European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) is an independent, nonprofit non-governmental organization with the aim of enforcing human rights through legal means. Using litigation, it tries to hold state and non-state actors responsible human rights violations. It was founded in 2007 by the German civil rights attorney Wolfgang Kaleck together with a group of human rights lawyers, in order to help protect the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other declarations of human rights and national constitutions, by juridical means. ECCHR engages in litigation, using European, international, and national law to help protect human rights.
| Formation | 5 March 2007 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Wolfgang Kaleck |
| Purpose | Human rights organization |
| Location |
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| Lotte Leicht, Tobias Singelnstein, Dieter Hummel | |
| Website | https://www.ecchr.eu/en/ |
The ECCHR offices are located in a large former soap factory in Berlin, along with Forensic Architecture and other investigative agencies and human rights organizations.
The ECCHR gained public attention in 2017, when it filed a criminal complaint to the German Attorney General against CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel for her alleged involvement in torture. In 2021, it filed a legal case against five Chechen officials for crimes against humanity.