The proposed project aims to protect and support human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society activists in Ukraine, ensuring their vital role in safeguarding democratic progress and human rights amidst ongoing challenges from Russia’s full-scale invasion. Ukrainian civil society faces numerous threats, including intimidation, harassment, and restricted civic freedoms under martial law. These issues are compounded by the war’s impact on displaced populations, marginalized groups, and rural communities.
To address these challenges, the project focuses on two key objectives: raising awareness among national and international stakeholders about threats to civil society and providing targeted support to HRDs and activists. Activities include monitoring threats, publishing analytical reports, advocacy campaigns, and offering emergency legal, psychological, and security assistance to vulnerable groups. Additionally, sub-grants and mentorship programs will strengthen grassroots initiatives advocating for transparency, inclusion, and justice.
Target groups include HRDs, activists, minorities, displaced persons, and rural communities, particularly those exposed to violence or persecution. The project also engages policymakers, media, and international organizations to create a supportive environment for civil society. Ultimately, it aims to foster Ukraine’s democratic transition and alignment with European values by empowering civil society to play an active role in post-war recovery and reform processes.

ZMINA designed an intervention that seeks to achieve the following goal – to protect and support human rights defenders (HRDs) and civil society activists in Ukraine to contribute to Ukraine’s progress on human rights and democracy in its reform agenda on the path toward the European Union following Russia’s full-scale invasion. With this project, ZMINA aims to increase support for independent civil society in Ukraine and improve the sense of security among the target groups and their willingness to continue civic and human rights activity on the path toward the European Union following Russia’s full-scale military invasion.
To achieve this goal, ZMINA identified two primary objectives of this project. Objective 1 of the proposed intervention focuses on making national and international policy-makers and other stakeholders as well as broader society in Ukraine aware of the threats and challenges for civil society and its important role in Ukraine’s reform progress, which is on the path toward the European Union, due to access to high-quality monitoring data, awareness raising campaign, analytical reports, and targeted advocacy and policy recommendations. Objective 2 of the proposed project focuses on supporting emerging and existing human rights groups and diverse civil society leaders in Ukraine to contribute to reform processes for Ukraine’s recovery and democratic transition following Russia’s full-scale military invasion.

As a result, ZMINA aims to:
● Collect and publish results from detailed monitoring and documentation of various types of threats and intimidation of human rights defenders and civil society activists across Ukraine continued.
● Conduct targeted awareness raising and advocacy campaigns with a particular focus on representatives of diverse civic groups (such as women, people with disabilities, LGBTQI+, veterans, IDPs, ethnic, national, and religious minorities, etc.).
● Systematically work with at least 10 national and international policymakers and other stakeholders responsible for civil society protection (including the Ukrainian Parliament, the Ombudsman, the National Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, etc.).
● Engage at least 5 million people with information about the situation with freedom of association, assembly, and expression in Ukraine, the climate for civil society, and cases of persecution of human rights defenders and civic activists as a result of an awareness raising campaign, including news, in-depth articles, social media posts, TV and radio airs, video and audio podcasts and other multimedia broadcasting.
● Provide different types of support (including legal aid, emergency assistance, sub-granting, mentorship support, solidarity actions, networking sessions etc.) to at least 20 emerging and existing CSOs and 100 civil society representatives representing diverse social groups in case of pressure due to their active role in promoting inclusive and democratic development, discovering cases of misconduct and corruption, protecting the environment, defending human rights, vulnerable monitories, demanding justice and accountability, etc.