Reconceptualising Exile through the Lived Experience of Human Rights Defenders

Abstract

This study examines how exile reshapes the identities, practices, and protection needs of human rights defenders (HRDs). Drawing on 18 life-history interviews with exiled HRDs and three expert consultations, the research explores exile not merely as a condition of displacement but as a dynamic space of reconfiguration, where activism, belonging, and safety are continuously negotiated. Using a qualitative, intersectional approach, the study identifies patterns of continuity and rupture in HRDs’ activism across geographies, with attention to gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and socio-political context.

Findings reveal that exile transforms both the risks and modalities of human rights work: HRDs often experience renewed agency through transnational advocacy and digital mobilisation, yet face profound challenges related to legal precarity, socio-economic marginalisation, and emotional exhaustion. Institutional protection mechanisms, while vital, remain largely reactive and unevenly accessible, particularly for grassroots and intersectional activists. The analysis argues for a reconceptualisation of exile from a protection-centric framework to one recognising exiled HRDs as political actors whose exile produces new forms of civic engagement, solidarity, and resistance.

Ultimately, the report calls for policy and institutional responses that move beyond temporary safety to enable sustainable, dignified, and participatory forms of exile, acknowledging the exiled defender not as a passive beneficiary of protection but as an active agent in the global human rights ecosystem.