Civic Committee for Human Rights (CCHR) is a non-governmental , non-profit making organization, working upon the protection and promotion of human rights in Croatia since 1992. It was established as a reaction to massive human rights violations in Croatia and by now it has grown into respectable, internationally recognized NGO for the protection of human rights and for delivering humanitarian aid.
1990. They organized the Committee for the Square of Victims of Fascism, a non-governmental organization active till 2001, warning of the dangers of totalitarian and fascism rebirth in the Croatian society and pleading for European integration based, among others, on common anti-fascist values.
1991. They co-organized the Democratic Opposition Forum (DOF), an organization that tried to gather all those in Croatia who were willing to openly confront raising nationalism and threats of war. They traveled to Knin and talking to Serb leader Jovan Rašković trying to prevent the war. With the same goal they organized public meetings in Zagreb, Karlovac, Osijek and Rijeka.
1991. They were co-organizers of the Yugoslav Pre-Parliament of Citizens, a coalition that tried to at gather all anti-war tendencies and personalities in the territory of former Yugoslavia.
1992. They founded the Civic Committee for Human Rights (CCHR), an independent organization for protection of human rights.
Since 1992 CCHR has helped in numerous cases concerning: attaining citizenship, solving foreigner status, getting passports, working visa and similar legal issues in which citizens needed assistance.
Help was also assured for conciseness objectors, as well as for those who rejected to participate in war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CCHR organized searches for missing and displaced people; members of CCHR have been searching for missing people from Zadar, Gospic and Sisak during 1992 and 1993, and in 1994 they received from Belgrade a list of 285 unidentified victims from Vukovar. Since 1995 CCHR has been searching for people missing after military actions "Storm" and "Flash".
From 1993 till 1995 Committee has been actively opposing unlawful house evictions.
Its members participated actively in over 65 of such evictions and used all peaceful means (from writing to Constitutional court, arch bishop, explaining to police and army perpetrators of such evictions that they are acting against Constitution, sitting on the floor- few times they were physically threatened, and once even beaten by the police and taken away in handcuffs) to stop them.
Writings in which was stated and proved unlawfulness of house evictions were sent to the police, Constitutional court, Croatian Government, President of Croatia and to media.
Since 1994 CCHR has SOS telephone line in its office, opened for anyone whose human rights have been violated.
After military action "Flash" CCHR was one of the co organizers of Center for human right protection in Pakrac, where lawyer was giving free legal aid once a week during 1995.
After military action "Storm" CCHR organized first legal aid, and then also regular humanitarian aid in north part of Krajina and occasionally in north Dalmatia. Two medical doctors went to distant villages with CCHR team once a month, examining older people who were left without medical care.
In 1997 CCHR has organized two "secure houses" for returnees in north Kraina.
From 1993 to 2000 CCHR has organized monitoring of a number of processes at courts in Croatia where reasonable doubt existed that the process would be biased (because of ethnic prejudice or political reasons
CIVIC COMMITTEE
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
is
NON-GOVERNMENTAL
NON-PROFIT MAKING
ORGANISATION
INDEPENDENT OF ANY POLITICAL PARTY
CCHR is affiliated to Federation Internationale
des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme (International Federation of Human Rights),
co-founder of
Coordination of Organisations for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights in Croatia
The main activity, "raison d'etre"
of CCHR has been
Protection of individuals,their civil rights, their human dignity and freedom
Ensuring the equality before the law
to all citizens regardless their gender, religion, ethnic or racial origin.
Care for those whose human rights have been endangered,for poor,elderly, infirm and handicapped.