The Norwegian Human Rights Fund
Our mandate and our goal
The Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF) works to protect and promote human rights internationally through direct support to organisations and movements working in the first line of defence for human rights.
Our goal is that marginalized and vulnerable individuals and groups who experience human rights violations and injustices are able to claim their rights and have them fulfilled.
Our history and our members
The Norwegian Human Rights Fund was established in 1988 by a collective of Norwegian civil society, academia and workers’ unions. As of 2025, the following organisations and institutions contribute strategically, professionally and financially to the NHRF’s work and are represented in the NHRF’s Board: Amnesty International Norway, the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, the Atlas Alliance, the Church of Norway Council on Ecumenical and International Relations, and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.
Our team
With a lean structure, we have a head office in Oslo of 12 staff members, a country office in Colombia with 16 staff members and part-time consultants in each of our priority countries, who are an important part of our team.
Our values and thematic areas
We aim to be a courageous and flexible donor and partner, acting in solidarity with grassroots human rights organisations and human rights defenders around the world.
We direct our support to local human rights organisations through three interlinked thematic areas:
- Fight against impunity and for access to justice
- Dismantling discrimination, inequality and marginalisation
- Protecting human rights defenders and the right to defend rights
We work through three methods to support our grantee partners:
- Direct financial support for human rights work
- Networking and capacity building
- Communications, advocacy and strategic alliance building
Our priority countries
We work in 7 priority countries:
- Colombia
- Mexico
- India
- Indonesia
- Pakistan
- Thailand
- Sri Lanka
In addition, we support organisations and projects focused on the protection of human rights defenders and the right to defend rights also outside of our priority countries (22 grantee partners).
Accounts
At the NHRF, we support organizations of various sizes. The chart illustrates the annual total budget size (in US Dollars) of the organizations we fund. The funding from the NHRF is part of this total.
Get to know more about funding for grantee partners, our finances and our donors in the next button:
Stories from the ground
What will happen if the defenders of Human Rights Disappear?
The U.S. is freezing its support— suddenly leaving local human rights defenders alone in the struggle to secure universal human rights and achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. What can Norway do?
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“I cannot be effective when exhausted” Oslo continues to offer important breathing space for human rights defenders!
“I would summarize my programme experience as exactly what I needed to take a break from all my usual responsibilities and live my life differently. This space helped me not only to breathe, but to exhale first and realize that I cannot be effective when exhausted.” – Stanislava, Ukrainian human rights defender and Oslo Breathing Space City guest during Autumn 2024
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Women at Work Seminar 2024
Our second regional seminar as part of our Women at Work programme took place in November 2024 in Negombo, Sri Lanka. Find the impressions and highlights from the seminar in this article.
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Annual Report 2023
In the NHRF Annual Report for 2023, you will find comprehensive information on the NHRF's activities and the remarkable work carried out by our grantee partners throughout the year.
Oslo Breathing Space City
The NHRF is currently the secretariat for Oslo Breathing Space City - a temporary relocation programme with the aim of creating a breathing space for human rights defenders living in stressful or hostile environments. The pilot project running in 2023 and 2024 is rooted in Norwegian civil society and was initiated by five Norway-based organisations: Amnesty International Norway, Human Rights House Foundation, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, the Rafto Foundation and The Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF).
Our work in Colombia
The NHRF has been increasing its support to civil society organizations in Colombia through a new donor agreement with the Norwegian Embassy in Bogotá and with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad). In the spring of 2020, the NHRF Colombia Office opened, which has enabled us to increase close monitoring and follow-up of the grantees and to ensure targeted, fit-for-purpose capacity building.