European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights
Budget
€5,225,000
EP Access
0
accredited persons
Staff
2
0.35 FTE
EU Grants
€256,300
Mission & Goals
To counter injustice with legal interventions – this is the aim and daily work of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights. ECCHR is an independent, non-profit legal and educational organization dedicated to enforcing civil and human rights worldwide. It was founded in 2007 by Wolfgang Kaleck and other international human rights lawyers to protect and enforce the rights guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other human rights declarations and national constitutions, through legal means. Together with those affected and partners worldwide, ECCHR uses legal means to end impunity for those responsible for torture, war crimes, sexual and gender-based violence, corporate exploitation and fortressed borders.
EU Legislative Interests
Advocacy on international criminal justice: ECCHR engages with EU institutions to promote the EU's contribution to international criminal justice frameworks, including promoting the reliance on universal jurisdiction by Member States, the EU's support for the International Criminal Court and the EU's support for treaty endeavours such as the Crimes Against Humanity Convention. In 2025, ECCHR also conducted advocacy on the importance of prioritising transitional justice and the rights of victims and survivors when it comes to the EU's enagement in Syria. Together with partner organisations from the Global Initiative against Impunity, ECCHR also contributed to consultations on the EU's Victims' Rights Strategy and and EU's next long-term budget (MFF). Advocacy on business and human rights: engagement on the implementation of the EU Forced Labour Regulation
Communication Activities
ECCHR recently published two policy briefs focused on highlighting the EU's possibly contributions to international criminal justice. The 2024 edition can be accessed here https://www.ecchr.eu/fileadmin/ECCHR_Policy_Paper_Initiative_Against_Impunity.pdf and the 2025 edition here https://www.ecchr.eu/fileadmin/Publikationen/ECCHR_PP_SYR_TRAN_JUS_EN_WEB.pdf . On the Forced Labour Regulation, in 2025 ECCHR co-authored a guide with Anti-Slavery International https://www.ecchr.eu/en/publication/understanding-the-eu-forced-labour-regulation/
Interests Represented
Does not represent commercial interests
Member Of
ECCHR has ECOSOC status at the UN. Global Initiative Against Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work (https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/global-initiative-against-impunity/) Other organisations who are members: Civil Rights Defenders Coalition for the International Criminal Court Impunity Watch International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) Parliamentarians for Global Action REDRESS TRIAL International Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice Plus Associate Partners: Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities International Commission of Jurists ECCHR is a member of the CorA Network (which is a member of the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)) and ESCR-Net
Organisation Members
ECCHR is not a membership organisation and therefore has no members. However, ECCHR is part of the Global Initiative against Impunity, an EU-cofunded consortium of NGOs working towards the promotion of victim-centered, trauma-informed, and gender-sensitive justice for serious human rights violations. https://www.ecchr.eu/en/case/global-initiative-against-impunity/
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.