– We are now Civil Rights Defenders
For more than a quarter of a century we have defended people’s civil and political rights. We have supported, protected and strengthened local human rights defenders, and together with these we have made the situation better for hundreds of thousands of people.
The reference to the Helsinki Agreement in our previous name was for a long time a status symbol and very relevant. Two decades, however, after the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the agreement has lost its topicality. Younger generations are not even aware of its existence.
We are proud of our history and of what we have accomplished. But the world changes and we must change with the world. Accordingly, we take a big step in the history of the organisation and change our difficult-to-communicate-name to a name that actually tells something about who we are and what we do – a defender of the civil and political rights.
Our focus will remain on civil and political rights. These are the areas of our expertise, firmly rooted in our history. Furthermore, the development in recent years unfortunately shows that great efforts need to be made within this area of law during the years to come.
We do not, however, see any reason to limit ourselves to the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Future challenges to the human rights are global and demand a global strategy. Indefinitely, Eastern Europe and the Balkans will for natural reasons continue to be our principal area of work, but, in due time, we will develop our work in other regions too.
Now, we turn a page and write a new chapter in the history of the organisation. We have an exiting journey ahead of us and we hope that you will share it with us. We need your financial and moral support to strengthen our independence and lessen the share of government funding. Help us make Civil Rights Defenders a power to count on. Support our work and become a human rights defender too.