Synergia - Initiatives for Human Rights

Established in 2017, Synergia Initiatives for Human Rights (Synergia) is a nonprofit committed to protecting and promoting the human rights of all individuals. Synergia has supported programs that include documentation and monitoring of human rights violations by mobilizing support from civil society groups, traditional leaders, law enforcement agents, media, and lawyers. Synergia has provided small grants to emerging Nigerian partner organizations to strengthen their nascent human rights desks and organizational capacity. With this Nigeria Office discretionary award, Synergia builds on ongoing work by strengthening the organizational infrastructure of emerging movements to promote the sustainability of their work. Synergia creates legal awareness and encourages partnerships with  stakeholders such as law enforcement agencies and traditional and religious leaders as allies in responding to rights violations and abuses. This award, in the spirit of the Just Imperative, contributes to promoting and defending human rights in Nigeria.

Synergia Initiatives for Human Rights began operation in Nigeria in 2017 after being established to absorb the partnerships, programming, staffing, and funding most recently housed by Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights (HA) Global Initiatives for Human Rights (GHR). It is committed to addressing human rights violations and abuses motivated by one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, gender and/or sex characteristics (SOGIESC). It has offices in Latin America, the Caribbean and in Nigeria. With this award, Synergia is strengthening the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons living in Nigeria. The project contributes to the Human Rights goal of promoting and protecting human rights of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation.