Featured Organization
Prisoners of Conscience
U.K/Worldwide
Founded in 1962, Prisoners of Conscience (PoC) is a UK registered charity that provides practical and financial support to prisoners of conscience—those who have been persecuted for nonviolent acts or the expression of their conscientiously held beliefs. In over half a century, it has supported tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience and their family members, awarding grants across over 70 countries.
As an universal form of expression and communication, art can be an effective tool for expressing conscientiously held beliefs. On one hand, art can be liberating and empowering for the individual, allowing them to express feelings, opinions and lived experiences. It is also an effective avenue through which people can connect to one another, and a powerful tool to spark dialogue, promote ideas and catalyze social change. Throughout history people have used art in different ways to talk about equality, demand justice and promote human rights, but oppressive regimes around the world often rely on intimidation, threats and violence to silence those who have been brave enough to stand up for what they believe.
The organization’s mission is to protect and uphold human rights by positively transforming the lives of prisoners of conscience (including human rights defenders and artists) to enable them to live free, safe, and self-sufficient lives. PoC also works in close collaboration with 26 referral agencies and other NGOs, including PEN America, Amnesty International, British Red Cross - London and Liverpool, Human Rights Watch, PEN English, and PEN Canada.
Currently, PoC provides rapid financial assistance by way of grants to ensure immediate relief, resettlement and requalification at the time of greatest need. Emergency grants such as Hardship Relief cover items such as food, living expenses, accommodation, furniture, travel and medicine in the UK and overseas. Additionally, PoC also provides practical assistance through Package of Support, which includes Employability Panel, PoC Alumni Forum, volunteering opportunities, advisory and legal services, mental health services etc.
In 2022, PoC awarded a grant to Sahar Ajdamsani, an Iranian singer, music producer, writer, and activist. Her art focuses on themes of peace, human rights and women’s rights. In 2019, she became the first Iranian to win the international WILD sound Poetry Festival with her poem “Censorship,” which focuses on women’s rights. Because of her work and activism, Sahar was harassed, persecuted and forced to flee her home country. She relocated to Germany with the support of ARC and PoC.
In 2022, PoC celebrated its 60th anniversary. But, as the organization noted, “the fact that we still need to exist is not something to celebrate.” Sixty years on, artists all over the world continue to be silenced, religious minorities are being discriminated against, and human rights activists are being harassed, tortured and murdered. Worse still, the number of prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders has continued to climb in almost every region, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recession, and a global slide towards authoritarianism.
“Human rights defenders (HRDs) all over the world are persecuted for their peaceful work defending the rights of others,” says Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders. “Because of the continued use of detention as a tool to attack critics, and the ever changing legislative and judicial landscape that facilitates it, the work of Prisoners of Conscience is as urgent and necessary as it was when they were founded 60 years ago.”
Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Prisoners of Conscience remains committed to its mission of promoting human rights and supporting those who have been persecuted for their beliefs. As the organization looks to the future, it will continue to be a powerful voice for those who have been silenced, and a beacon of hope for those who have been unjustly imprisoned in the UK and abroad.
“As democratic governments and global organizations charged with upholding human rights seem increasingly powerless to stop the tide of human rights abuses by authoritarian states, it is often the bravery of ordinary men and women that upholds the human rights of all of us,” says Director Gary Allison.
By Olivia Zhao, June 13, 2023. Olivia holds a Master of Journalism degree from University of California, Berkeley, and a BA in Foreign Languages and Literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University.