Founded in 2018 on a fundamental commitment to human rights, HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement seeks to achieve a greater resident and non-resident MENA citizens engagement in the policymaking. HuMENA is an independent advocacy and action organization that challenges MENA to live up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Law.

We believe that the mind sets of decision-makers on the value of engagement need to change, and that citizens participation in policymaking is essential to human rights protection and democracy, so we press the MENA governments, public institutions, and private companies to respect human rights and adopt a human rights-based approach through working on inducing change in power dynamics, strengthening accountability, promoting non-discrimination, and encouraging partnerships among NGOs in the region.

We know it is not enough to expose violations and protest injustice, so we work on creating the enabling environment for citizens engagement and activism, and we design policy solutions necessary to ensure consistent respect for human rights. Whether we are protecting freedom of expression, combating governments attacks on civic space, re-engaging marginalized MENA diaspora activists, and defending the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, we focus not on making a point, but on making a change.

We recognize that empowering citizens to make their voices heard is not enough. We have to go beyond just listening to citizens; rather, we need to press governments in the region to build institutional systems that incorporate citizens voices in the decision-making processes, and thereby increase the responsiveness of governments policies to people’s real needs.