Memoir of a Rights Defender From Maji to Geneva

Memoir of a Rights Defender, from Maji to Geneva is the story of an Ethiopian human rights professional.

Yared HaileMariam developed an interest in human rights early on in life. He describes what moved him to walk away from the family business and embark on human rights work. The author discusses the opportunities that he was able to string together to cultivate his calling as he navigated the world of the human rights defender in Ethiopia in the nineties, being one of the very few pioneers doing the work on the ground, and carving out his own path.

The book describes how Yared travelled from the most remote of places collecting evidence, conducting investigation, observing elections, or carrying out civic education- to the most prominent of international arenas as a human rights professional advocating for victims of human rights violations.

With respect to the nature of the work, the author discusses the challenges faced in doing this kind of work; the ever present personal risk, the trauma suffered not just by the human rights defenders but also by those around them, and those who protect them. A detailed analysis of these challenges is presented, before the author makes the case that in spite of these inconveniences and the threat of real harm, countries need strong committed human rights defenders and a strong civil society to always hold governments and those in leadership accountable and to keep them transparent.
He discusses innovative work that he and his human rights colleagues have done in this regard in Ethiopia, the region and across Africa.

The author presents this narrative with the hope that human rights defenders, and others will find it useful in their future work.

Yared Haile Mariam is the recipient of Human Rights Defender of the Year Award, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders' Network and Pan African Defenders in 2017, and the European Union's Shumen Human Rights Award in 2024 in Addis Abeba.