Diaspora & Exile
Regional & Diaspora
Working with MENA diasporas: stopping deportations of activists, supporting defenders in exile, and researching activism in exile.
Our position on Diaspora & Exile
We call on host states to stop deporting and extraditing activists to countries where they face torture, to protect exiled defenders from transnational repression, and to recognise diaspora activists as part of the movement for change at home.
HuMENA
Areas of work
What we work on with the diaspora.
Civic Space & Freedoms
LatestGuide to Artivism in Exile: Between Expression, Struggle, and Societal Transformation
Protection of Defenders
LatestGender and Sexuality Activism in Exile: A Toolkit for Human Rights Defenders and LGBTI Activists
Inclusive Governance & Justice
LatestMENA Diaspora Paving Road to Justice: What Is Strategic Litigation and Why It Matters
Diaspora & Exile Engagement
LatestAdvocacy from Exile: A Strategic Guide for Human Rights Defenders
Chronicle
HuMENA's work in Diaspora & Exile
Our statements, letters and reports on the diaspora, newest first.
Sep 2026
TOOLKIT
Jan 2026
ANALYSIS
Feb 2024
PRESS RELEASES
Oct 2023
JOINT STATEMENTS
Jun 2022
JOINT STATEMENTS
Feb 2021
JOINT STATEMENTS
At the international level
Where this work meets the institutions.
UN Special Procedures
Communications on transnational repression
EU and host states
Advocacy on defender protection abroad
Coalition work
With diaspora networks and host-country NGOs
Defenders
Cases we follow.
Human rights defenders, journalists and lawyers whose cases in the diaspora we follow. Some people we document are not named here, for their safety.
Publications
Reports, statements, and analyses.
Gender and Sexuality Activism in Exile: A Toolkit for Human Rights Defenders and LGBTI Activists
Advocacy from Exile: A Strategic Guide for Human Rights Defenders
Guide to Artivism in Exile: Between Expression, Struggle, and Societal Transformation
How Access Pathways Reshape the Public Sphere in the Diaspora… Unwritten Rules that Redistribute Legitimacy Within Activism in Exile
Bulgaria: Saudi activist at risk of deportation
HuMENA Announcing the “Activism in Exile (2019-2024)” Impact Report
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