Civil Rights Defenders was founded in 1982 as the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights to monitor compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, along with Helsinki Committees for Human Rights in several countries. Gerald Nagler, who also co-founded the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, was the founder of the Swedish Helsinki Committee, and then also Chairman of the organisation from 1992 until 2004. Robert Hårdh led the organisation as Secretary General from 2000 until 2009 and then as Executive Director until 2017. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the organisation also worked to monitor and improve the human rights situation in the former Yugoslavia throughout the conflicts of the 1990s. In 2009, the Swedish Helsinki Committee changed its name to Civil Rights Defenders, and began working in additional regions of the world with the primary mission to support local human rights groups in repressive countries. They also now act as a watchdog human rights organisation in Sweden.
Natalia Project
The Natalia Project is an alarm system for human rights defenders at risk that helps to ensure the survival of human rights defenders. It was launched in 2013, and is named after Natalia Estemirova, a Russian human rights activist and recipient of the Right Livelihood Award who was abducted and murdered in 2009 while working to document cases of human rights abuses in Chechnya. The device uses cellphone and satellite navigation technology to transmit an alarm signal that its bearer is in acute danger. Triggering the alarm transmits data about the bearer's location and personal details to enable a local and global response. Each Natalia Project participant receives security training and develops an incident response protocol based on their specific circumstances.
Defenders’ Days and Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award
Since 2013, Civil Rights Defenders has organised the human rights conference Defenders’ Days, now held in Stockholm every two years. The conference is focused on capacity building for human rights defenders from repressive countries. Civil Rights Defenders also annually awards the Civil Rights Defender of the Year Award to a human rights defender. According to Civil Rights Defenders, the award is given to someone who “despite the risk to his or her own safety, strives to ensure that people’s civil and political rights are recognised and protected. Their work is carried out without the use of violence and within an independent human rights organisation.” Previous Defender of the Year Award recipients are:
