Funding at a Crossroads: Foreign Aid Cuts and Implications for Global Human Rights

Funding for global human rights movements is rapidly contracting, spurred by significant cuts to foreign aid and increasing uncertainty within philanthropic foundations. This brief from Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) provides a real-time assessment of projected funding cuts and their impacts on human rights resourcing, alongside pathways for funders to respond and glimmers of hope.

Our brief combines data available through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Creditor Reporting System, forecasting of Official Development Assistance (ODA) by SEEK Development,1 and comprehensive human rights funding data from Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN).2 Our top-line findings are drawn from analysis detailed on pages 6 to 16, followed by proposed interventions on pages 17 and 18.