Civil Rights Defenders is a politically and religiously independent human rights organisation. We partner with and support human rights defenders who work in some of the world’s most repressive regions on four continents. Through advocacy, litigation, and public campaigns, we advance people’s rights globally. We also act as Sweden’s civil rights watchdog.

Civil Rights Defenders was founded as the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in 1982 with the purpose of monitoring compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act. In 2009, the organisation was renamed Civil Rights Defenders.

Watch this short film to learn more about us and our work to defend people’s civil and political rights.

Civil Rights Defenders’ Vision

A world of democratic societies in which we all enjoy our civil and political rights.

Civil Rights Defenders’ Mission

Our mission is to defend civil and political rights together with human rights defenders and to increase their security, capacity, and access to justice.

We work as a part of a global movement of human rights defenders and partner with those at risk. Through legal means and public advocacy, we hold states, individuals and non-state actors accountable for human rights violations.

We advocate for the norms and values of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other relevant human rights standards, as we encourage people to use these rights to promote democratic societies.