While 2025 has already dealt some surprising and significant blows to the global fight for human rights, we’re not only hopeful — we’re inspired. Why? Because no matter how troubling the headlines, we know the truth. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.”
In other words, the success of our partners around the world may take time and patience. But our work together is on the right side of history. And we’re not going anywhere.
That’s why we’re spotlighting a story by one of AJWS’s human rights experts in East Africa. It outlines how a movement of activists creatively fought a recent conference of fundamentalist, right-wing (and largely American) lobbyists who descended on Nairobi to spread anti-women’s rights and anti-LGBTQI+ hatred. But as you’ll read, these activists were unafraid — and exposed the conference’s bigoted agenda.
Their campaign against hate was just one piece of a much bigger puzzle. But it shows how our partners evolve, remain resilient, and never, ever walk away from the struggle to ensure that all people can live with safety and dignity. And that’s more than enough to give us hope. Read this inspiring piece here.
How we fight fundamentalist “family values” movements in Africa — and how you can, too
More Stories of Hope
- Human rights struggles can take generations — sometimes in the same family. Read this beautiful story of Flori and her mother, Marta, two women leaders of the struggle for Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala to claim their rights to land, water and natural resources.
- In Kenya’s Embobut forest, the Indigenous Sengwer people have been abused by state authorities for years. But recently, they claimed a massive victory: halting evictions and acquiring the rights to land to start a sustainable tree nursery. Read about this human rights win!
AJWS at 40: The ongoing fight to preserve natural resources in Kenya
You know most human rights victories in the AJWS universe take time. In Kenya, a coalition of human rights, environmental and energy justice organizations known as deCOALonize has been fighting for nearly a decade against government plans to build a massive network of environmentally-devastating ports, oil refineries and coal plants. Today, our partners in deCOALonize remain embroiled in the struggle, awaiting an appeal ruling later this year.
Revisit this powerful piece from 2019 and gather strength for the fights ahead.
Take Action!
Creativity, perseverance and optimism — they’re all necessary to make change. But making an impact can also be quick and easy. Click here to send a letter directly to your member of Congress, demanding they support The GLOBE Act — a bill that would make preventing and responding to LGBTQI+ discrimination and violence a foreign policy priority for the U.S. This bill, supported by AJWS and our allies, would hold LGBTQI+ rights violators accountable through sanctions; task the U.S. government with responding to attacks worldwide; and allow those fleeing anti-LGBTQI+ persecution to seek asylum in the U.S.
We can’t predict what else 2025 will bring. But we’ll be ready to weather any storm together.