Almena Lomax
Advancing Universal Rights and Justice
Uprooting Fascisms and Fundamentalisms
Across the globe, feminist, women’s rights and gender justice defenders are challenging the agendas of fascist and fundamentalist actors. These oppressive forces target women, persons who are non-conforming in their gender identity, expression and/or sexual orientation, and other oppressed communities.
Discriminatory ideologies are undermining and co-opting our human rights systems and standards, with the aim of making rights the preserve of only certain groups. In the face of this, the Advancing Universal Rights and Justice (AURJ) initiative promotes the universality of rights - the foundational principle that human rights belong to everyone, no matter who they are, without exception.
We create space for feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements and allies to recognize, strategize and take collective action to counter the influence and impact of anti-rights actors. We also seek to advance women’s rights and feminist frameworks, norms and proposals, and to protect and promote the universality of rights.
Our actions
Through this initiative, we:
- Build knowledge: We support feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements by disseminating and popularizing knowledge and key messages about anti-rights actors, their strategies, and impact in the international human rights systems through AWID’s leadership role in the collaborative platform, the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs)*.
- Advance feminist agendas: We ally ourselves with partners in international human rights spaces including, the Human Rights Council, the Commission on Population and Development, the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN General Assembly.
- Create and amplify alternatives: We engage with our members to ensure that international commitments, resolutions and norms reflect and are fed back into organizing in other spaces locally, nationally and regionally.
- Mobilize solidarity action: We take action alongside women human rights defenders (WHRDs) including trans and intersex defenders and young feminists, working to challenge fundamentalisms and fascisms and call attention to situations of risk.
Related Content
WITM - Refreshed INFOGRAPHIC 3 EN
How feminists resource themselves
Feminist and women’s rights organizations don’t just rely on institutional funding, we resource ourselves. Our organizing is powered by passion, political commitment, solidarity and collective care.
These resources are self- generated and autonomous, and often invisible in our budgets, but they are the backbone of our organizing.
Snippet - COP30 - Feminist Demands for COP30 Col 1
What We Reject:
- Market-based false solutions
- Ecosystem service trading
- Green neoliberal economies mining
- Geo-engineering
- Fossil fuels
- Military spending over climate funds
- Climate finance as loans
Snippet - What's happening at HRC61 Intro
The 61st Human Right Council takes place amid, what has been called by the UN Secretary-General, an ‘imminent financial collapse.’ Powerful member states’ refuse to pay up their contributions to the UN: the United States alone accounts for 95% of the USD 1.6 billion shortfall in the UN’s 2025 budget. This continues to erode the Council’s ability to deliver on its mandate, limiting its capacity to support human rights mechanisms, monitor accountability, and respond to global crises.
This lack of accountability is starkly obvious with the global surge of military spending and ongoing genocides in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar. From the farcical “Gaza Peace Plan,” and unbridled imperial intervention in Venezuela, led by the US, the mask that “there is just no money” for people- social support, healthcare, education is off.
Snippet - WD2026 - Collaborative Session_EN
A Collaborative Session: ‘What Do Movements Need Now? Resourcing Feminist Resistance in a Time of Contraction’
Hosted by MADRE, Fondo Semillas and Feminist Church
📅 Wednesday, April 29
🕒 4.00-5:30pm
🏢 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Room #204
Juvy Capion
Mariel Araya
Cao Shunli
Fakhra Yunus
Lillian Masediba Ngoyi
Solidarity: membership why page
Solidarity
We take a position in solidarity with each other and diverse struggles for justice and freedoms. We strive to mobilize and strengthen collective action and practice meaningful ways of working with each other.
Myriam Merlet
Publications - Homepage - eng
Publications
Kindle for your feminist fire! Browse AWID’s research on funding, WHRDs, movement building, fundamentalisms, economic justice, feminist monitoring & evaluation and more
Uma Singh
FRMag - Looking at me Looking at Safe Spaces
Looking at me Looking at Safe Spaces
by Judyannet Muchiri
October last year I left for Kenya to begin what I have come to think of as my most important work yet. (...)
artwork: “Healing Together” by Upasana Agarwal >
Digna Ochoa
Ours report 2021 summary
Today, a complex and evolving network of anti-rights actors is exerting more influence in international and regional spaces as well as domestic politics. Anti-rights actors are entering multilateral spaces (spaces where multiple countries come together for international collaboration) to transform and undermine them from the inside out. They employ a range of persuasive discourses to gain legitimacy, often co-opting the language of rights and justice to hide their true agendas.
This report is the second in a series on human rights trends reports produced by the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs). As well as analysis of key anti-rights actors, discourses, strategies, and impacts, the report features inspiring short stories of feminist action, and knowledge-building exercises to help strengthen our collective resistance.
The effect on our rights has already been grave, but this is not a done deal. We can all play a part in resisting anti-rights agendas and reclaiming our rights.
Join the collective call-to-action today!
Marisela Escobedo Ortiz
Rights at Risk: The Observatory on the Universality of Rights Trends Report 2017
Report:
Rights at Risk - OURs Trends Report 2017
The first report from the Observatory on the Universality of Rights acts as a compendium of information on anti-rights trends in international spaces. Find out about key anti-rights religious actors, discourses, and tactics within the UN.
Ahmal Mahmoud
