7 Ways to Defend Human Rights When You Don't Have Power

What do you do when you see human rights violations—but you don’t have the power to stop them?

That’s the challenge many of us face today. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, furious, or hopeless. But what if there were a way to channel that frustration into real impact?

This week, we’re heading to Europe to see how one European Union diplomat handles the treatment of migrants at its borders—and what we can learn from him.

Meet the Human Rights Diplomat at Europe's Borders

Meet Jonas Grimheden, the Fundamental Rights Officer at FRONTEX, the EU’s border control agency (Europe’s version of ICE). His job? To make sure that migrants' human rights are respected—a near-impossible task when facing governments that don’t want oversight.

Jonas is a Swedish human rights lawyer and a skilled diplomat who has taken on some of the world’s toughest assignments, including representing his country in North Korea. He spent years at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, ensuring that human rights shape EU foreign policy.

In this week’s podcast interview, Jonas reveals the high-stakes challenges of defending human rights at Europe’s borders. His work is harrowing, inspiring—and strikingly different from the approach taken in the U.S.

Pushbacks, Beatings, and Strategic Silence

Grimheden’s team spends thousands of days each year in the field—on boats, at airports, even on deportation flights—observing procedures and speaking with migrants directly. Many reveal they were beaten or turned away illegally in a previous attempt. These reports trigger formal investigations, roughly one per week, though Grimheden believes they could be doing one a day.

Still, he knows the limitations. “I’m not the FBI. I can’t order anyone to act,” he said. “But I do have access, data, and leverage. And I use them.”

His team investigates what are known as pushbacks—when migrants are expelled without due process, often violently. In some countries, border guards are accused of beating migrants, stealing their possessions, and forcing them back across borders, often in the dead of night.

“It doesn’t take a lawyer to know that’s illegal,” Grimheden said bluntly. “I’ve even filed a criminal complaint myself with a national prosecutor’s office. That case is still pending—three years later.”

Despite evidence, some member states deny wrongdoing outright. “They tell me their police aren’t that stupid,” he said. “Unfortunately, I think they are.” Convincing national authorities to allow independent monitoring, particularly along green borders—remote stretches of forest or coastline—is an uphill battle.

In one case, officials claimed monitors couldn’t patrol due to wild bears. “I think the bears were always there,” Grimheden quipped. “What changed was a year of persistence and public pressure.”

The Impossible Job: Fighting for Migrants’ Rights with Little Real Legal Power

Jonas’ mission is daunting. He confronts violence and human suffering daily—migrants who are beaten, raped, drowned, or tricked by smugglers. Governments often turn a blind eye. Politicians exploit fear for votes. And border guards often see human rights enforcement as an obstacle, not a duty.

And here’s the catch: Jonas has little power to enforce change. His job is to observe, document, and report. He can’t force border guards to stop abuse. Each EU country controls its own borders and isn’t always receptive to outside oversight. Worse, some of the worst abuses happen beyond the EU’s jurisdiction, in countries that don’t answer to European laws.

He faces impossible ethical dilemmas.

* Spotting a migrant boat in distress: If Jonas alerts authorities, migrants might be rescued—only to be captured and abused in Libyan detention centers. If he says nothing, they might drown.