Civil Rights Defenders is a non-profit expert human rights organization working worldwide to defend people’s civil and political rights. For more than 30 years, we have supported civil society and strengthened human rights defenders in repressive countries, combining human rights lobbying and advocacy with empowerment of local partners.
Civil Rights Defenders also takes on the role of a multi-focus national watchdog organization in Sweden, promoting and protecting human rights in the Swedish context. We focus our efforts in Sweden primarily within five thematic areas: hate crime, discrimination and other human rights violations affecting minorities in society; the use of force by law enforcement agencies; monitoring of closed institutions; surveillance and Internet freedom; and refugees and asylum seekers. We monitor human rights developments in these areas and demand reform, justice and accountability. Shadow reporting, strategic litigation before national and international courts and judicial bodies as well as extensive media work form part of broad campaigns to highlight and address human rights concerns.