alliance of Indigenous Peoples, Gender Justice, and Peace. In 2010, Bina initiated the Northeast India Women Initiative for Peace to ensure that indigenous women in Northeast India are included in peace talks and processes. Her work has garnered international recognition, including the Anna Politskovskaya Award (2018), Women have Wings Award (2016), CNN IBN Real Heroes Award (2011), and more. She is currently the Senior Advisor on Religion and Inclusive Societies at the United States Institute of Peace.
Rodrigo Diamanti is a human rights and campaign expert who graduated from Harvard Kennedy School’s MPA program in 2017. During his 15 years of experience mobilizing thousands of people to defend democracy and human rights in Latin America, Diamanti founded international NGO "Un Mundo Sin Mordaza (A World Without Censorship)" with activists in 200 cities around the globe and a presence in 52 countries. When he was a student in his country, Diamanti contributed to changing the country’s leadership by bringing the Student Movement of Venezuela to center stage and mobilizing more than 200,000 people to defend democracy. He is currently the Founder and Chairman of the Board at Freedom Academy, which trains activists in non-violent methods for challenging authoritarian regimes.
Sreang Heng is a celebrated scholar who has written extensively about the socio-political challenges facing Cambodia. In recent years, he has authored several academic articles relating to justice in Cambodia, participation in social and political affairs in contemporary Cambodia, and the influence of Korean pop culture on Cambodian society. Since 2009, he has carried out an independent research project that delves into the politics of land concessions and economic development in Cambodia, focusing mainly on how deforestation and land clearances affect Cambodia in the long run. He previously led PEN Cambodia as its President from 2010–2019.