Helsinki Committee for Human Rights


Helsinki Committees for Human Rights exist in many European countries as volunteer, non-profit organizations devoted to the protection of human rights. Presumably named after the Helsinki Accords, they were formerly organized into the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, based in Vienna.

History

The Helsinki Committees were established following the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, also known as the Helsinki Accords. This document was signed within the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The landmark agreement aimed to reduce tensions between East and West during the Cold War by promoting cooperation in three main “baskets”: security, economic and scientific collaboration, and human rights.
The Helsinki Committees emerged as independent, non-governmental organizations dedicated to monitoring compliance with the human dimension of the Helsinki Final Act. This “human dimension” emphasized the protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights, including freedom of expression, religion, and movement, as well as the right to a fair trial and participation in public life. The committees played a crucial role in documenting violations, advocating for human rights, and raising international awareness, contributing to the broader development of civil society and democratic accountability in both Eastern and Western Europe.
The Helsinki Committees began as Helsinki Watch groups. The first such group was founded in Moscow in May of 1976, the second in Kyiv in November of the same year, as well as the third in Lithuania. Then in 1977 others were founded in Czechoslovakia, Georgia and Armenia, the last in 1979 in Poland. In 1982, representatives of several of these committees held an International Citizens Helsinki Watch Conference and founded the IHF.
In 1992, Helsinki España was established, joining the network of national committees focused on promoting and monitoring human rights. In the same year, a British Helsinki Human Rights Group was established in the UK, but this group was completely independent of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights. The UK's official representative in the IHF is the British Helsinki Subcommittee of the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, established in 1976.

Country organizations