Helsinki Committee for Human Rights

Human rights organization

Not to be confused with Helsinki Commission (disambiguation).

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights logo

Predecessor| International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
Legal status| Non-governmental organization
Focus| Human rights

Region served

| Europe, Central Asia, North America
Methods| Advocacy

Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries (and in the wider OSCE region) as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to the protection of human rights. It was presumably named after the Helsinki Accords. It was formerly organized into the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), based in Vienna.

## History[edit]

The Helsinki Committees began as Helsinki Watch groups. The first one was founded in the Soviet Union in 1976, the second in 1977 in Czechoslovakia, the third in 1979 in Poland. In 1982, representatives of several of these committees held an International Citizens Helsinki Watch Conference and founded the IHF.

In 1992, a British Helsinki Human Rights Group was established in the UK, but this group was always completely independent of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. The UK's official representative in the IHF is the British Helsinki Subcommittee of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, established in 1976.

## Country organizations[edit]

* Albania: Albanian Helsinki Committee[1][2][3]
* Armenia: Helsinki Committee of Armenia[4]
* Belarus: Belarus Helsinki Committee[5]
* Bulgaria: Bulgarian Helsinki Committee[6]
* Croatia: Croatian Helsinki Committee
* Czech Republic: Czech Helsinki Committee
* Denmark: Danish Helsinki Committee
* Hungary: Hungarian Helsinki Committee
* Lithuania: Lithuanian Helsinki Group
* Norway: Norwegian Helsinki Committee
* North Macedonia:[7]
* The Netherlands: Netherlands Helsinki Committee
* Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Poland) [pl][8]
* Romania:[9]
* Russia: Moscow Helsinki Group
* Serbia: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
* Slovakia: Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Slovakia
* Spain: Helsinki España - Human Dimension
* Sweden: Civil Rights Defenders (formerly the Swedish Helsinki Committee)
* Switzerland: Swiss Helsinki Committee for democracy, Rule of law and Human Rights
* Turkey: Helsinki Citizens' Assembly
* Turkmenistan: Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights[10]
* Ukraine: Ukrainian Helsinki Group

## See also[edit]

* Europe portal
* Society portal

* Helsinki Citizens' Assembly
* Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
* Helsinki Watch and its successor, Human Rights Watch

## References[edit]

1. ^ Albanian Helsinki Committee www.ahc.org.al
2. ^ Albanian Helsinki Committee 11 May 2012, www.civicsolidarity.org, accessed 18 June 2022
3. ^ Sigrid Rausing Trust: Grantee profile: Albanian Helsinki Committee www.sigrid-rausing-trust.org, accessed 18 June 2022
4. ^ "Helsinki Committee of Armenia". civicsolidarity.org. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
5. ^ "Rights groups raided as Belarus pursues crackdown". France24. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
6. ^ "Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Sends Open Letter to DW - Novinite.com - Sofia News Agency". www.novinite.com. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
7. ^ Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in the Republic of Macedonia mhc.org.mk
8. ^ Polish Helsinki Foundation website www.hfhr.pl
9. ^ Association for the Defence of Human Rights in Romania the Helsinki Committee www.apador.org
10. ^ Turkmenistan Helsinki Foundation website www.tmhelsinki.org

## External links[edit]

* Helsinki Committee of Armenia
* Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
* Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
* Czech Helsinki Committee
* Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia
* International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights \- close down notice
* "Human rights movement active despite fraud scandal, former director says"

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