#music4HRDS

The #music4HRDs project launched on December 10, 2018, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. This landmark document is honored annually on Human Rights Day, December 10.

In collaboration with the international human rights NGO Protection International, photographer Luke Duggleby, and string quartets and ensembles worldwide, musicians shared performances of individual movements from composer and artivist Frank Horvat’s powerful string quartet composition, The Thailand HRDs, on their social media platforms. This initiative aimed to raise awareness about the critical need to protect and support Human Rights Defenders (HRDs).

The project coincided with the release of the album For Those Who Died Trying by the acclaimed Mivos Quartet, which includes all 35 movements of Horvat’s composition.

The Thailand HRDs was inspired by Thai-based photographer Luke Duggleby’s poignant photo essay, For Those Who Died Trying. The essay chronicles individuals in Thailand who were murdered or disappeared for their courageous efforts to defend their communities’ environments and uphold human rights. Many of these crimes remain unresolved, with few perpetrators held accountable.

Each movement in The Thailand HRDs serves as an elegy to one of the victims portrayed in Duggleby’s essay. Horvat crafted the musical themes for each movement using the musical pitches derived from the letters of the victims’ names—imbuing each piece with their “musical DNA.” While the composition mourns these tragic losses, it carries an undercurrent of defiance, symbolizing the enduring fight for justice and hope that these deaths will inspire continued advocacy for human rights.

Both the photo essay and the composition were commissioned by Protection International.

Frank interviews Pranom Somwong, Thai Human Rights Activist, Lawyer affiliated with Protection International
(start listening at 28:30)

LUKE DUGGLEBY
An award-winning British freelance documentary and portrait photographer, Luke Duggleby based in Bangkok, Thailand. Traveling the globe yet focusing on Asia he undertakes assignments and works on personal projects all over the continent for many of the worlds most respected publications and NGOs. His critically acclaimed photo essay For Those Who Died Trying has been exhibited across Europe and Thailand including the UN Headquarters in Geneva and the European Parliament in Brussels, and was the topic of a Tedx talk he gave in early 2018.

PROTECTION INTERNATIONAL
An international non-profit organisation that supports human rights defenders at risk worldwide since 2004. Protection International works with local partners in over thirty countries, empowering defenders and demanding from those who have the responsibility to protect them to fulfil this obligation. Building upon a foundation of research, partnership and fieldwork, Protection International finds durable solutions to protection issues and builds the capacity of defenders to manage their own protection effectively and holistically.