Welcome – Stiftung Menschenrechte

Human rights are being attacked around the world
and so are the amazingly courageous human rights defenders
women and men who work at great risks.
We support and try to protect these human rights activists
against digital attacks.
Read more about our goals here

Protecting human rights activists
against digital attacks

In the digital age, human rights defenders are increasingly exposed to digital attacks. Since 2022, the Foundation for Human Rights has been supporting an urgently needed cyber protection project by the Berlin Security Lab. Those affected will be able to detect spy software on their mobile phones.

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The Human Rights Centre Memorial in Russia

The human rights centre of the civil and human rights organisation Memorial is best known for its intrepid documentation of human rights violations in Chechnya and the former constituent republics of the USSR in the North Caucasus. We support its work.

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Mexico: Risking Lives for Human Rights Work

Time and again we read in newspapers about the crime in Mexico; the murders, the drug cartels, the fear. And far too rarely about those who resist the pressure, the threats, and stand up in the face of danger. Abel Barrera founded the Tlachinollan Human Rights Centre in the Mexican state of Guerrero in 1994.

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FEDEPESAN: “We risk our lives to protect Colombia’s rivers.“

Human rights award for courageous fishermen in Colombia

They are fighting for their livelihoods and against the massive environmental pollution of Colombia’s rivers and wetlands – and are being threatened and attacked by armed groups as a result. For their unwavering courage and commitment, the traditional fishermen and women of the FEDEPESAN association have now been honoured with the 12th Amnesty Human Rights Award, financed by our foundation.

FEDEPESAN documents environmental problems, protests, demonstrates and stands for tireless lobbying against official failures. The association is also taking legal action against Ecopetrol, the state oil company. Photo: Luca Zanetti

More about the award ceremony on the Amnesty website

CARD wants to help build a network of human rights organisations in Ethiopia.

A new generation of human rights defenders in Ethiopia

Since September 2023, the Foundation for Human Rights has been supporting the project work of the Center for Advancement of Rights and Democracy (CARD).
We are very pleased with the exemplary training project developed in collaboration with CARD, which aims to educate 180 secondary school students in Addis Abeba about human rights and maintaining these standards.

Impressions from the foundation: Celebrating an anniversary with many committed individuals and, above all, with courageous human rights activists, who we are privileged to assist. Pictured: Syrian human rights lawyer Anwar al Bunni. (Double-clicking on the image enlarges the video)

20 Years of the Foundation for Human Rights

Sustainable and long-term – designing the commitments of the Foundation for Human Rights. The Foundation is now 20 years young – working for human rights, for people who stand up for human rights and to protect those who are threatened. The foundation manages that which the international community has not yet achieved: to truly agree on the basics of human rights and to stand together. Experiencing this again and again is a great privilege of this work.

Ceremonial award of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council for its selfless pursuit of justice at great personal risk. Respect for human rights, a democratic system and the rule of law in Ethiopia – this is what EHRCO stands for. (Double-clicking on the image enlarges the video)

Gala for EHRCO – the voice of human rights in Ethiopia

For more than 30 years, the independent EHRCO has been the voice of human rights in Ethiopia. The employees investigate human rights violations, provide legal advice and are involved in human rights education. They give a voice to people that would otherwise go unheard. Now the Council has been honoured with our 2022 Amnesty Human Rights Prize.

Honoured with the Human Rights Award

Our Amnesty Human Rights Prize

Every two years, Amnesty International awards a Human Rights Prize, which is funded by the Foundation for Human Rights.
The prize honours people who courageously defend human rights, who expose themselves to dangers and repression to help others, who raise their voices where they would otherwise be silenced and who dare to intervene where others look away.

„Solidarity at sea is not a crime“: IUVENTA

Award for sea saviours

The winners of the 2020 Amnesty International Human Rights Prize are the rescue workers aboard the IUVENTA vessel.

Their actions not only made headlines; they also gained the attention of the Italian judiciary.

By August 2017, more than 14,000 people had been rescued from distress at sea by a changing crew of around 200 volunteers. Then, the Italian judiciary seized the ship.

„Women for Development“ Event

„Women for Development“ in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia

Women worldwide still face a delicate challenge, fighting for their rights. In some countries, it is even becoming increasingly difficult.
In Chechnya, the „Women for Development“ organisation advises women in family law disputes and also ensures their representation in court.

The lawyers active here also give legal lessons in schools and talk about the cases they have taken on. They provide information about options and rights. Because word has not spread everywhere that the rights guaranteed to women in the Russian constitution can actually be claimed.

The Human Rights Foundation has been able to support this courageous and valuable work for several years.

Students in the People’s Watch program

„People’s Watch“ – Henri Tiphagne’s Work in India

The People’s Watch organisation, founded by Indian lawyer Henri Tiphagne, is one of the most important human rights organisations in his country. Here, too, as is so often the case, the government’s response to the commitment of the human rights activists is often pressure and bullying. Since 2010, People’s Watch has systematically built a network of committed people in India who work against corruption, for the protection of minorities, for justice, environmental protection and sexual self-determination.

Torture Trial Against a Syrian in Koblenz

Syria: Against the Impunity of Perpetrators

People have fled Syria for a variety of reasons, searching for personal safety. Some were fleeing having experienced unimaginable suffering as a result of torture. And some of those responsible for this suffering fled too. In Germany, these two groups are now meeting. How can we ensure justice for the victims?

Mitglieder-Aktion-70Jahre AEMR_JV_2018_Samstag_Jarek Godlewski -8849 ai website

Amnesty Demonstration for Human Rights

What moves us

We live in fragile times. Even in our Western democracies, we have to wake up and take care that what has been fought for so bravely is not taken away from us. We must stand up for human rights and freedom of expression, for a vibrant, colourful society, for the privilege of being able to go out at night and go to sleep without fear of being picked up by henchmen for what we may have said the day before.