About us

Sweden’s international human rights organisation

Civil Rights Defenders is an independent expert organisation founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1982, with the aim of defending people’s civil and political rights. Our work stretches from our own backyard to countries and regions all over the world. One of our main tasks is to empower our partners – brave human rights defenders, who often put themselves at great risk through their engagement for other people’s rights.

30 years of human rights work

Civil Rights Defenders (previously Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights) was originally a part of the Helsinki movement. During Cold War an agreement had been signed by the Eastern and the Western Bloc in the Finnish capital in 1975. This inspired citizens all around Europe and in the USA to form non-governmental organisations that would monitor their own governments in regard to respect of human rights. The Helsinki family grew to include more than 40 organisations. Learn more about our past by reading this publication : We fight together

The pen is mightier than the sword

Human rights defenders do not use violence. Our symbol is a fountain pen nib. The heart in the middle represents the individual at the centre of our attention.

90-accounts guarantee correct handling of donations

Civil Rights Defenders is a non-profit organisation. Sida, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, is our main donor in regard to international activities. Many companies, foundations and individuals contribute to our work. We have Swedish 90-accounts and are a member of Swedish Fundraising Council, FRII. Our accounting is supervised by Svensk Insamlingskontroll. These measures guarantee that your donation is handled correctly and used for its intended purpose. If you want to know more about our financials read our annual reports