HISTORY

11 September 2009
The Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights changes its name to Civil Rights Defenders. A new era in the organisation’s history begins.

End of the ’00s
Following almost two years of investigation and preparatory study carried out by a specifically appointed work group, the Board agrees to propose to the organisation’s members a change of the organisation’s name to Civil Rights Defenders. The reference to the Helsinki process is far off in time and has lost its topicality and relevance.

A new strategy is elaborated for the organisation. It establishes that Civil Rights Defenders keep its focus on civil and political rights, that the role of the organisation as a human rights defender will be made even clearer, and that the work to strengthen exposed human rights defenders over the world will be intensified.

In connection with the change of name we let go of the geographical limitation and become a global actor. The expansion will be gradual and initially mostly aimed at the countries within the former Soviet Union. Eventually though, we will extend out work to countries in South East Asia and Africa. Civil Rights Defenders will primarily develop activities in countries where the human rights situation is very serious.

2007
The Swedish Helsinki Committee celebrates its 25th birthday with a comprehensive seminar program visited by hundreds of people during two days.

2006
Sweden is convicted by the UN Human Rights Committee for having violated the absolute ban on torture in connection with the expulsion of Mohammed Alzery and Ahmed Agiza. We represent Alzery before the FN Committee. The issue of Sweden’s actions in connection with the expulsion is subjected to inquiries in the European Parliament and the Council of Europe, partly as a result of our work.

Montenegro declares its independence of Serbia, something that the majority of the war-weary Serbian people greet with a shrug of the shoulders. Two years later it is Kosovo’s turn. Serbia protests vigorously but does not show any sign of taking military action.

Beginning of the ’00s
The efforts of the Helsinki Committee on the Western Balkans continue undiminished. The activities have been adapted to the post-war special needs and mainly focus on the strengthening of media, organisations and human rights defenders who work to investigate and document war crimes or to bring suspected war criminals to court. Our anti-discrimination work is systematised and we embark on collaborations to force through laws against discrimination in all the countries on the Western Balkans and in the Republic of Moldova.

The democratisation process in Russia has ceased since Vladimir Putin came into power. We are concerned about how the freedom of expression gradually is being cut off and the human rights organisations’ means to work freely are being restricted. In the Republic of Chechnya brutal encroachments on human rights are committed against the civilians in the name of fighting terrorists. People are tortured, executed or “disappear” without anyone being made responsible for it. Together with the organisation Russian Justice Initiative we embark on a project to reach justice for the hundreds of victims and relatives. We represent these people before the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, after having failed to reach justice within the Russian legal system. Russia is convicted again and again, and in the end of 2008 the number of convictions amounts to more than one hundred.

Through the years we have published reports, made statements and arranged seminars to influence decision makers in Sweden and to inform the public of the circumstances that jeopardise their rights. Since 2001 the international fight against terrorism has led to several serious encroachments on human rights in Sweden. One of the more known incidents is the brutal expulsion of the two Egyptians, Mohammed Alzery and Ahmed Agiza, from Bromma Airport in December 2001. The Helsinki Committee is on the case from the start and report to, among others, the UN Committee Against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee.

1999
NATO’s bombings of Serbia last for three months and eventually force the Serbian leaders to withdraw their troops from Kosovo. Kosovo becomes a UN Protectorate run by UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo).

1995
The Croatian military embarks on a powerful offensive breaking the drawn-out stalemate situation of the country. The military operation, named Operation Storm, leads to a massive expulsion of the Serbian population. Hundreds of thousands of Serbs flee to Serbia.

The massacre at Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina when between 7000 and 8000 Muslim men and boys were killed in a few days served as an alarm clock for the rest of the world. The parties were forced to the negotiation table and the Dayton agreement that was then signed implies the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The ’90s
During the first half of the ’90s the Helsinki Committee develops comprehensive activities in all of the countries of former Yugoslavia, except Slovenia, and in Albania. We work with, and in certain instances we are also part founders of, human rights organisations that offer free legal aid and support to returning fugitives. We cooperate with cultural institutions and use film, theatre and books to challenge people’s fears and prejudices. We collaborate with independent media to break through the massive propaganda and warmongering of the government run media. Some of our media partners eventually develop into becoming professional and powerful voices in their countries, something we are very proud of. Among these are the TV station ATV and the newspaper Dani in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the newspapers Dana in Serbia and Vijesti in Montenegro and the press agency Beta in Serbia.

1991
The disintegration of Yugoslavia begins. Slovenia breaks loose following an armed conflict that lasts for a few days. In Croatia a war breaks out that will last for four years, resulting in hundreds of thousands of fugitives. Two years later the war breaks out in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the ethnically most mixed part of the country. Close to one hundred thousand people die and hundreds of thousands are put to flight.

1989
The fall of the Berlin Wall, the starting point of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.

1982
The Swedish Helsinki Committee is founded with a view to supporting the human rights defenders behind the Iron Curtain, and also to survey the situation in its own country. A comprehensive work to influence the opinion takes its start. The committee regularly travels to the countries of Eastern Europe in the company of Swedish members of parliament, lawyers and scientists, in order to work for a change on a broad scale.

1976
The Moscow Helsinki Group is founded with a view to surveying the implementation of the agreement. Its members are persecuted, imprisoned and sent into external exile or to internal exile in Siberia. The initiative, however, spread. National Helsinki committees are founded in most countries within the Warsaw Pact and in several Western countries.

1975
The Helsinki Agreement, the final document of the conference held on security and cooperation in Europe, is signed in the capital of Finland after years of tough negotiations. The agreement expressly states that the respect of human rights is the foundation for peaceful and friendly relations between the states. All European countries, except Albania, the United States and Canada sign the agreement.