International Federation
for Human Rights

Landmark achievements

• 1922 - 1948

  1922: FIDH is founded by some twenty national organisations on the initiative of French and German member organisations. It is the first international human rights organisation. Its motto is: “Peace for human rights.

  1927: FIDH proposes the creation of an “International declaration of human rights” and an International Criminal Court.

  1936: FIDH adopts an additional declaration touching, in particular, on the rights of mothers, children and the elderly, the right to work and to social security, leisure and an education.

  1940: FIDH joins the fight against Nazism. Its chairman, Victor Basch, is assassinated by members of the Vichy government militia in Lyon.

• 1949 - 1988

  Dispersed or forced underground during the Second World War, FIDH reforms after the war and develops its human rights activities. It launches its first fact-finding missions and judicial observation missions. FIDH’s positions are supported by accounts gathered from victims by its officials on mission. Two of its most eminent leaders, René Cassin and Joseph-Paul Boncour, help draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. During the 1980s, FIDH expands its field of activities, particularly within the United Nations. Its fact-finding missions become more diverse and are supplemented by more intensive activism within international organisations.

• 1989 - 2010

  The 1990s:
  The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War mark a major step forward in the development of national human rights NGOs across the world. FIDH supports this development within the framework of legal cooperation programmes in political transition contexts in Eastern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, and Latin America. The number of FIDH member organisations increases from 66 to more than 100. In 1990, FIDH brings together, in Prague, for the first time, all of its members and partners from Eastern Europe, who are finally free from dictatorship. In 1997, it holds its first International Conference in a southern country, in Dakar. This conference underlines the urgent need to combat the flagrant human rights violations resulting from economic globalisation.

2001: FIDH holds its conference in Morocco. The application of the principle of responsibility to perpetrators of human rights violations, whether states, companies, institutions or individuals, lies at the heart of the movement’s actions. During this conference, the first chair of FIDH from a southern country - the Senegalese lawyer Sidiki Kaba is elected.

2002: The International Criminal Court enters into force. It is the culmination of one of FIDH’s longest campaigns.

2003: The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer and long-standing partner of FIDH, honouring the day-to-day commitment to victims shown by human rights defenders.

2004: CCR, FIDH’s new American affiliate organisation, files a complaint in Germany against Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defense, for torture and mistreatment at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib; the proceedings are to last 4 years and become one of FIDH’s landmark cases in the field of human rights compliance in the fight against terrorism.

2006: FIDH takes a public stand against the execution of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, and deplores the fact that a historic opportunity to judge the crimes of Saddam Hussein according to the principles of a fair trial turned into a parody of justice.

2007: A complaint for torture and maltreatment in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib is lodged against the former American Secretary of State for Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, in an attempt to combat high-level impunity. The same year, Souhayr Belhassen, a Tunisian journalist and human rights defender, becomes the first woman (what’s more, an Arab/Muslim woman) elected as the chair of FIDH.

2008: The year 2008 is a turning point for the death penalty: the UN adopts a universal moratorium on the death penalty and it is abolished by Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Togo is to follow their example in 2009, as a result of ongoing action by FIDH and its member organisations. In 2008, unprecedented events mark the campaign for international justice that FIDH has been fighting for years: FIDH and its Member Organisations win some great victories, such as the opening of the ICC’s first case involving the Central African Republic; new charges of gender-related crimes are filed against certain Congolese defendants by the ICC prosecutor; Senegalese law is aligned with the Statute of Rome and with international human rights conventions; a Tunisian vice-consul is convicted of acts of torture. But universal justice remains a challenge, as does the need to protect those exercising their rights in national and international courts. The conviction of Alberto Fujimori and the 2009 arrest warrant issued by the ICC against the Sudanese president are also key victories. 2008 also sees the adoption of the optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which finally enables the victims of rights violations to seek individual remedy at the international level. This advance is the culmination of years of FIDH action in favour of full and fair recognition of economic, social and cultural rights for all. This step forward also comes at a time when economic globalisation is increasingly called into question and when debate is focused squarely on the responsibility of corporate actors, particularly multinational organisations. FIDH calls for economic relations to incorporate human rights and for all stakeholders, including Governments, businesses and financial institutions, to be held to account for their actions.

2008-2009: FIDH’s campaign for women’s rights also bears fruit, with the European Union adopting guidelines on women’s rights, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ratifying the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa in February, followed by Cameroon in May. In April, Burkina Faso adopts a law on quotas, requiring lists of candidates for National Assembly and municipal elections to include at least 30% women and in December, Uganda adopts legislation prohibiting female genital mutilation.

