Johannesburg, South Africa, is the city that hosted the first All African Human Rights Defenders Conference in 1998 – the gathering which laid the foundation for the establishment of AfricanDefenders (the Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network), in 2008.
Johannesburg is the home of the Southern African Human Rights Defenders Network (SAHRDN), hosted by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). Another key partner in Johannesburg is Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR), an organisation promoting human rights and providing legal aid to vulnerable or marginalised individuals since 1979. With many renowned universities and an active civil society, Johannesburg is a place where human rights defenders can thrive.
