What we do
Supporting writers
at risk
All other rights flow from freedom of expression, so we defend it wherever it is under threat. PEN International works to protect, shelter and resettle writers at risk. Our emergency support work includes international campaigns, direct assistance to writers at risk, research, advice, and advocacy. In partnership with other organisations, PEN can provide small emergency grants, support asylum requests, assist with temporary relocation and access to legal help.
Campaigns
Every day, countless writers are detained, harassed, persecuted or even killed for the practice of their profession. We will not let their voices be silenced. We raise awareness of their cases, campaign against abuses and lobby governments for imprisoned writers’ release. We demand investigations into cases of torture, disappearances, and killings. We show solidarity, provide encouragement and hope to persecuted writers and their families. By harnessing the power of our members and supporters, we work for a world where the right to freedom of expression is respected everywhere.
Policy & advocacy
Our policy and advocacy work promotes freedom of expression and defends writers at risk at national, regional and international levels. We are governed by the PEN Charter which has guided, unified and inspired our members for over 100 years.
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We work with PEN members in 147 Centres in over 100 countries to produce the evidence-based research which shapes our policy positions. Every year at the PEN International Congress, PEN Centres pass resolutions on the most urgent developments affecting freedom of expression and writers at risk.
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We hold meetings with key decision makers to secure legislative and policy change. We work with national governments, regional human rights bodies and international organisations. We submit reports and recommendations, including submissions to the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.
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The United Nation’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process allows UN member states to peer-review each other’s human rights record. Through the UPR we provide the UN with the latest research on freedom of expression and writers at risk in countries of concern. We also hold advocacy meetings with writers from countries under review ahead of the UPR, to ensure that freedom of expression and writers at risk are prioritised.
Our UPR submissions can be accessed here.
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Each year at the PEN International Congress, the PEN community passes resolutions on urgent developments concerning freedom of expression and writers at risk. These resolutions shape our policy positions and empower PEN Centres around the world to advocate with their own governments to secure meaningful change for writers.
Our resolutions can be accessed here.
Case Lists
Our annual Case List provides a global overview of attacks, imprisonment and persecution of writers and those who use the written word to express themselves, including an overview of key events that have impacted on freedom of expression by regions, and a summary of cases of concern to PEN.
Research
PEN International investigates and reports on violations of the right to freedom of expression around the world. This informs our campaigns on behalf of persecuted writers, and our advocacy for changes to restrictive laws and practices. We draw on our research when submitting concerns and recommendations to various international and regional human rights bodies.
PEN Emergency Fund
Founded in 1971 and based in the Netherlands, the PEN Emergency Fund works with PEN International to provide humanitarian assistance to persecuted writers. The Fund can provide writers and their families with a one-off allowance of up to €2000 for a range of urgent needs such as safe passage, medical assistance and general support towards living expenses.
IMPACT
Afghanistan
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan, prompting the collapse of Afghanistan’s republican government and the Taliban’s return to power, left Afghan writers and members of PEN Afghanistan at great risk.
Celebrating
Literature
PEN International promotes and celebrates all literatures without exception and without frontiers. Many PEN Centres run creative writing workshops, readings and literacy drives, extending access to literature, including among people in low-literacy areas and people in prison.
Civil society programme
PEN International's civil society programme (CSP), supported by Sida, works to promote reading and writing in education and to bring empowerment through literature around the world.
The CSP supports PEN Centre-led projects and provides training to PEN Centres, helping them identify needs, fundraise, organise campaigns and engage with local communities.
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CSP projects focus on working within marginalised communities – including those most socially and economically disadvantaged because of their gender, race, ethnicity and other factors, to promote tolerance, social cohesion, as well as democratic participation.
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The CSP offers a wide set of training tools, designed to equip PEN Centres with practical resources for carrying out our mission in their communities. This includes webinars on topics such as youth engagement, gender and diversity, social media strategy and campaign planning.
Our webinars and training videos are available in both English and Spanish on our YouTube channel.
Click here to access our training toolkits and other resources.
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You need to write to break boundaries between you and the outside world, and reach places you had never dreamt you would ever go. Bob Kisiki, poetry facilitator, PEN Uganda Civil Society Project
We want to empower communities across all languages and cultures through reading and writing. Our education policy is guided by the importance of literature in expanding people’s horizons and building vibrant, flourishing societies.
Promoting linguistic rights
We are committed to the respect of all languages, and the protection and promotion of indigenous or minoritized languages. Our campaigns, projects and events around the world highlight the importance of mother language education and translation as a means of spreading the unique culture of every language.
In 2011 our Translation and Linguistic Rights Committee launched the Girona Manifesto, to help defend linguistic diversity around the world.
IMPACT
The Invisible Child
Working with Moomin Characters Ltd, the Finnish family company founded by beloved children’s writer and artist, Tove Jansson, we have launched an initiative to translate the famous Moomin story The Invisible Child into a number of minoritized languages. The book will be distributed in schools to help nurture the love of reading, critical thinking and creative writing.
Case studies
