The European Parliament’s Sakharov Fellowships 2026 for human rights defenders (Fully Funded to Brussels, Belgium)

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Application Deadline: February 15, 2026

Applications are now open for the2026 European Parliament’s Sakharov Fellowship.The European Parliament’s Sakharov Fellowship offers up to 14 human rights defenders selected from non-EU countries the opportunity to follow a two-week intensive training in Brussels and at another location in an EU Member State. The empowering programme for human rights defenders has been organised annually since 2016 further to an initiative taken by the Sakharov Prize Community at the 25th Anniversary Conference of the Sakharov Prize.

The programme offers an induction to EU policies and mechanisms in support of human rights defenders and provides first-hand insight in the human rights work of the European Parliament and the EU. It includes meetings with Members of Parliament, officials of the EU institutions, and the Brussels-based human rights community. Human rights practitioners and experts will share tools for improving the work of human rights defenders in workshops on communication and advocacy, security and safety, disinformation, resilience and well-being, and documentation of human rights violations. The Fellows will also have space for individual advocacy, networking and communication activities.

Requirements

• The selection of candidates is based on the criteria of gender balance and aims at representing a broad spectrum of human rights issues and geographical areas in line with the political priorities of the European Parliament.
• Candidates should have a proven record in campaigning for human rights in an NGO or other organisation or in an individual capacity.
• They must have a high level of English, sufficient to follow and contribute actively to the programme.

Benefits

• The Fellowship covers return travel from the country of residence, accommodation during the programme and a daily living allowance.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Fellowship