For over two decades, opposition leaders, activists, and others who disagree with the Ugandan regime have been detained without clear and fair charges. Instead of being tried in civilian courts, they are tried by military courts, even though they are civilians. It has been clear for years that they are not receiving a fair trial there, sometimes resulting in the death penalty.
On January 31 of this year, the Supreme Court of Uganda ruled in a major court case that this practice is illegal and that civilians should be tried in a civilian court. Despite this ruling, dozens of people remain in custody on trumped-up charges, awaiting unfair trials in a military court.
A group of young Ugandans, including several former political prisoners, have formed the action group We The People, with which they are raising awareness of, and fighting against, the use of military courts to try civilians. Because demonstrating against the regime is often physically dangerous for activists, the activist group, with funding from the Action Fund, created a crowd of mannequins in the street leading to the court.
Each mannequin bore the name of a political prisoner who is being wrongly imprisoned. The group hoped this would raise awareness for the prisoners and increase pressure on the regime to release them. The prisoners haven’t been released yet, but there’s been more attention to the situation, and the willingness to demonstrate in this way has increased. They keep fighting for justice!
In August 2025, a trans woman, was attacked in the Ypenburg neighbourhood of The Hague, after she caught two men defacing lampposts with racist texts and swastikas. This assault was not an isolated expression of violence. The Geen Haat op Straat protest marched through the neighbourhood to remind the local inhabitants of the committed violence and to stress that safety in the public sphere is a shared responsibility.
In August 2025, Emily, a trans woman, was attacked in the Ypenburg neighbourhood of The Hague, after she caught two men defacing lampposts with racist texts and swastikas. This assault was not an isolated expression of violence. Hatred against trans people is expanding, in the Netherlands but also internationally, and has given rise to alarming conspiracy theories which dehumanize trans people and ostracize them for being a supposed threat to society. As a result, queer people rapport high feelings of unsafety in the public space and trans people in the Netherlands are seven times more likely to be a victim of physical threats and violence.
This increased transphobia cannot be separated from the parliamentary unwillingness to protect the lives of trans people and the rightwards movement of Dutch politics more generally. Group defamation, for example, still does not apply to trans people in the Netherlands while the Dutch parliament simultaneously withdrew the new ‘transgender law’ in July. The expert statement that is still needed to change one’s gender designation and has been causing long queues in trans care, has consequently not been abolished, undermining trans people’s right to self-determination. Moreover, the scapegoat politics of rightwing (extremist) politicians position minority groups as the cause of societal problems while the majority of parliament classifies solidary anti-fascist movements as terrorists. All the while right-extremist violence in this same period did not receive such a label.
To resist the increasing hate towards trans people and other social minorities, our partners from Geen Haat op Straat (No Hate on the Streets) organized a protest in September 2025 at the shopping center in which the victim was attacked only a month prior.
Around 80 people marched through the streets of Ypenburg to remind the local neighbors of the violence that had been committed in the neighborhood and to stress that safety in the public sphere is a shared responsibility. The different guest speakers problematized the normalization of transphobia and other expressions of exclusion and dehumanization towards minority groups. Together, the protesters showed their demand for a free and just society and formed a strong counter voice against the rightwing political wind which pits citizens against each other.
Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this action and stands in solidarity with all groups which resist violence against minority groups and the dehumanization of trans people.
For decades, the nature in Indonesia, and specifically in the Moluccas, has been increasingly exploited by large (often foreign) corporations. They fish, chop, and dig the land empty, leaving nothing behind for the natives.
For decades, the nature in Indonesia, and specifically in the Moluccas, has been increasingly exploited by large (often foreign) corporations. They fish, chop, and dig the land empty, leaving nothing behind for the natives. In the village of Haya in the Moluccas, this recently happened again: a large international mining company began a massive sand quarry near the village, destroying the coastline and its surrounding nature. This has had serious consequences for the local population. Locals stood up against the destruction of their land, two young people were arrested for arson.
They are now in prison and awaiting trial. The activist group Kora Maluku is fighting for their release and against the further depletion of nature in the Moluccas. They are doing this, in part, with a contribution from Het Actiefonds.
From prison, the young people sent us a letter about their well-being. Their voices are filled with more than just pain; they’re filled with hope, courage, and a deep love for their land. Reading these notes is not just like standing with them, but keeping their fight alive, and making sure their voices aren’t silenced.
Me, The Land Of Custom, And Nature
Why do I say this? Because I am an indigenous people, born in a place that has always taught me how to respect, with values and traditions that bind and protect both people and nature in my land, Haya Village. A land blessed with abundant natural wealth, both on land and at sea, a land that cherishes social life, a land whose people remain obedient to customary law that always safeguards our environment.
