Alkarama

What Alkarama does

Alkarama is a non-governmental organization founded in 2004 and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, with a secondary office in London. The organization combats injustice in the Arab World by documenting human rights violations and advocating on behalf of victims through United Nations human rights mechanisms. Its geographic scope covers 22 Arab countries across five regional divisions: Gulf (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen), Maghreb (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia), Mashreq (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria), Nile (Djibouti, Egypt, Sudan), and Other Countries. Alkarama submits complaints and urgent appeals to UN bodies including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Treaty Bodies (HRCTEE, CAT, CED), the Human Rights Council, Special Procedures, and the Universal Periodic Review process.

Alkarama's core deliverables consist of human rights reporting and advocacy services, country-specific monitoring, thematic issue advocacy across 12 areas (extrajudicial execution, enforced disappearance, torture, arbitrary detention, independence of justice, human rights defenders, free assembly/association, freedom of expression, counter-terrorism, armed conflict, children's rights, and discrimination), legal instruments and country legislations databases, practical guides and training resources, and annual reports (including the 2025 Annual Report titled "Another Year of Struggle"). The organization operates trilingually in English, French, and Arabic, and disseminates its work through a multilingual website, video content, social media, joint statements with partner NGOs, and direct UN mechanism submissions.

The organization is funded through donations and grants, consistent with standard NGO funding models, and does not sell products or services. Support is available via PayPal on its website. Alkarama partners with multiple human rights organizations including the Observatory for Media Freedoms, the Arab Human Rights Commission (Paris), the Global Organization for Human Rights, and coalitions of 21 NGOs on issues such as children's rights in Yemen. The organization has 104 employees and is governed by an independent structure with no identified parent company or subsidiary relationships.

Name

Alkarama

Legal name

Alkarama

Website

https://alkarama.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Alkarama is a Geneva-based human rights NGO founded in 2004 that documents and advocates against human rights violations across 22 Arab countries by submitting cases to UN mechanisms, publishing annual reports, and partnering with international human rights organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (81331), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Human Rights Monitoring, Documentation & Advocacy (BPADAGAK), Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

Keywords

• Human rights advocacy
• UN mechanism submissions
• Arbitrary detention monitoring
• Human rights documentation
• Annual human rights reports

Headquarters

HQ city

Geneva

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alkarama documents and reports human rights violations across 22 Arab countries, submitting individual complaints and country/thematic reports to UN mechanisms including the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Human Rights Council, Treaty Bodies (HRCTEE, CAT, CED), Universal Periodic Review, and Special Procedures. The organization publishes annual reports (including the 2025 "Another Year of Struggle" report), issues urgent appeals, maintains a multilingual resource library of legal instruments and practical guides, and conducts country-specific and thematic advocacy on issues such as torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and freedom of expression. All advocacy services are delivered free of charge to victims and the international community.

Product overview

Alkarama is a human rights NGO (non-governmental organization) combating injustice in the Arab World since 2004. It is not a technology product company but rather an advocacy organization offering human rights monitoring, UN mechanism submissions, legal resource databases, and annual publications. The organization operates across five regional divisions (Gulf, Maghreb, Mashreq, Nile, and Other Countries) and focuses on 12 thematic human rights issues. Its core 'products' consist of reporting services, advocacy campaigns, legal instruments resources, practical guides, and annual publications documenting human rights conditions across Arab nations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Several Human Rights NGOs (Joint Statement)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 June 2026Alkarama co-authored joint statements with multiple human rights NGOs on issues including persistence of torture in the Arab World, following UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. This represents ongoing collaborative advocacy work.
• Observatory for Media FreedomscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with the Observatory for Media Freedoms on appeals to UN experts regarding arbitrary detention of journalist Nasser Shaker in Yemen.
• 21 Human Rights NGOscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlkarama joined with 21 human rights NGOs to call for urgent action to protect children from violence and forced recruitment in Yemen.
• Arab Human Rights Commission (Paris)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in joint advocacy work including representation of Murtaji Qureis case.
• Global Organization for Human RightsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization mentioned in joint statements and advocacy work.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Large incumbent international human rights organization that, like Alkarama, investigates and reports on rights violations across the Middle East and submits findings to UN mechanisms. HRW covers far more regions globally but overlaps directly with Alkarama on Arab World country monitoring and UN advocacy.
• Amnesty International: Global human rights NGO with established UN access and annual reporting cycles that closely parallel Alkarama's advocacy and documentation model. Amnesty operates a much broader geographic mandate but competes in the same Arab World thematic areas (torture, arbitrary detention, freedom of expression).
• International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH): Paris-based federation of 192 human rights organizations operating globally with strong UN access in Geneva. FIDH's advocacy, litigation, and UN submission work closely mirrors Alkarama's model, and FIDH frequently partners with Arab-focused member organizations on joint advocacy.
• International Commission of Jurists (ICJ): Geneva-based commission of jurists promoting rule of law and human rights through UN mechanisms, litigation, and advocacy. ICJ's emphasis on judicial independence and access to justice directly parallels several of Alkarama's thematic areas.

Direct peers

• Front Line Defenders: Dublin-based international NGO focused on the protection of human rights defenders — one of Alkarama's 12 core thematic issues. Both organizations engage UN Special Procedures on behalf of at-risk defenders across the Middle East.
• MENA Rights Group: London-based NGO focused specifically on documenting human rights violations across the Middle East and North Africa, with emphasis on UN mechanisms — a near-identical model to Alkarama's advocacy approach and a likely partner in joint submissions.
• Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS): Regional Arab-World human rights organization that, like Alkarama, focuses specifically on civil and political rights in Arab countries and engages UN mechanisms. CIHRS and Alkarama frequently co-author joint statements and share an overlapping regional mandate.
• REDRESS: International NGO focused on torture survivors and arbitrary detention, with strong engagement of UN treaty bodies and Special Procedures. REDRESS's thematic focus on torture and enforced disappearance directly overlaps Alkarama's core issues.
• Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR): Specialized NGO focused on human rights in the Gulf region, with a thematic emphasis on freedom of expression and human rights defenders that directly overlaps with Alkarama's Gulf sub-regional work and Defenders issue area.

Emerging players

• Geneva Call: Geneva-based humanitarian organization engaging non-state armed groups on humanitarian norms. While focused on armed conflict rather than state actors, it shares Alkarama's Geneva base and UN mechanism engagement approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alkarama

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alkarama