Our mission and goals

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit civil society organization for defending fundamental human rights in the Republic of Bulgaria: political, civil, cultural, and social. It was established in 1992.

Our focus is on defending the most vulnerable members of Bulgarian society: children, women, people with disabilities, unpopular minorities, and people deprived of liberty.

Our goals are promoting respect and strengthening of human rights in Bulgaria, lobbying for legislation in line with international human rights standards, encouraging debate in society on human rights issues, and promoting human rights to broader society.

Our work consists of systematic monitoring of the situation with the human rights in Bulgaria with a specific focus on children, women, ethnic, sexual, and religious minorities, rights of people with mental, intellectual, and other disabilities, of institutions for deprivation of liberty, of freedom from discrimination, of cases of torture, inhuman, and degrading treatment, of rights of asylum seekers and migrants, of freedom of expression and of access to information, as well as issues in the criminal justice.

In strategically selected cases, the BHC provides free legal aid to victims of human rights abuses in Bulgaria. Legal aid consists of consultations or legal representation before national and supranational institutions.

The BHC also works on educational initiatives in the field of human rights by organizing conferences, seminars, and other forms of civic initiatives that promote knowledge and respect towards human rights in Bulgaria.