But alas, we, Haya people, are only ordinary people who simply wish to protect our environment from the hands of the wicked, those who seek to destroy it for the pleasure of the greedy and selfish.
Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb.
On February 18, 2025, I was accused and declared a suspect in the burning of one of the companies engaged in processing red sand along the coast of my homeland. Yet, all I wanted was to protect our environment from the threat of severe coastal erosion. This struggle does not end here. In fact, I am deeply proud of my comrades who, until today, continue to voice the struggle for my release from what I feel is unjust, and to demand the closure of that company. Honestly, I was moved to tears seeing the efforts of those who have never given up. I only want to say: you are the fighters who will always be remembered by the Haya people.
Like in most other places in the world, in Romania nature and green spaces are increasingly being replaced by construction and industry. This jeopardizes free access to nature. Access to healthcare is difficult and often unaffordable in Romania, and knowledge of the traditional, natural healthcare is increasingly being forgotten.
Radical Natural Networks
Like in most other places in the world, in Romania nature and green spaces are increasingly being replaced by construction and industry. This jeopardizes free access to nature. Access to healthcare is difficult and often unaffordable in Romania, and knowledge of the traditional, natural healthcare is increasingly being forgotten. Biodiversity is declining, and traditional crops are being replaced by plant varieties patented by the Agro-industry.
Natural Knowledge
A network of radical herb and mushroom experts, together with Cultivă Orașul, organized a four-day gathering of people from all over the world in Cluj, Romania. During workshops, herb walks, skill sharing on the medicinal properties of herbs, and discussions, they continued to build a network that aims to work for and with nature. The highlight of the gathering was an anti-gentrification demonstration where seeds were exchanged and seed bombs were distributed in two parks that had recently been stripped of all biodiversity.
The meeting was a great success, thanks in part to the support of Het Actiefonds. The fight for accessible nature, biodiversity and traditional knowledge will continue next year.
In Venezuela, in the state of Anzoátegui, the Cumanagoto Indigenous people are standing up for their land, their water, and their future. Faced with the growing presence of the oil industry on their ancestral territory, they came together in June 2025 to demand climate justice—not only for themselves, but for all communities affected by extractivism!
Grupo Indigena Cacique Cayaurima
Grupo Indigena Cacique Cayaurima was founded in 2016, in a moment of crisis and resistance. When an oil company set up operations on their protected land, the community faced forced displacement – another case of extractivism uprooting people and their entire ways of life. In response, the Cumanagoto came together to reclaim their identity, defend their territory and the deep spiritual connection that continues to shape their resistance and resilience, and build a future rooted in justice. They organize actions for social and climate justice, create water and environmental committees to protect their land, and organize activities to preserve Cumanagoto identity, language, and culture. They are partnering with civil society organizations and networks, building a broad movement that transcends their own cause.
Sit in in front of the Ministry
Their 2025 campaign supported by Het Actiefonds combined local mobilization with digital advocacy, connecting traditional resistance with modern tools for change. In a sit in protest in front of the Ministry of Ecosocialism and Water in the state of Anzoátegui, they demanded swift government action. In addition, they launched a social media campaign as well, designed to expose their situation to national and international audiences.
Around 60 people joined the action. Aside from the members of the Cacique Cayaurima Indigenous Group, people of the Committee of Indigenous Elders and Wise Men, the Water Committee, the State Environmental Movement, and other human rights organizations and activists have joined forces in this collective effort.
New energy
Within the Cumanagoto community, this campaign sparked renewed engagement and awareness, particularly among young people who had previously been hesitant to get involved. Through local mobilizations and digital campaigns, they found new energy, new voices, and a sense of unity around a shared cause.
The campaign connected the Cumanagoto community with Indigenous groups in Mexico and Guatemala, enforcing the regional networks of solidarity against extractivism and the environmental damage it brings!
Het Actiefonds is proud to support this growing and connected movement! Through this kind of campaigns, the Grupo Indigena Cacique Cayaurima is weaving together the wisdom of their ancestors with the strength of modern advocacy—proving that defending the Earth is also an act of defending life itself!
A large new fossil fuel infrastructure project is under construction in East Africa, funded and owned by foreign companies. The Stop EACOP Coalition resists this corporate colonialism and the destruction of livelihoods and ecosystems!
