Bulgarian Helsinki Committee

Description

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee is an independent non-governmental human rights organization in Bulgaria.

It was founded in 1992 and is based in Sofia. It defends political, civil, cultural and social rights through legal protection, monitoring of institutions and advocacy. It pays particular attention to the rights of children, women, and ethnic, sexual and religious minorities, and to people with mental, intellectual and emotional difficulties.

Its work runs through separate programmes: monitoring the human rights situation in Bulgaria, advocacy and public promotion of human rights, and legal defence of fundamental rights. A dedicated programme has provided legal aid to refugees and migrants since 1994. Other programmes cover communications and campaigns, fundraising and administration.

The committee is governed by a general assembly of its members, which elects a management board for a two-year term. It grew out of the wider Helsinki movement for human rights that spread across Europe after the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. It has received institutional support from donors including the Open Society Foundations, the Oak Foundation, UNICEF, the European Union and the UN refugee agency.