2009: On 4 March 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir. This decision marks a crucial stage in the development of international justice. It is, in fact, the first time since its creation in 2002 that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against a sitting president. FIDH was particularly committed to this brief: by performing fact-finding missions and calling for the United Nations Security Council to bring the matter before the ICC, it helped ensure the opening of an enquiry and the issuing of arrest warrants against the most senior members of the Sudanese government - including President Bashir.

2010: For the first time FIDH holds its World Congress in the Caucasus, in Armenia. The governing bodies now comprise 19 nationalities from all continents, and over 40 % women. There are now 178 member organisations.>

• 2011-2015

  Throughout the Arab Spring, FIDH does its utmost to defend the rights of those in the countries involved. In Libya, for example, it is responsible for ensuring that human rights are a central plank of the transitional regime’s reforms.

  2011: FIDH secures the release of political prisoners in Burma, and contributes to securing partial openness from the authorities.

  2012: FIDH celebrates its 90th anniversary. This year, it carries out 60 fact-finding missions, judicial observation missions and appeals. It welcomes the increasing number of victories it is winning throughout the world.

FIDH brings together 196 national human rights NGOs, in 116 countries, on 5 continents.

Being an FIDH member organisation means:

1/ Sharing the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; a code of ethics based on a commitment to independence, objectivity and rigorous factchecking methodologies;

2/ Uniting for greater strength and to cultivate alliances in order to generate changeat local, regional and international levels;

3/ Breaking isolation to better protect human rights defenders;

4/ Sharing experience, best practices and expertise among member organisations.

Paris, Bogota, 14 November 2025. Of varied origins, cultures, organisations, issues and sizes, yet united by a common struggle: the universal defence of human rights. These 14 memberships demonstrate the vitality of the human rights movement across the world, the relevance of the growth of an international federation dedicated to this universalist cause, and the need to bring together the strengths of civil society worldwide in the face of the challenges it is faced with. Local struggles, global problems, the organisations of FIDH find within the federation a space of solidarity where they can exchange ideas and collectively develop solutions to the shrinking civic space observed throughout the world.

"With these new arrivals, our federation is growing and becoming stronger, particularly on the Asian continent", says Alexis Deswaef, President of FIDH, elected at the same congress in Bogotá. "This is an indicator of vitality for the movement, but also a sign of the times: while the dangers weighing on democracy and respect for rights are being felt everywhere in the world, including in countries considered democratic, civil society is not standing idle. It is organising, innovating, regrouping and putting forward proposals. In a word, it is fighting. FIDH is the place where this struggle is organised."

Organisations from across the world

ASIA

– Database Center for North Korean Human Rights - NKDB (North Korea). Founded in 2003, NKDB is a human rights organisation with solid experience in documenting human rights violations in North Korea. NKDB has been working with FIDH for more than 10 years. Between 2021 and 2025, FIDH and NKDB collaborated on the submission of eight key documents to the United Nations (the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies, among others). In December 2024, FIDH took part in a webinar organised by NKDB entitled "North Korea and Russia: Complexity of crimes, victim status and the fight against impunity in armed conflicts". In January 2025, FIDH supported NKDB’s participation in the first World Congress on Enforced Disappearances in Geneva.

– Transitional Justice Working Group - TJWG (South and North Korea). Founded in 2014, TJWG is primarily engaged in human rights issues in North Korea, but also closely monitors the situation in South Korea. In December 2022, TJWG submitted, together with FIDH, a contribution addressed to the South Korean President in support of the abolition of the death penalty, followed in January 2025 by a submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) concerning discrimination against people who have fled North Korea.

– South Asia Justice Campaign - SAJC (India). SAJC was founded in 2020 in the United Kingdom as an exile NGO working to protect human rights, democracy and diversity in India. Its documentation work is particularly strong and well recognised, especially regarding the rights of minorities in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, as well as in other states where Muslim minorities are under threat. SAJC and FIDH have been collaborating since 2023 on international advocacy efforts related to India, notably through several strategic discussions, a joint seminar with members of the diplomatic corps in November 2024, and joint advocacy activities in Brussels and Geneva in January and February 2025.

– Info Birmanie (Myanmar). A French non-profit association (under the 1901 law), founded in 1996 and dedicated to the defence of human rights in Myanmar, it works to support opponents and victims of the ruling military junta. After joint efforts concerning the withdrawal of TotalEnergies, FIDH and Info Birmanie worked together on the responsibility of banks, companies and financial institutions by co-signing letters and organising information webinars. Since June 2025, a joint documentation project has been launched on violations of sanctions related to the aviation industry in Myanmar, AF17 (research into the diversion of civilian equipment for military purposes, the provision of maintenance services, and the supply of dual-use goods and potential military-grade weapons).

