The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee was established in July 1992 as an independent non-governmental organisation for the protection of human rights. In 1993 it became a member of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights which represents 41 independent human rights organisations in Europe, the former Soviet Union, and North America.
The objectives of the committee are to promote respect for the human rights of every individual, to stimulate legislative reform to bring Bulgarian legislation in line with international human rights standards, to trigger public debate on human rights issues, to carry out advocacy for the protection of human rights, and to popularise and make widely available human rights instruments.
The backbone of the committee's activities is systematic monitoring of the human rights situation in the country. It gives us information on the state and development of human rights in the country and supplies our legal defense program with cases of human rights violations for litigation before the domestic and international courts. In addition, the committee reports on human rights violations with a special emphasis on the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, refugees and asylum-seekers, rights of the child, protection from torture and ill-treatment, freedom of expression and association, problems of the criminal justice system. The BHC offers free legal help to the victims of human rights abuses. The committee also works in the sphere of human rights education, organizes conferences, workshops, public actions and other forms of public activities aimed at bringing the concept of human rights to the attention of the general public. top
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee is managed by the General Assembly which takes decisions on all issues connected with the committee's activities. The General Assembly is made up of all the committee's members: Alfred Krispin, Antoaneta Nenkova, Antonina Zhelyazkova, Boyko Kyuchukov, Danail Danov, Daniela Mikhailova, Desislava Simeonova, Dimitrina Petrova, Ekaterina Yosifova, Emil Cohen, Emiliana Zhivkova, Georgi Koritarov, Ibrahim Tatarli, Iliana Savova, Kalina Bozeva, Kiril Ivanov, Koprinka Chervenkova, Krassimir Kanev, Maria Bakardjieva, Mihail Ivanov, Mihail Petrov, Petar Slabakov, Plamen Bogoev, Pravda Spassova, Radost Nikolaeva, Ramadan Kehajov, Tanya Marincheshka, Valko Stanev, Vassil Chaprasov, Yonko Grozev, Yuliana Metodieva, Zelma Almaleh.
The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee members elect a Board with a two-year term of office to manage the overall committee activities. The Board consists of the following members: Krassimir Kanev (Chairman), Yonko Grozev (Vice Chairman), Mihail Petrov, Emil Cohen, and Yuliana Metodieva. top
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Central office: |
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Chairman |
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Krassimir Kanev
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Administrative Department |
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Administrative Director, Web coordinator |
Desislava Simeonova |
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Closed Institutions Programme |
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Coordinator |
Stanimir Petrov |
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Legal Defence Programme |
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Director |
Yonko Grozev |
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Obektiv Magazine |
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Editor-in-Chief |
Yuliana Metodieva |
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Researcher |
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Fatme Myuhtar |
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BHC/ERRC Anti-discrimination litigation project |
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Legal Consultant |
Margarita Ilieva |
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Refugees' and Migrants' Legal Protection Project |
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Consultant |
Antoaneta Sabeva |
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The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee is financed through grants. For projects, past and present, we would like to acknowledge the sponsorship of:
- Constitutional and Legislative Policy Institute - Budapest
- CordAid
- Democracy Commission
- Institute for Sustainable Communities
- PHARE Democracy Programme of the European Union
- PHARE Microprojects Programme of the European Union
- German Marshal Fund of the United States
- Human Rights Without Frontiers
- MATRA KAP Program of the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Bulgaria
- MATRA Program of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Open Society Foundation - Sofia
- Open Society Institute - Budapest
- Open Society Institute - New York
- Open Society Institute Europe Foundation
- Solon Foundation
- St. Fonds de Trues Foundation
- United Nations Development Programme
- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
- Westminster Foundation for Democracy