Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia

Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia (HCHRS) "was established in September 1994. Although the constitutional and legal human rights guarantees in Serbia are in accordance with the internationally accepted standards, the actual state of human rights has been more than disturbing."

Their 2006 Annual Report "was pubished thanks to the assistance of the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights". This reports notes that they produced the documentary "Serbian Orthodox Church and Disintegration of ex-Yugoslavia" "with the assistance of the Heinrich Böll Foundation", while the The Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany has "assisted the production of the serial" "A Look into the Past: Serbia 1965-1991" "within the project "Facing the Truth 2002".

Funding
The Westminster Foundation has given them grants in:
 * 1997 - To fund 12 months travel expenses for the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia to hold meetings in Kosovo and Vojvodina to provide free legal aid to victims of human rights violations in Serbia, commencing April 1997.
 * 1998 - To fund the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia to publish a series of documents on minority issues, autonomy and self-determination to provide alternative solutions for negotiating parties in the Kosovo conflict.

The National Endowment for Democracy has given them grants in:
 * 1997 - The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia received Endowment funds to continue the operation of its Legal Aid Office in Belgrade which provides a place where individuals can report human rights abuses and seek assistance in countering these violations. By researching, documenting and publicizing such cases, the Committee hopes to raise popular awareness of the human rights situation and promote greater respect for human rights in Serbia.
 * 1998 - The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia received renewed funding to continue the operation of its Legal Aid Office in Belgrade, which provides a place where individuals can report human rights abuses and seek assistance in countering these violations. The Committee will continue to research, document and publicize these cases.
 * 2000 - To continue the operation of its Legal Aid Office in Belgrade, where individuals can report human rights abuses and seek assistance.
 * 2001 - To conduct a series of three-month journalism training seminars in six municipalities for 200 young reporters, editors and managers working in print and electronic media working in the multi-ethnic region of southeastern Serbia. The Seminars will focus on principles of professional journalism, basics of media management and media technology.
 * 2001 - To continue the operations of its legal aid office in Belgrade where individuals can report human rights abuses and seek assistance. The Committee will also raise the public's awareness of human rights issues in Serbia.
 * 2002 - To continue the operation of its Legal Aid Office in Belgrade. The office is a place where individuals can report human rights abuses and seek assistance in countering these violations. Also, the Committee will launch a program to monitor the drafting and enforcement of laws that affect citizens’ basic civil rights in order to ensure that Serbian governmental institutions are in compliance with international standards of human rights.
 * 2003 - To support the Scholar’s Initiative by providing research stipends for young scholars from Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia-Montenegro, and Kosovo to enable them to produce new research on specific case studies associated with key issues of debate regarding recent history in the former Yugoslavia.

Contact

 * Web: http://www.helsinki.org.yu