European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights

Description

The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) is an independent, nonprofit human rights organization concerned with Saudi Arabia. It was founded in August 2013 by a group of activists, lawyers and researchers, and is based in Berlin, Germany. Because of repression at home, its founders had to establish it from abroad.

ESOHR documents human rights violations against Saudi citizens, including arbitrary detention, executions, extrajudicial killing, torture, enforced disappearance and forced displacement. It monitors cases inside and outside the country and publishes reports and studies based on testimonies, official data and court rulings. It aims to give voice to victims whose rights it says are non-negotiable.

The organization advocates before United Nations human rights mechanisms, presenting statements to the Human Rights Council and submitting reports to special rapporteurs and committees. It files complaints on behalf of individual victims and works with international bodies engaging with the Saudi government. It also works with media and uses social media to publicize cases and build international public support for victims.