News Item

New contact group to support human rights defenders for Europe among intergovernmental organisations

From 7 to 8 May, representatives from intergovernmental organisations and EU institutions responsible for cooperation with civil society and for supporting human rights defenders in Europe and Central Asia met in Warsaw.

They were invited by the agency and the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The meeting brought together representatives from the two organisers plus from the Council of Europe, European Commission, European External Action Service, European Asylum Support Office (EASO), OSCE Chairmanship in Office, OSCE Representative for Freedom of the Media, the OHCHR Geneva and Brussels office, UNDP, UN Women, and the World Bank.

It served to establish ongoing, practical information exchanges to facilitate further cooperation between these organisations in supporting human rights defenders.