The 8th Front Line Defenders Dublin Platform gathered more than 118 human rights defenders on 4-6 November. Oleksandra Matviychuk, coordinator of the EuromaidanSOS initiative, told about the challenges that Ukraine's human rights defenders face to colleagues all over the world.
- In many countries of the world, human rights activists don't work in the sphere of human rights protection. Human rights activists fight every day for human rights. Often it seems almost hopeless. However, we should do our work honestly. The results of our efforts can show unexpectedly.
- When people make the authorities finally recognize human rights and freedoms, often in practice it means only one thing. Only civil society needs freedom of association, the right to a fair trial, civil society oversight of police, not the authorities. Thereby, human rights activists simply won new tasks for themselves.
- Destiny never sends us difficulties we can't overcome. We don't choose time when we will come into this world, the country that we are born in. But we always have a choice - to be decent people or scoundrels.

Oleksandra Matviychuk is the coordinator of the Euromaidan SOS initiative