By Evgeny Shtorn

With the upcoming Irish EU Presidency and a packed Brussels agenda on democracy and security, Europe faces a defining moment: will it match its words on human rights with concrete action? The window for setting priorities that shape the next phase of EU external policy is now, and the mobility of human rights defenders must be at the centre of that conversation.

As the European Union advances its Strategic Agenda 2024–2029, one inconvenient truth is becoming increasingly clear: authoritarian regimes are tightening their grip, and civil space is shrinking at an alarming rate. In this global landscape, human rights defenders (HRDs) are often the first to sound the alarm and the last line of defense for democratic values, risking their freedom and, in many cases, their lives to hold power to account.

The EU claims to champion human rights globally. If it wants to walk that talk, it’s time to recognize HRD mobility as not just a humanitarian gesture, but a strategic imperative.

For years, HRDs have served as the EU’s early warning system, documenting atrocities, exposing corruption, and challenging repression. They are the agents of democratic resilience, crisis prevention, and post-conflict stability. Yet many are stranded, trapped by bureaucracy or political indifference. That’s a security risk for Europe and a moral failure for its institutions.

More Than a Moral Duty

The EU’s own Strategic Agenda and the European Commission’s Political Guidelines highlight democracy, security, and rule of law as guiding stars for external action. However, here’s the rub: these goals will remain aspirational without a policy that treats HRD mobility as essential infrastructure for supporting democracy.

Providing safe mobility pathways for HRDs, be it fast-track visas or temporary relocation schemes, is not about charity. It’s about safeguarding Europe’s long-term interests. Authoritarian backsliding in the EU neighborhood isn’t just a regional concern; it’s a transnational threat. To enable HRDs to escape persecution and continue their work abroad strengthens civil society networks and enhances the EU’s soft power.

Think Georgia. Think Venezuela. Think Afghanistan. When independent voices are silenced on the ground, exile becomes the last viable route for truth-telling. Denying them that route is not neutral – it is complicity.

A Strategic Asset in Global Security

Let’s be clear: HRDs are not just messengers. They are stabilizers. In conflict zones, they provide real-time human rights data, often before the international community takes notice. Their insights can shape EU foreign policy responses, from sanctions to peacebuilding interventions. Ignoring their plight means the EU operates in the dark.

Moreover, their presence in exile strengthens transnational civil society and builds bridges with diaspora communities. Protecting them bolsters the EU’s credibility as a principled actor and enhances its influence in regions that matter geopolitically.

A Test of Global Credibility

The EU has long spoken the language of values. But values without instruments are just empty slogans. That’s why HRD mobility must be integrated into external policy frameworks. Legal pathways for HRDs should be part of migration and asylum dialogues, included in trade and association agreements, and supported through dedicated funding.

Furthermore, the EU should work with member states to harmonize procedures for granting HRDs temporary protection. Today’s patchwork of ad hoc schemes and opaque rules sends a dangerous message: that defending democracy might get you killed – and Brussels may or may not answer the phone.

In a world where the rule of law is under siege and in which the EU wants to position itself as a geopolitical actor with moral clarity, it must stop viewing HRDs as peripheral and start treating their mobility as a core policy priority.

Doing so is not just good foreign policy – it’s strategic self-interest.

The next time EU leaders gather to debate global threats; one question should be on the agenda: What are we doing for the people who put their lives on the line for the same values we claim to defend? If the answer is “not enough,” then it’s time to start moving – not just HRDs, but EU policy itself.

Evgeny Shtorn is a Program Officer for Rapid Response and Advocacy at Araminta, where he supports the mobility and protection of human rights defenders worldwide. A longtime advocate for LGBTIQ+ rights and broader human rights, he has lived through statelessness and exile, and is now a proud citizen of Ireland. He works for a Germany-based organisation while, in his spare time, pursuing a PhD at the University of Helsinki on violence against LGBTIQ+ people in Russia.