7 voices
about Civil Rights Defenders
April is a month that almost daily reminds us of past genocides. To me personally,
it is the month when I had to leave my home, only to land in the hell of Auschwitz, where
my parents were killed. There and then, no organisation like Civil Rights Defenders
existed, and very few individuals dared to act against authorities. Today, we have Civil
Rights Defenders, an organisation that is doing so much good work by its very existence
but most important of all influencing more and more people to do the same. Individuals
start to understand what it means to suffer under the rule of dictatorships, and their own
duty to help. What it means to live in a democracy, and fight against its adversaries. Let
us all became “upstanders” and join Civil Rights Defenders and stop being bystanders.
PHOTO: Mark Mühlhaus
Hedi Fried, Psychologist and Author of The Road to Auschwitz: Fragments of a Life
Civil Rights Defenders is an organisation renowned for its work on developing Civil Society Organisations support strategies and programs. This is through the
continued monitoring and evaluation of their respective contributions to the protection
and promotion of minority rights and the establishment of rule of law in post-conflict
societies (such as Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Kosovo) and those lacking a strong
democratic tradition (such as Albania). Using this approach, Civil Rights Defenders has
developed a strong and transparent program of support for minority groups (LGBT and
minority ethnic groups in particular) and numerous CSO projects dealing with facing
the past. The results so far have been very good. This unique organisation is distinguished not only by its program, but also by the people that represent it, both in Stockholm
and the Balkans.
Nataša Kandić, founder of Humanitarian Law Center, Serbia, and recipient of the
2013 “Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award”
I laud the work of Civil Rights Defenders. They are innovative, compassionate
and focused. Most important, Civil Rights Defenders puts emphasis on the Defenders
themselves, and the work they do, playing their rightful role of supporting them, on the
basis that human rights is best achieved by the locals themselves. Their annual Defenders’ Days program is a crucial platform for the expansion of skills, networking and
linkages between human rights defenders, something that should happen more often
across the world.
Maina Kiai, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful
assembly and of association
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