Meet Our Partners

Bosnia

The vision of the Human Rights Office in Tuzla (HROT) is to build a civic society based on democratic principles and a respect for human rights in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with all other international human rights covenants and declarations, the regulations of the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Constitution of BiH. They support the full realization of the Dayton Accords and the Constitution, which contain critical conventions on human rights and the essential democratic guarantees to them.

HROT is a non-governmental, non-profit, civic organization with a mission to educate citizens about their human and democratic rights through the dissemination of information in various forms. HROT was founded as an association of citizens in October 1995 during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, when all human rights were endangered. It was opened as a joint initiative of the Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly, Geneva, and local organizations from Tuzla, with the aim of promoting the ideals of multi-ethnicity and equality in a period when they were most under threat. Violations of human rights continue, and today HROT works to defend the right to a home, freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of association, the rights of ethnic and religious minorities, rights for official documents, the right for social care and the rights of women and children.

HROT has received support from a wide range of governmental and nongovernmental sources including, inter alia: CORDAID (Holland); Danish Centre for Human Rights; Danish Refugee Council; HEKS (Switzerland); IBHI - Roskilde (Denmark); Independent Bureau for Humanitarian Issues – Sarajevo; KIOS (Finish) NGO Foundation for Human Rights; National Endowment for Democracy (United States); Open Society of BiH; OSCE; Quaker Peace and Service from London; Stichtung Vluchteling (Holland); UNHCR; and USAID.

Japan

Asian Pacific University (APU), part of the Ritsumeikan Trust established in 1869, is an international university located in Beppu, Kyushu (Japan). APU enrolls 4,500 students, half of whom come from 71 countries ringing the Asian-Pacific basin from South Africa to Chile, giving APU the largest enrollment of international students of any university in Japan. Likewise, more than one half of the APU faculty hails from different countries, such that APU truly does offer a global education to respond to the needs of a globalizing society and the coming Asian-Pacific age. The student body, faculty and global orientation make APU a unique learning environment where students and faculty come together to overcome differences and learn about various traditions, religions and cultures, leading to a deeper understanding of each other.

But more important than size and tradition, APU is an educational leader in Japan. Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, characterized by its dual education system and multicultural environment, has developed a curriculum that fosters young leaders with the talent and ability to act on the global stage in the 21st century, within the context of international cooperation. In recognition of its unique dual language system, set in a multilingual environment, APU was selected for the Good Practice Award (GP) by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science & Technology (MEXT) in 2003. In 2004, APU was again honored by receiving the GP award for its efforts to promote student mobility in the category of ‘Developing Japanese who can make active use of English in the workplace”.

Jordan

The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS) is an independent, scientific and non-governmental center for study, research and training in Jordan. The objective of ACHRS is to monitor the transformation human rights in Jordan and the Arab World, and to contribute to the introduction of a positive change in civil society and in the pattern of social, democratic upbringing. ACHRS also seeks to help in spreading and strengthening human rights culture in the Arab World, understood as all of the provisions contained in international and regional conventions and declarations on human rights issued by the UN and regional, Arab organizations.

ACHRS seeks to achieve its goals through educational, intellectual, and cultural activities, including theoretical and applied research and studies, convening of conferences, seminars, workshops and study sessions, offering consultations, technical and scientific services, training courses and publishing bulletins, books, reports and specialized periodicals on human rights.

In the pursuit of its goals, ACHRS cooperates with local, Arab and international institutions and associations, whose activities are compatible with ACHRS activities in order to: provide a scientifically-based statistical and information database on local, regional and international human rights declarations, covenants, and conventions; provide a democratic platform for dialogue, coordination and integration of the efforts of the human rights governmental and non-governmental organizations; disseminate a human rights culture and spread knowledge of it to all those who are interested in both civil society and government institutions; help governmental and non-governmental organizations to monitor, document, and follow up on the human rights situation, and strengthen human rights at the legislative and applied levels; pay special attention to the human rights of the fragile segments of society, such as children, old people, and people with special needs; participate in the building of a state that is governed by law, institutions and principles of a democratic, humanitarian society; participate in the process of reviewing the local legislation, laws and regulations, and offer scientific proposals to adapt them to the international norms of human rights; contribute to the strengthening of the humanitarian rights of women so as to enable them to effectively participate in public life and in decision making.

ACHRS serves governmental and nongovernmental organizations in the field of human rights, academics and students, civil society organizations, professionals employed in judicial, legislative and law-enforcement departments of government, journalists, and the personnel of international and regional organizations operating in the field of human rights. It is a member of, inter alia, Arab Organization Network for Human Rights, Arab Network for NGOs, Arab Coalition to Support the International Criminal Court, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), International Federation of Workers' Education Associations (IFWEA IVA FIAET), Euro-Med Human Rights Network and Euro-Med Youth Platform. ACHRS is funded by, inter alia, Canada Fund, Embassy of the Netherlands, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network, Ford Foundation, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, OHCHR, UNAMI & UNOPS, Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation, UNDP, UNHCR.