– Afghanistan Democracy and Development Organization - ADDO (Afghanistan). ADDO is an NGO dedicated to promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Afghanistan, founded in 2013 in Kabul. Its expertise lies particularly in transitional justice. Although forced into exile, its members continue to carry out documentation and advocacy work at the international level.

LATIN AMERICA

– Urnas Abiertas (Nicaragua). Urnas Abiertas is a research and citizen-monitoring observatory engaged in the defence of democracy, human rights and the fight against corruption in Nicaragua. Many members of Urnas Abiertas are victims of the regime’s repression, which has forced them into exile since 2019. Since 2023, Urnas Abiertas has been working in partnership with FIDH. The latter has provided technical support aimed at strengthening its capacity to document serious crimes committed in Nicaragua. In addition, the two organisations have shared international advocacy spaces, such as during the mobilisation for the renewal of the resolution on Nicaragua in 2023 and 2025.

– Instituto de Abogados para la Protección del Medio Ambiente, Instituto de Abogados para la Protección del Medio Ambiente - Insaproma (Dominican Republic). Created in 2013, Insaproma works on the right to a healthy environment. Since 2023, Insaproma has maintained an active collaboration with FIDH in the context of complaints filed for human rights and environmental violations related to the operation of the Punta Catalina Thermal Power Plant (CTPC) in the Dominican Republic. This cooperation resulted in the joint preparation of a technical and legal report, submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on 5 September 2023. The report documents the Dominican State’s failure to prevent and address the impacts of the CTPC on children’s health and the environment. It is based on verified field data, supported by an interdisciplinary team of experts, and backed by international academic institutions.

WEST AFRICA

– Public Law Center - PILC (Chad). PILC is a Chadian non-governmental organisation founded in 2007. The Chadian organisation has been collaborating with FIDH since 2008, particularly with ATPDH and LTDH, its member organisations in Chad. Since 2019, PILC has contributed to several actions led by FIDH on the human rights situation in Chad and the Sahel, as well as on the promotion of women’s rights in Africa.

MAGHREB

– Riposte Internationale - RI (Algeria). RI publishes regular reports on the human rights situation in Algeria and defends the rights of minorities and oppressed populations, including the Amazigh in Algeria. RI and FIDH have taken several joint positions on human rights violations in Algeria, the shrinking of civic space, and threats against human rights defenders.

– Beity (Tunisia). Founded in 2012, Beity works to combat discrimination, gender-based violence, and the economic and social vulnerability of women. Beity has been a partner of FIDH since its creation in 2012, and together they have organised several meetings focused on combating violence against women in Tunisia, the Maghreb, and the MENA region. Since the coup d’état of 25 July 2021, Beity has distinguished itself through its critical stance against authoritarian drift. Despite the pressures exerted on the association’s president, it has continued to denounce attacks on democracy and the rule of law.

CENTRAL ASIA

– Kadyr-Kasiyet – Dignity (Kazakhstan). Founded in 2009, Dignity works to protect and ensure the safety of human rights defenders in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. Highly active despite the repressive climate in Kazakhstan, Dignity is engaged in long-term partnerships with international human rights organisations, including FIDH.

EASTERN EUROPE

– Truth Hounds (Ukraine). Truth Hounds (TH) specialises in documenting war crimes and crimes against humanity and has been investigating thousands of cases of violence linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since 2014. The organisation has conducted 20 field missions and recorded over 13,000 acts of violence in 2023 alone. FIDH began a fruitful collaboration with them eight years ago.

ANTILLES

– Kimbé Rèd FWI (France / Antilles / Overseas Territories). Kimbé Rèd carries out legal work and advocacy, both nationally and internationally, in close collaboration with FIDH and Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), with the aim of compelling France to extend the protection granted by the European Social Charter to its overseas territories. This legal work has relevance beyond the French context and challenges the territorial exclusion of such territories from the application of international human rights protection instruments.

These resolutions update the Federation’s key priorities and struggles and set the direction for FIDH’s International Bureau for the next three years.

1) FIDH commits to a decolonial approach for the defence of human rights

FIDH acknowledges that since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Rights on the 10th of December 1948, significant progress has been made in advancing the universality of human rights globally. However, the global human rights order continues to be overshadowed by past colonial legacies as well as ongoing forms of colonialism such as the multi-layered racist, religious, imperialist and settler colonialism affecting the peoples of Palestine. Acknowledging and confronting legacies of past and present colonial structures is necessary for the full realisation of our common humanity.
Read full resolution here (in english).