Displacement and ecological destruction
The whole world is witnessing the destruction the fossil fuel industry is inflicting upon communities and the climate, and everywhere, people are trying out how to do things differently. But corporate colonialism does not care for the impact they have on a local and global level. Since 2017, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), a new 1443-kilometer-long infrastructure project is under construction in East Africa’s Uganda and Tanzania. Its completion will dispossess and displace over 100,000 people from their lands and will ruin biodiversity and wildlife areas. Once it will be finished and put into service, it is expected to heavily pollute fresh water sources and coastal waters.
The project is owned largely by the French TotalEnergies, with Uganda’s National Oil Company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation have stakes in the remaining share. This shows once again how corporate colonialism is a contemporary affair.
In 2025, the construction is still ongoing. Stanbic Bank Uganda and KCB Bank Uganda signed a memorandum of understanding, stating their intentions to finance the completion of the pipeline.
A coalition against corporate colonialism
In August 2025, our partners from Weka Afri Sustainable Biodiversity and Food Security Foundation organised a demonstration outside the headquarters of these banks. The action united many activists from different groups under the umbrella of the Stop EACOP Coalition. Intensifying pressure on these financial institutions to abandon their plans to fund the EACOP project, they raised public awareness about its environmental and social dangers.
During the demonstration, 12 activists were arrested and remanded – confirming the governments backing of capital instead of people. The action and arrests were covered by local media, highlighting the serious environmental, human rights, and animal welfare concerns associated with the EACOP project.
Other institutions have already pulled out of the EACOP project, and Weka Afri will continue their work together with the coalition, until these banks also do so. Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this actions and stands in solidarity with all groups fighting the fossil fuel industry and corporate colonialism!
A group of autonomous activists denounced the military presence at Germanies largest ship convention and disrupted the military show.
Military presence at Kieler Woche
Every year, the sea bay of the northern German city of Kiel hosts over 2000 ships – from traditional sailing ships to yachts. The event is festive: sailing races take place, there are music performances throughout the city, and the event attracts over 3 million visitors annually, with people visiting from Germany and neighbouring countries.
Kiel is also one of the main naval bases of the German Navy, and a leading centre of German high-tech military and civil shipbuilding. So besides the Kieler Woche being an important event for northern German culture, it is also a yearly opportunity for the German military to promote itself.
During the Kieler Woche, the military harbour is open to visit, and on Open Ship Days, thousands of people are received on Germany’s war fleet. There are job fairs organized by the Federal Armed Forces, where young people are presented a heroic image of military marine life. The week before the Kieler Woche, the annual BALTOPS training of the US Naval Forces Europe takes place, with the US naval fleet in Europe ending its expedition in Kiel. In short, the military marine, both German and American, is a very present and well-accepted part of the popular event.
Disrupting the show
In 2025, a group of autonomous activists disturbed the military show, and ripped off the mask of the normalization of military participation in civil events. They made sure the Federal Armed Forces couldn’t do their marketing and recruiting without protest.
During the military show, they spraypainted one of the war ships by approaching it by boat. They put up banners right above the queue for the Open Ship Day, and handed out flyers to every single visitor of the ship.
They reminded people that the military marine and the German Federal Armed Forces are part of war, destruction, trauma, fear, poverty, the loss of homes, children and beloved, and pollution and climate change, and that their presence at civil events is not normal and should not be.
With the support of Het Actiefonds, the happy show the German Federal Armed Forces wanted to present was given a bad taste.
Het Actiefonds is proud to have supported this action and will continue to support and stand in solidarity with activists calling out and disrupting the capitalist war machine and the heroization and normalization of army life!
On June 18, 2024, Gender Dialogues launched the Protest Monitor Project 254 to document violence by law enforcement during the Gen Z Protests, the Saba Saba Protest (July 7, 2024), and the Nane Nane demonstrations (August 8, 2024). Although the president withdrew the Finance Bill 2024 following the initial protests, demonstrations persisted across 47 counties, with citizens demanding accountable governance.
The protests between June and August 2024 began after the Finance Bill 2024 was introduced in parliament on June 18. The bill proposed significant tax increases on essential goods and services, sparking nationwide outrage. After several days of protests, President William Ruto announced on June 26 that he would not sign the bill into law. Despite this decision, protests continued, with demonstrators calling for Ruto’s resignation and greater government accountability.
Gender Dialogues implemented the project during the 4 weeks of Anti-Finance Bill 2024.
Week 1:
The first week was marked by largely peaceful protests. However, the killing of Rex Kanyike Masai, a 29-year-old man fatally shot during the demonstrations, became a rallying point for the movement. Shocking footage captured police shooting at peaceful protesters, sparking public outrage.