Kenya

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) is a non-governmental, independent organization established in 1992 in response to serious human rights abuses by the government of Kenya. The KHRC documented human rights violations and challenged a largely unaccountable executive by working to strengthen parliament, the judiciary and other institutions of government. In recent years, the KHRC has been instrumental in strengthening the role of civil society in advocating for democratic reforms and has broadened its approach to human rights work to incorporate a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights. Ongoing programs emphasize intense engagement with communities in specific locations and/or specific sectors of the economy to strengthen their capacities to deal with pressing human rights problems such as abusive labor practices or the need for prison reforms. KHRC’s goal is to stimulate and catalyze the formation of strong grassroots based advocacy networks that are capable of organizing for action around issues of critical concern to them.

Macedonia

Forum for European Journalism Students Macedonia (FEJS Macedonia) was established in 2003 as non-profit, independent organization dedicated to the exchange of information between journalism students and young journalists. FEJS Macedonia organizes or promotes the meeting of students and professionals of journalism and media in general. With 40 youth active members our aims are to create a national and international understanding among students/journalists, not only in the country but also abroad. It does so by: promoting cooperation between faculties-schools of journalism on a national and international level; fostering exchange projects and work experience possibilities for journalism students; and arranging seminars and meetings on relevant topics. FEJS Macedonia stands for diversity. Since its founding, FEJS has engaged young journalists in seminars, workshops and lectures pertaining to critical issues in modern journalism: journalism and minorities; manipulation of and by media; professions in journalism; journalism and environment; communication relations between Europe and developing countries; journalism and war.

FEJS Macedonia launched FACE Human Rights in the Balkan region. With the financial support from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, the Macedonian Agency for Youth and the Soros Foundation, in May 2006 FEJS established the Balkan Human Rights News Service, a collective of 28 student journalists from 7 Balkan countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia and Montenegro). FEJS coordinated a week long professional training in human rights law and reporting for the 28 Junior Fellows selected for the program and their professional journalist mentors. The Junior Fellows and their mentors then returned to their countries where they established human rights “newsrooms” and reported 10-15 stories per month for the next year via FACE Human Rights.org.

Yemen

Women Journalists Without Constraints was established in 2004 as an institutional structure to unite women journalists from different perspectives, newspapers and nationalities to work together on issues of common interests, and to train qualified women journalists to deliver their message and conduct their mission effectively.

Women Journalists Without Constraints exists to: improve the status of journalists (both men and women), confront all kinds of discrimination against them, and protect and insure their rights; raise the awareness of press and human rights conventions, and spread word about the international organizations working in the fields of press and freedom of speech and expression; publicize, defend and support human rights and women rights; network and coordinate with local, regional and international organizations concerned with freedom of the press, women's rights in particular and human rights in general; conduct and publish studies and field research on human rights and women's rights issues, and report on them in newspapers and magazines; and arrange activities for women journalists from all over the world with the objective of establishing an international women journalists' organization.

Women Journalists Without Constraints was established by a group of young Yemeni journalists with experience at many different Yemeni papers. It has ties to like-minded organizations throughout the Middle East.

United States

Boat People SOS is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to: provide relief, assistance, and support to Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in their search for freedom and dignified life; to empower, equip and organize Vietnamese-American communities in their progress towards self-sufficiency and integration; and to collaborate with organizations, agencies, and ethnic communities that share similar visions, goals, and values. As the Vietnamese-American community has established itself, Boat People SOS has broadened its mission to include assistance to other victims of persecution, exploitation and violence to ensure that they to receive protection and can realize their dreams of living in liberty and dignity. Among Boat People SOS’s major initiatives is the Victims of Exploitation and Trafficking Assistance (VETA) Program. The VETA mission is to: provide protection, relief and assistance to victims of exploitation and human trafficking; advocate on behalf of such victims and to fight human trafficking at its roots; and collaborate with other organizations, agencies and communities that share a common vision to seek a permanent solution to global exploitation and human trafficking.

Critical to CGSD’s international development activities are training capabilities developed by Center Director, Dr. Shafer, when he directed the Citizenship and Service Education (CASE) Program, CASE staff has provided on-campus and overseas training to teams from many countries, and CASE volunteers have rendered more than a million hours of service valued conservatively $5 million. In newly democratic countries, Dr. Shafer’s programs offer a simple means to train a new elite who possess the knowledge, skills and democratic ethic to carry their countries into the 21st century. With direct or sub-contracted funding from the EU, USAID and USIA, Dr. Shafer has worked with universities, NGOs, small businesses, and governments to assist with: mission, curriculum and course redesign; faculty training; and NGO and small business development. Dr. Shafer was the lead on a three-year grant to establish a civic engagement curriculum at Moldova State University (S-ECAAS-02-GR-257(JL)) and on a three-year grant to establish a civic engagement program at Balamand University in Tripoli, Lebanon (IA-ASLJ-G8190266F). In the Baltics, Dr. Shafer collaborated with the Local Democracy Partnership on an ECA funded project (PECS-1367) to improve university-community relations. CGSD also runs Global Partnerships for Activism and Cross-Cultural Training (Global PACT), a highly successful civic engagement and citizenship education program. 2005-2006 Global PACT offerings include Lehigh, Northeastern, and Rutgers, Zupana, Drnis and Zagreb, Croatia, Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, and Grahamstown, South Africa. Funders include: American Red Cross; Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sport; Democracy Commission, United States Embassy, Zagreb; East-East, Ford Motor Company; Open Society; Partners of the Americas, Prudential Foundation; and United States Institute of Peace (USIP-075-05S).