2) FIDH calls for systemic change in the face of the planetary crisis

FIDH urgently calls for a just transition as a series of context-dependent, whole-of-society and multisectoral pathways driven by a vision to shift away from an unjust economic system. The unprecedented climate crisis that grips the planet is largely caused by reliance on fossil fuels, and rooted in an extractivist economic model underpinned by systemic injustices and the exploitation of people and nature.
Read full resolution here (in english).

3) FIDH calls on the Government of the United States to stop instrumentalising the fight against drugs to justify unilateral actions and disproportionate uses of force in Latin America

FIDH urges to the Government of the United States, among six distinct advocacy measures, to immediately cease all acts of threat, economic or political coercion, and interference that restrict the autonomy of Latin American peoples, as well as any defamatory statements against their democratically and legitimately constituted governments.
Read full resolution here (in english).

4) FIDH calls on the Government of Ecuador to put an end to the repression

FIDH express its concern about the series of violations reported in Ecuador in the context of the recent national strike. Ecuadorian FIDH member organisations report that during the 31 days of the strike called by the indigenous movement, there were 369 incidents of political persecution, 329 recorded victims, 123 acts of repression, 2 illegal raids, 2 militarised schools, 70 acts of financial harassment, 40 people injured.
Read full resolution here (in english).

5) FIDH calls on the Government of Canada to withdraw Bills C-2 and C-12, which represent an unprecedented rollback of migrants’ rights

FIDH expresses its deep concern about Bills C-2 and C-12, which threaten to deprive thousands of people of the right to have their asylum claims assessed by an independent tribunal, and calls on the Government of Canada to withdraw them without delay and instead take action to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of asylum seekers and all migrants.
Read full resolution here (in english).

6) Solidarity with human rights defenders at risk, particularly those in detention

FIDH wishes to express its unwavering solidarity and support for human rights defenders all over the world who are victims of harassment, threats, attacks, repression, criminalization, and arbitrary detention due to their commitment to promoting and protecting fundamental human rights.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

7) The human rights situation in Vietnam

FIDH denounces the systematic repression of all dissenting voices in Vietnam, with its practically uninterrupted sequence of harassment, arbitrary arrests, and sometimes very heavy sentences against human rights defenders, bloggers, journalists, and other activists, as well as the brutal dispersal of demonstrations, internet censorship, and so on.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

8) The case of Tibetan environmental defender Anya Sengdra

FIDH demands the immediate and unconditional release of Anya Sengdra, an environmental defender in Tibet. Known for his peaceful actions against local corruption, illegal mining activities, and the poaching of endangered species, he has been detained since 2018.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

9) The human rights situation in Sahel

FIDH deplores the continuous degradation of respect for human rights in the Sahel and reiterates the importance of protecting fundamental freedoms and international humanitarian law for the restoration of the rule of law and lasting peace in the region.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

10) The systemic impunity and shrinking civic space in the Kyrgyz Republic

FIDH is deeply concerned by the accelerated degradation of human rights and civil liberties in Kyrgyzstan, once considered an emerging democracy in Central Asia, but which is now facing an alarming retreat of fundamental rights and a shrinking civic space.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

11) The escalating human rights crisis in Georgia

FIDH is deeply concerned by the aggravation of the human rights crisis in Georgia following the fraudulent parliamentary elections of October 2024 and the consecutive suspension of Georgia’s European Union accession negotiations. FIDH condemns the systematic use of excessive force against participants in peaceful mass protests, including acts that may constitute torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

12) Safeguarding civic and political space and pursuing democratic processes in sub-Saharan Africa

FIDH and its member organizations in Africa wish to draw attention to the continuous degradation of the situation regarding civic space and democratic processes in Sub-Saharan Africa. FIDH reaffirms the essential importance of free, transparent, inclusive, and regular elections for consolidating democracy and promoting sustainable development.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

13) Resolution on the fight against impunity for serious human rights violations and international crimes

FIDH recalls the ongoing importance of the fight against impunity for grave human rights violations, including crimes under international law, and reaffirms, as stated in the Preamble to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, that "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished."
Read the full resolution here (in English).

14) Justice for the Palestinian People: Act to End Impunity!

