The term Human Rights Defenders (HRD) may be new to many Moldovans, but they have certainly seen such people in the press or on the street. The Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (LRCM), with financial support from the European Union, has produced an infographic showing what these people do and who can become an HRD.

Human Rights Defenders are those individuals who act peacefully to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and whose work is protected by the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which is ratified by the majority of Member States.

"It is important that both citizens and HRDs themselves know what activities they can undertake and the rights of human rights defenders," said Victoria Mereuță, legal officer at the LRCM.

The infographic's conclusion is that anyone can be a Human Rights Defender, as long as they recognise the universality of human rights for all, without distinction, and act peacefully. A human rights defender does not necessarily need to have a legal degree. What matters is the action to defend human rights.

In a video released last week, four Human Rights Defenders from Moldova - performer Pasha Parfeni, women's rights activist Alina Andronache, inclusive education campaigner Anastasia Suslov and investigative journalist Victor Moșneag, presented what it means to be a Human Rights Defender and what their work entails.

For more information on Human Rights Defenders, see the website of the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova, crjm.org/en/.

Measures to raise public awareness on the role and profile of Human Rights Defenders take place in the framework of the project "Shield for Human Rights Defenders - Support to Human Rights Defenders in the Republic of Moldova", funded by the European Union and implemented by the Legal Resources Centre from Moldova (LRCM).