Using the law. For a world free from torture, exploitation and fortressed borders.
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 our global network, we enforce human rights and make injustice visible. In court and society.
Current cases
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Wolfgang Pehlemann
Legal protection against arms exports denied once again
On 19 September, the Higher Administrative Court (VGH) in Kassel decided not to grant a Palestinian complainant interim legal protection against German arms exports to Israel. The decision is one of a series of rulings by German administrative courts that have thus far denied legal protection to people from Gaza – even though German armaments are also specifically being used against the civilian population in Gaza.
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Refugees in Libya
No deal for crimes against humanity
A coalition of more than 60 organizations calls for common protests in October against the Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and Libya. The deal facilitates grave abuses of people who are trying to reach Europe via Libya and the Mediterranean Sea, and thus contributes to crimes against humanity.
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Screenshot aus Dokumentation, gepostet auf X von Younis Tirawi (@ytirawi)
Alleged war crimes in Gaza: Criminal complaint filed in Germany
ECCHR believes that an individual with strong connections to Germany has committed international crimes against Palestinian civilians, while part of an IDF sniper unit known as the “Ghost Unit.” ECCHR calls on the German Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation into this individual and to investigate broader crimes committed against Palestinians in Gaza.
Climate litigation against Holcim
The main hearing in the climate litigation brought by four Indonesian fishers against the Swiss cement company Holcim ended on Wednesday at the Cantonal Court of Zug without a decision having been reached. Whether the plaintiffs will receive the requested legal protection and thus access to climate justice is a question that remains open for the time being.
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Wikimedia
Arrest of El Hishri in Germany - a breakthrough for international justice
The recent arrest of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri sends an important message to survivors that justice is possible, even in the context of ongoing conflict and shifting power dynamics in Libya. However, justice requires follow-through. In this civil society statement we urge Germany to ensure El Hishri’s prompt and successful surrender to the ICC, so that proceedings can advance without delay.
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Wikimedia
The starvation siege of Yarmouk
Charges brought for crimes under Assad: The Federal Prosecutor’s Office indicted five men for crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Yarmouk in Damascus.
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.
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Institute for Legal Intervention
Critical Legal Training
At ECCHR, we look to a growing network to share and develop our motivation, knowledge and innovative approaches to conducting human rights work. With this in mind, ECCHR’s Critical Legal Training focuses on training, networking and collaborative learning. To ensure the future of progressive human rights work, we take part in an ongoing learning process together with young lawyers and our international colleagues.
International Summer School on Corporate Accountability & Climate Justice
Together with the Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and Tilburg Law School, ECCHR organizes an international summer school for human rights practitioners and advanced students on the topic of Corporate Accountability & Climate Justice.
Investigative Commons reinvents legal investigations
To expand the production of (forensic) evidence to actors beyond state-appointed experts and to use forums other than courts for accountability, we co-founded the Investigative Commons in 2020 together with long-time partner Forensic Architecture and their German sister agency Forensis.
The Institute for Legal Intervention focuses on critical perspectives on the law, particularly concerning power and power dynamics. We aim to make a long-term contribution to societal, legal and political debates through exchange with universities and research institutions, through our training and co-learning activities, through collaboration with our partners worldwide as well as in dialogue with artists and activists.
Events
16 October 2025, 3:30 pm, Brussels
Transitional Justice and Accountability in Syria - the Role of the EU
ECCHR in the media
The EU’s expansion of the containment model of migrants across North Africa
German rights group files war crimes complaint against Israeli sniper over Gaza killings
Indonesians vs Swiss company Holcim: ‘We want to save our island’
Belgium’s Arrest of IDF Soldiers Could Be a Watershed Moment
A Historic Chance Missed: Harmonization of the ICC’s Jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression Delayed Once More
What does the ruling by Germany’s Constitutional Court on US drone attacks mean in practice?
Syrian doctor jailed for life in Germany for war crimes
Weapons exports to Israel: "Unlawful arms export licences have likely been issued"
Google Worried It Couldn’t Control How Israel Uses Project Nimbus, Files Reveal
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Publications
The Pretense of Justice
With its report The Pretense of Justice, ECCHR presents an analysis of the Israeli justice system’s persistent unwillingness to genuinely prosecute international crimes committed against Palestinians. The report demonstrates that Israel’s self-portrayal as a “rule of law-abiding state” is untenable.
Understanding the EU Forced Labour Regulation
The European Union’s Regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the EU market (otherwise known as the Forced Labour Regulation) entered into force on 13 December 2024. It bans the sale, import and export of goods made using forced labour. As part of our advocacy in this area, we published a model law with the key elements that would create a worker-cen- tred Regulation, analysis on evidentiary standards, an initial position paper, as well as a submission of evidence to the European Commission.
Why climate justice is not just about reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Without a human rights approach, there can be no sustainable fight against the climate crisis. The struggle for climate justice must not be limited to reducing CO 2 emissions: it is about tackling the causes of the crisis itself.
In order to sustainably change the law, a transformation of social power relations is needed – and new laws have to be created. This is why ECCHR initiates and participates in legal and law-related policy debates, organizes public events and publishes on selected topics.
15 Years of Engagement
The existence of human rights is not a foregone conclusion – rather, they must be defended and fought for again and again. The challenges of legal human rights work demand perseverance and have been our central focus since ECCHR’s foundation in 2007. Read our multimedia article “Fighting for 15 years to uphold human rights worldwide.”