MENA Rights Group is a Geneva-based legal advocacy NGO defending and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We work at boththe individual level, by documenting cases and representing victims before international bodies, and the structural level, by researching root causes of violations and advocating for legal and policy reform.
Our geographic mandate covers all 22 Member States of the Arab League. As a small team with limited capacity, we cannot dedicate the same level of attention or resources to every country within our mandate, so we typically focus on countries where we have established expertise and ongoing funded projects, and where we assess we can add real value without duplication existing work – whether because a country is comparatively less covered, or because we identify a specific gap or opening even in a well-covered context.
We focus primarily on civil and political rights – such as the right to life, liberty and security, and freedom from torture – because we see them as an essential precondition for people to claim all their other rights without fear of reprisal. Our current priorities are:
Geneva is home to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the mechanisms we engage with most, including the UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies. Being based in Geneva lets us operate safely and independently, while maintaining close working relationships with victims, families and civil society — both on the ground across the MENA region and in the diaspora.
Every decision – whether to take on a case, an emerging situation, or a new focus area – is measured against the same test: Does it fall within our mandate and thematic priorities? Would we have a real impact? Do we have the capacity to do so without undermining our existing work? Is there another trusted organisation better placed to act?
For individual cases, we prioritise ongoing violations and people whose physical integrity is at risk, and we try to act on urgent cases across our full geographic mandate. We only act with the informed consent of the victim, their family, or legal counsel, and we never take on a case based on open-source information alone.
Please use our Report a Violation form to submit a case or request assistance. We review submissions individually and on a regular basis. The more information you can provide, the better we are able to assess your case and respond.
Our legal team reviews the information to assess whether we can act, applying the same criteria as outlined above. Given our limited capacity, we cannot take on every case, but whatever the outcome, we always keep you or your representative informed.
No – as a non-profit, our legal assistance is provided free of charge.
We rely on a combination of private foundations, institutional donors, sub-grants from other civil society partners, and – to a limited extent – individual donations. We work to maintain a diverse, sustainable funding base, made up of both, local Swiss donors and international donors, balancing project-based and core funding, so that we do not depend on any single donor.
We do not accept any direct or indirect funding – or any other form of support – from governments in the MENA region. This ensures the cases and issues we work on remain free from political or financial pressure from the states whose human rights records we monitor and which we work to hold accountable.
No. We do not act on behalf of, or take instructions from, any political or ideological actor. We defend all victims of human rights violations without discrimination, regardless of their political affiliation or the nature of the charges against them.
Yes! Individual donations help us sustain and expand our work. You can donate via our donations page. For more details on how your contribution is used, feel free to contact us directly.
We do not currently run a general volunteering programme. Given the legal, linguistic and contextual expertise our work requires, and the sensitivity of much of the material we handle, including direct testimony from victims and survivors, we are not able to bring in occasional or informal volunteer support.
Open positions are always advertised on our Careers page, so there is no need to contact us if nothing is listed. Positions are not open on a rolling basis, so make sure to check back periodically. We also run a six-month legal internship programme for students enrolled at university who can enter a tripartite agreement.
Feel free to get in touch via our Contact page and we will connect you with the right person in our team. Please note that any case-related information is only shared in line with our confidentiality commitments to victims and their families.
You can subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on social media, or read our annual reports. Our website is also regularly updated with our latest work.