FIDH and its member organizations affirm — as Palestinians are collectively targeted solely because of the nature of their identity — that the time has come for the international community to react by unanimously demanding protection, justice, and accountability. International law must not remain a dead letter; it must be applied.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

15) Democratic and peaceful solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey

FIDH urges the Turkish government, among other measures, to adopt a new Constitution formally recognizing the Kurdish identity and guaranteeing the civic, cultural, economic, political, and social rights of the Kurdish people.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

16) The human rights situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo

FIDH stresses that there can be no lasting peace without justice, and the importance of addressing impunity for grave human rights violations by opening investigations and judicial proceedings where appropriate, at the national, regional, and international levels, including through a dedicated mixed mechanism for the situation in the DRC (special criminal court or mixed chambers) in a coordinated and complementary manner.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

17) The Shrinking Space for Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders in Europe

FIDH condemns the shrinking civic space in Europe and calls on all European governments and regional and international human rights protection mechanisms to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms, to uphold democratic standards and the rule of law, to recognize the essential role of civil society as a guarantor thereof, and to refrain from adopting laws and policies that would further restrict civic space, in accordance with their obligations under international and European human rights law.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

18) Peace, Security and Human Rights crisis in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region in light of the severe breaches of the Helsinki Principles

FIDH demands that Russia end its war of aggression and the occupation of all Ukrainian territories, under conditions guaranteeing accountability for international crimes, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, as well as a just and lasting peace, notably by prioritizing people in all peace negotiations, ensuring the immediate release and return of all illegally detained Ukrainian civilians and Russian anti-war activists, the return of all Ukrainian children illegally transferred out of Ukraine, as well as the immediate end to the re-education, indoctrination, and militarization of Ukrainian children, while restoring their Ukrainian citizenship and identity, the release and repatriation of all prisoners of war held by all parties to the armed conflict, and justice and full reparations for all victims of Russian aggression and other international crimes in Ukraine.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

19) Jammu & Kashmir

FIDH demands the full implementation of international law in Jammu & Kashmir, notably through the immediate cessation of the occupation of the territory, the end of colonization in the IOK, the cessation of human rights violations committed in the region, as well as the establishment of a transparent process of accountability and full reparations for the violations committed, while guaranteeing the defense of the rights of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and creating the necessary conditions for the effective exercise of their right to self-determination.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

20) The human rights crisis in Nicaragua

FIDH condemns the brutal repression and the violation of the rule of law and human rights of the population in Nicaragua and in exile by the Ortega-Murillo regime. The Nicaraguan State must end the persecution of opponents and human rights defenders inside and outside the country, provide proof that the 14 disappeared persons are alive, and release the 53 political prisoners, including those under house arrest.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

21) FIDH Members Joining the International Human Rights Campaign: People First!

Given the scale and gravity of the rights violations against victims of Russian aggression, and the importance of the immediate release of all illegally detained persons due to the war, FIDH calls on its members to join the PEOPLE FIRST! campaign.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

22) Calling on the Government of Quebec (Canada) to cease derogating from rights and freedoms and to take immediate measures to ensure strict oversight of the use of the notwithstanding clause

The Quebec Charter contains a notwithstanding provision in Article 52 which allows the legislature to contravene a series of articles (notably freedom of conscience, religion, and association, right to demonstrate, right to life, right to equality, etc.), the very existence of which is an incongruity that significantly weakens the protection of rights and freedoms in Quebec. FIDH urges the Government of Quebec, which has repeatedly used this notwithstanding clause since 2019, to implement and respect oversight modalities.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

23) Serious and systematic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran

FIDH expresses its firm support for all Iranian human rights defenders, other human rights activists, victims of human rights violations, political prisoners, and prisoners of conscience. All political prisoners and prisoners of conscience without exception must be released immediately and unconditionally.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

24) Support of the implementation of the CJEU’s judgments concerning the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara

Agreements relating to resource extraction and economic development in the occupied territory are a vital economic source that allows the Kingdom of Morocco to maintain its occupation of Western Sahara. But at the same time, this occupation deprives the Sahrawi people of their fundamental right to self-determination and return after decades of exile.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

25) The Situation in Sudan

FIDH reaffirms that lasting peace in Sudan will only be possible if justice is served. Victims’ right to truth, accountability for the perpetrators, and reparations must be at the heart of any solution. The international community, regional actors, and the Sudanese authorities must act urgently to end impunity, confront the history of mass atrocities, and ensure justice for all survivors of this devastating conflict.
Read the full resolution here (in English).

26) The concept of ‘safe country of origin or transit’ in migration issues

FIDH condemns the abusive and politicized use of the notion of "safe country of origin or transit," which contributes to undermining the right to asylum, criminalizing migration, and emptying international protection of its substance.
Read the full resolution here (in English).