ADFA: From a Social Media Campaign to an Acclaimed International Advocacy and Aid Organization
About A Demand For Action
A Demand for Action (ADFA) is a Sweden-based humanitarian aid and human rights organization with a record of moving quickly when lives are at stake.
Powered by volunteers, we have helped evacuate thousands of people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, delivered food and emergency supplies across borders, supported hospitals and vulnerable families, and carried evidence of persecution to journalists, lawmakers and international institutions.
ADFA began in 2014 as a social media campaign founded by journalist and human rights advocate Nuri Kino and a group of friends. Its purpose was urgent: to alert the world to atrocities committed by ISIS and other extremist groups against the indigenous peoples and religious minorities of Iraq and Syria, including Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs, Armenians and Yazidis.
Supporters in 19 countries joined the campaign. What began online soon became an international network for humanitarian relief and human rights advocacy.
From Emergency Aid to Long-Term Support
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, ADFA helped organize buses that brought thousands of refugees from Poland to safety in Sweden. Our volunteers also distributed hundreds of tons of food and other essential supplies.
In Armenia, ADFA has provided emergency assistance and helped secure temporary housing for families displaced from Artsakh.
Across the Middle East, we have delivered medicine, medical equipment, food and emergency supplies to communities affected by war and displacement. In Sweden, we work with businesses and community organizations to rescue and distribute food, clothing and other essentials to vulnerable families, homeless people and others in need.
We also respond to individual emergencies by supporting survivors, bereaved families and people facing persecution or displacement. Whenever possible, we purchase supplies locally, allowing us to respond faster, reduce transportation costs and support local communities.
Bringing Evidence to the Halls of Power
ADFA combines humanitarian action with journalism, documentation and advocacy. We produce reports, contribute to documentary films and investigative reporting, and preserve testimony from communities whose experiences are too often ignored.
ADFA supported efforts in Washington to have atrocities committed by ISIS against Christians and Yazidis recognized as genocide. Our representatives have engaged with members of the U.S. Congress, European institutions, governments and human rights bodies.
In 2025, ADFA founder Nuri Kino testified before the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom about the situation of Christians and other minorities in Syria. ADFA has also spoken at international religious freedom summits and presented evidence and testimony to policymakers and international institutions.
ADFA, its representatives and their work have been featured, published or cited by Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Fox News and other international media.
How We Work
ADFA is built on trust, local knowledge and direct action. Our volunteers receive no salaries or bonuses, allowing us to keep administrative costs low and direct as much support as possible to people in need.
We may be a small organization, but our reach is not defined by the size of our office. It is measured by the people brought to safety, the aid delivered and the voices that reached the places where decisions are made.
Our purpose is simple: to turn awareness into action and ensure that people in crisis are not abandoned.
