Who we are

A network bridging two shores

EuroMed Rights, formerly the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), is a non-governmental organisation aiming to promote cooperation and dialogue in and between countries on both sides of the Mediterranean Sea.

EuroMed Rights is a network representing 80 human rights organisations, institutions and defenders in 30 countries. It was founded in 1997, following the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, by civil society organisations dedicated to promoting human rights and democracy within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.

The main asset and value of the network resides in its regional character as well as its capacity to gather human rights defenders from the whole Euro-Mediterranean region. Whether they are located in the North or South of the Mediterranean, our members collaborate regularly and on an equal footing.

Our mission and objectives

EuroMed Rights’ mission is to promote and strengthen human rights and democratic reforms at regional and national levels. By creating network opportunities and encouraging civil society cooperation, EuroMed Rights aims to develop and strengthen the partnerships between NGOs located within the Euro-Mediterranean area, to spread and promote human rights values and to increase members’ capacities to reach these objectives.

As a regional human rights network, EuroMed Rights is a major source of knowledge and concrete initiatives regarding human rights and democratic reforms in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Mobilising around specific themesManaging country programmes
EuroMed rights focuses its work around the following themes:
- Shrinking space for civil society
- Women’s rights and gender justice
- Migration and asylum
- Social and economic rights
- Justice and the rule of law		The network currently manages programmes covering seven countries:
- Morocco
- Algeria
- Tunisia
- Egypt
- Occupied Palestinian Territory/Israel
- Turkey

The network strives to support and protect human rights defenders, in particular its members and their work when they are threatened.

How we work

To implement its mission, EuroMed Rights sets up thematic working groups and solidarity groups. Twice a year, these groups exchange information and expertise within their respective fields, formulate policy recommendations, network and ensure the effective implementation of EuroMed Rights’ strategy and agenda. Each working group has a gender focal point tasked with ensuring gender mainstreaming in all activities. Working and solidarity groups can be ad hoc or permanent.

Currently, EuroMed Rights has permanent working groups on:

Executive Committee

The General Assembly is the supreme body of EuroMed Rights; it meets every three years and elects the Executive Committee.

The 2018-2021 Executive Committee is composed of:

Wadih Al-Asmar

President

Secretary general of the movement SOLIDAR (support of Lebanese detained arbitrarily) and President of the Lebanese Centre for Human rights (CLDH). Wadih Al-Asmar is also one of the founders of the Lebanese social movement #youStink.

Catherine Teule

Vice President

Vice-President of the European Association for the Defence of Human Rights (AEDH). Catherine Teule is particularly interested in issues concerning the right of asylum and migration. She publishes articles and briefings on these themes.

Moataz El Fegiery

Treasurer

Member of the board of directors for the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS). Moataz El-Fegiery is also the MENA protection coordinator for Front Line Defenders, and co-founder and secretary general of the Egyptian Human Rights Forum.

David Bondia

President of the Human Rights Institute of Catalonia. David Bondia has been a professor in public international law and international relations at the University of Barcelona since 1995.

Theodora Christou

Executive member of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales. Theodora Christou is a barrister and an academic teaching at the London School of Economics and at Queen Mary University of London. Her primary areas of expertise are human rights, international and comparative law.

Lubna Dawany

Secretary general of Jordanian association Mizan for Law. Lubna Dawany is also a Legal Advisor and Board Member of the Family Development Association. Since the 1990s, she has co-founded a number of NGOs in Jordan to fight violence against women, human rights and women rights.

Søs Nissen

Programme manager for the MENA region at Dignity, Denmark. Søs Nissen also worked for 10 years with the Danish Institute Against Torture to support human rights work against torture in the region.

Radostina Pavlova

Legal advisor, member of the Governing Council & advocacy officer at the Center for Legal Aid – Voice in Bulgaria. For many years, Radostina Pavlova has been involved in migration and asylum issues as an activist and as a jurist.

Franco Uda

Member of the National Board of the Associazione Ricreativa e Culturale Italiana (ARCI) and Vice President of ARCS (ARCI’s NGO). Franco is a member of the boards of the European Civic Forum and the Solidar International Cooperation Forum. He works mostly on human rights, peace and solidarity.

Messaoud Romdhani

Founding member of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES). Messaoud Romdhani is also a vice-president of the Tunisian Human Rights League and publication director at the Committee for the Respect of Liberties and Human Rights in Tunisia (CRLDHT).

Jamila Sayouri

Lawyer and the President of the Moroccan association Adala – Justice for the right to a fair trial. Jamila Sayouri is also a member of the Moroccan Organisation for Human Rights (OMDH) and the Moroccan National Council for Human Rights.

Hamdi Shaqqura

Deputy Director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights for Program Affairs. His main area of expertise is democratic development, and civil and political rights.

Michel Tubiana

Honorary President

Former President of EuroMed Rights (from 2012 to 2018), as well as former president of the French Human Rights League (LDH) from 2000 to 2005 of which he remains the Honorary President. Michel Tubiana is a lawyer and long-time human rights defender.

Kamel Jendoubi

Honorary President

Former President of EuroMed Rights (from 2003 to 2012), former Tunisian minister in charge of relations with constitutional institutions and civil society (2015-16). Kamel Jendoubi also presided the Tunisian High independent instance for the elections (2011-2014), and currently chairs the UN Group of experts to investigate human rights violations in Yemen.

Our donors

EuroMed Rights fundraising strategy is articulated around three general principles; ensuring the network’s independence; minimising our donor dependence and guaranteeing our financial sustainability.

EuroMed Rights would like to acknowledge and thank the following donors for their financial support: