The Award, which is now in its 12^th year, is given to a human rights defender who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of human rights in their community over the past twelve months. The EU congratulates the three shortlisted nominees, who were chosen following a review of dozens of nominations received from members of the public.

1. Solomon Serwanjja is an investigative journalist and Executive Director of the African Institute for Investigative Journalism. Over the past year he has been very actively working on key human rights issues through investigations and documentaries into labour rights (externalisation of labour), housing rights and access to basic services (slum populations), torture (organising large-scale discussions about torture following high-profile cases in 2022) and a range of other issues. He has faced threats, arrest and harassment as a result of his reporting over the years.

2.   Richard Lusimbo is an active and well known LGBT+ and human rights activist, filmmaker and public speaker. He is known for openly talking about being gay in Uganda, and advocating for rights for marginalised groups. He is the founder and Director General of The Ugandan Key Populations Consortium (UKPC), which aims to bring together and advocate for issues for key population-led organisations. The organisation has cooperated with UNAIDS, UNDP, WHO, Aidsfond, several embassies and other renowned institutions. He is one of the leaders of the LGBTI community fighting the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

3.   Agather Atuhaire is a freelance journalist and lawyer by training. She works with organisations that focus on governance and accountability and a range of media outlets. In the past year she has used her human rights activism to highlight issues related to civic space, public accountability, misuse and mismanagement of public services and discrimination by public bodies. She has effectively useful social media to break sensitive stories and has faced threats as a result of some of her reporting, particularly on stories covering Parliament.

The winner of the EU Human Rights Defenders Award 2023 will be announced during a ceremony in Kampala hosted by the Netherlands Embassy on 4^th May 2023.

The EU encourages members of the public who would like more information about the award to contact us on DELEGATION-UGANDA-HUMAN-RIGHTS-DEFENDERS@eeas.europa.eu