Week 2 and 3:
Peaceful protests persisted as citizens continued to demand the withdrawal of the punitive Finance Bill 2024 and justice for Rex Kanyike. Reports of police mismanagement of the protests escalated dramatically. By the end of the third week, the death toll had risen to 39, with at least 17 state-sponsored abductions reported.
Week 4:
The final week saw an even stronger wave of online mobilization and civic engagement. In Kisumu, residents organized the Saba Saba Concert to honor those killed by law enforcement during the protests.
The organization successfully recruited 6 volunteers who were responsible for documenting events and sharing updates across social media platforms. Gender Dialogues also established a collaboration with media outlets Go Preach Gospel (GPG) and Ramogi TV, both of which have committed to covering future Gender Dialogues initiatives that promote peaceful assembly in Kenya.
Overall, the organization raised public awareness of protest rights and secured a new partnership to support ongoing advocacy for a safer and more peaceful protest environment in Kenya.
The Action Fund is proud to have supported this action and stands in solidarity with the #RejectFinanceBill2024 movement in its call for stronger governmental accountability.
On July 23, 2025, the Kisumu Peace and Justice Centre organized a protest in solidarity with their team leader, Boniface Ogutu Akach, who has been facing fabricated charges following his arrest, torture, and malicious prosecution for organizing and participating in the GenZ protests a year earlier.
The GenZ protests — also known as the Kenya Finance Bill protests or #RejectFinanceBill2024 — were a wave of demonstrations across Kenya opposing the Finance Bill 2024, which proposed significant tax increases on essential goods and services.
In response to Akach’s arrest and the court’s announcement that his ruling would be delivered on July 23, 2025, the Kisumu Peace and Justice Centre organized a protest to demand justice — not only for Akach but for all victims of state persecution whose only offense was participating in the recent GenZ protests. Many young people remain in police custody or continue to face malicious prosecution.
The Kisumu Law Court ruled that Akach had no case to answer, bringing an end to a year-long battle in which he had been falsely accused during the GenZ uprisings in Kisumu. Following the ruling, the Kisumu Peace and Justice Centre held the peaceful protest, addressed the media, and publicly read out their petition and demands.
The Action Fund continues to stand in solidarity with the GenZ uprisings and is proud to have supported this action.
The European Union’s ‘New Pact of Asylum and Migration’ is inhumane and kills. A group of activists from different member states disturbed the voting of this New Pact in the European Parliament in spring 2024.
The new pact
‘Low risk’, ‘fast track’, ‘solidarity’ – euphemisms for easier deportations and less accommodation for asylum seekers. The New Pact of Asylum and Migration alters the exiting Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and heavily restricts the individual right to asylum in Europe.
With this pact, a new step in the asylum procedure is implemented – asylum seekers must go through a ‘screening’ procedure that decides on whether they will have an extended procedure, or a ‘fast track’ procedure based on where they are coming from. That means that not the individual history of suffered persecution is considered, but just a statistical calculation of ‘low’ risk in the country of origin leads to people being put in a fast-track procedure. More countries will be declared ‘safe’ and asylum seekers risk deportation to countries like Turkey and Tunisia, which signed migration deals with the EU. Furthermore, this Pact reforms the Dublin accords: member states now don’t have the obligation to accommodate asylum seekers, but can opt to, under the guise of ‘solidarity’, pay off their responsibility to other member states or provide operational support in border control.
Disturbing the voting
This pact stands as an example for the structural racism of the EU and the Council’s and parliament’s willingness to restrict human rights of the most vulnerable members of our society. This is why a group of activists penetrated the European Parliament and disturbed the voting procedure, to show that civil society in Europe is willing to stand in solidarity with asylum seekers.
Confronting the parliamentarians with their responsibility for abolishing the individual right to asylum in Europe, the group stood up from the audience balcony, shouted “VOTE NO”, their t-shirts showing the slogan “THIS PACT KILLS”. The paper planes they threw towards the parliamentarians listed the names of people that drowned in the Mediterranean. Some parliamentarians who have always been critical of the CEAS stood up and applauded, and the voting was disturbed for at least 3 minutes. For once, the protests against Europe’s migration pacts did not happen at the doors, but right inside one its core castles!
Follow up
Many international media such as the Guardian, the Brussels Times and the Le Monde published on the action. While the pact was adopted, the implementation needs time. The group plans to keep on watching closely the development of this implementation, that is often going unnoticed and unpublished.
With the support and solidarity from Het Actiefonds, the group will continue to show their solidarity with the people on the move who hope to find protection and a better life in Europe. Because freedom of movement, migration and asylum should be accessible to everyone.
Support Het Actiefonds with 10 euros a month and make actions happen worldwide
donate now