EuroMed Rights, formerly the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network is a network of 68

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

organisations, institutions and individuals based in 30 countries in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region. It was established in 1997 in response to the

Barcelona Declaration The Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights (known also as the Barcelona Declaration) is a document signed by the International PEN Club, and several non-governmental organizations in 1996 to support linguistic rights, especially those of endang ...

, which led to the establishment of the

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 EU member states (including those not on the Mediterra ...

. The members of EuroMed Rights admit to universal human rights principles and are convinced of the value of cooperation and dialogue across and within borders. EuroMed Rights promotes networking, cooperation and development of partnerships between human rights

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

activists Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and a wider civil society.

Aims and achievements

EuroMed Rights was created in relation to the existence of the inter-governmental

Euromediterranean Partnership The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 EU member states (including those not on the Mediterra ...

(EMP), and in particular, the

Barcelona Process The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 EU member states (including those not on the Mediterra ...

proposed by the EMP. EuroMed Rights' role is primarily as an intermediary between governmental institutions and grassroots human rights organisations. It received most of its funding during its first years from governmental sources and is closely linked to the EuroMed Civil Forums that constitutes a relatively government-linked alternative to the grassroots Alternative Mediterranean Conference that was organised in 1995. As of 2008, EuroMed Rights had become well recognised both by

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) institutions and NGOs. Its activities range from communication among NGO members and activist campaigning through to lobbying of institutions. EuroMed Rights describes itself as a regional forum for human rights NGOs and a pool of expertise on promotion, protection and strengthening of human rights. Its online library is an important collection of press releases, statements, open letters and reports about the Euro-Mediterranean region. It states that it brings people together in inter-cultural settings to promote dialogue and understanding, with stress on the following subjects: * lobbying human rights mechanisms within the

(EU) and the

, especially concerning the association agreements with the Mediterranean Partners and the

European Neighbourhood Policy The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union (EU) which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the European territory of the EU to the Union. These countries include some who seek ...

* supporting reform processes in the

Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

by strengthening

democratization Democratization, or democratisation, is the structural government transition from an democratic transition, authoritarian government to a more democratic political regime, including substantive political changes moving in a democratic direction ...

processes originating from the

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.states of law, especially by backing movements for the enforcement of the freedoms of speech and assembly * bringing human rights values and principles as well as

women rights Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...

and the idea of

public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

to the public in order to achieve a broad popular participation in changing the living conditions where human rights are abused or denied * sending of delegations and observers, and publishing urgent alerts in cases of deterioration of human rights and when members are in danger or imprisoned * close and critical monitoring of the own efforts of the EU * information on human rights violations in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

by publishing reports, policy papers and newsletters * research and training by means of training seminars and workshops

History

*December 1997: The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network was founded during a meeting at the Danish Centre for Human Rights (DHRC) in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

by a group of human rights activists from the North and the South of the

. Founding people were then director of the DHRC, Morten Kjaerum, and

Said Essoulami Said can refer to: * Speech, or the act of speaking * Saʽid, a male Arabic given name * Said (honorific), a honorific in Islamic culture * Said, Iran (disambiguation), multiple places in Iran * Port Said, a city in Egypt * Saïd Business School ...

from Moroccan human rights organisation '' CMF-MENA''. Further participants in the founding assembly (but no members of the EMHRN) were the Dutch Council for Refugees, the

Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights The Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR), founded in April 1985 and with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, is a non-profit NGO and one of the longest-standing bodies for the defense of human rights in Egypt. It investigates, monitors, an ...

, and the

European Council on Refugees and Exiles The European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) is an alliance of 127 NGOs across 40 European countries established in 1974. ECRE’s mission is to protect and advance the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and other forcibly displaced perso ...

. *1999: The network co-organised the

EuroMed Civil Forum Euromed may refer to: *Euromed (train) * Barcelona Euro-Mediterranean Conference *Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor * Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly See also * EU Med Group EU Med, EuroMed 9, or MED9 (formerly MED7; from EUr ...

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. *2000: The EMHRN received a European Union funding contract. On its fourth General Assembly in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, a new action plan was adopted, which saw the network multiplying its activities. In the following years, an office in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

was opened and preparations for offices in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

and

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

were taken. More staff in addition to the Executive Director were hired.
cover page
*2006: During the

European Ministerial Conference European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

a five-year plan for promotion of the role of the women in society was adopted, which included proposals carried out by the EMHRN. *2015: The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) becomes EuroMed Rights *2017: EuroMed Rights celebrated it
twentieth anniversary
*2018: The 11th General Assembly of EuroMed Rights elects Wadih Al-Asmar, President of the Lebanese Center for Human Rights, a
its new president

Structure

EuroMed Rights (formerly known as the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network) has the following members:

References

External links

* {{Authority control Euromediterranean Partnership International human rights organizations