Throughout the last decade, the South Africa region has grown increasingly hostile to human rights defenders and discourse. Laws in the South African Development Community states have grown more restrictive, as rates of violence against media actors and human rights defenders have risen. ABA ROLI is a key implementation partner for the Southern Africa Regional Human Rights Program (SARHRP). Undertaken in coordination with Freedom House, Pact, and Internews, the Advancing Rights in Southern Africa (ARISA) Program represents a large-scale undertaking to develop and strengthen human rights in the Southern Africa region.
The program concentrates actions at the national and regional level with a focus on the countries of Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa. Read more about the ARISA program here.