European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights in the World
The European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and Human Rights in the World eV ( European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & World Human Rights , ELDH / ELDH ) is a European umbrella association of lawyers associations.
history
The association was founded on May 1, 1993 in Paris . Until 2005, members of the professional community from 12 European countries joined forces in the EJDM.
aims
The goals are the promotion of peace , disarmament and international understanding , protection of the environment, the fight against racism and fascism , equal rights for women and men and respect for the rights of children and the fight against discrimination . The association advocates the realization of human rights and democracy in the various institutions of the European Union .
For some time now, the focus has been on the work
- the treaty on a European constitution ,
- the welfare state in Europe,
- the enlargement of the European Union ,
- the civil and human rights consequences of the anti-terror policy,
- Violations of the international prohibition of aggression
- the prosecution of war crimes.
Other activities include participation in the German network against racism and the European network against racism, in process observation in Turkey , missions to Palestine to investigate the human rights situation and the mission to French Guiana to investigate the human rights situation.
It is financed through membership fees, donations and public grants. The organization is recognized in Germany as non-profit and particularly worthy of support. The legal seat is in Düsseldorf .
At the General Assembly in London in May 2005, Bill Bowring (London) was elected as the new President. He teaches international law, constitutional law and human rights. Monique Chemillier-Gendreau from Paris (co-founder of the EJDM and its president for eight years) was elected honorary president. She taught international law at the University of Paris VII . The general secretary is the trade union lawyer and attorney Thomas Schmidt from Düsseldorf.
Members
The EJDM is an umbrella organization of various national associations of lawyers, including:
- Germany : Association of Democratic Lawyers .
- France: Association Francaise des Juristes Démocrates (AFJD)
- Italy: Giuristi Democratici (AIGD)
- Russia: Center for Social and Labor Rights (CSLR)
- Switzerland: Democratic Jurists Switzerland (DJS / JDS)
- Spain: Democratic Lawyer Network of Spain
- United Kingdom: Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers
It also has some individual members, especially from countries in which no comparable legal organization exists. Many of these organizations are or were also members of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), which was once considered to be dominated by the Soviets.