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
© Justflix
No war of aggression should go unpunished
Far too often, the international crime of aggression still goes unpunished because it can only be prosecuted within a narrowly defined framework. The International Criminal Court (ICC) must be given the same jurisdiction with regard to this crime as it has for the other three core international crimes. In a joint statement, we call on all states parties to support an urgently needed reform in 2025.
© NTUF/AEFFAA/ECCHR
Two years into the German Supply Chain Act
Almost two years ago, Germany introduced its own supply chain law, and soon the corresponding EU directive will also have to be implemented. Our Q&A and feature provide an overview of the current political debate and show why both laws are urgently needed.
© Sherpa
Lafarge on Trial for Terrorism Financing
In October 2024, French investigative judges ruled that the company Lafarge SA and four former executives must stand trial for financing terrorism. The investigations into their involvement in crimes against humanity continue.
© Wolfgang Pehlemann
We continue legal action against arms exports to Israel
Following Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz's announcement to supply more weapons of war to Israel, five affected persons from Gaza have taken legal action with the support of ECCHR, by filing an objection with the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.
© Mohamed Badarne
New criminal complaint filed against Syrian regime officials
The bereaved families of victims of the Syrian secret service filed a criminal complaint concerning murder, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and torture in four cases. The relatives were able to identify their slain family members using the so-called Caesar photos. The complaint is directed against high-ranking officials of the Syrian regime.
RSPO-certified palm oil: Edeka under mounting pressure
The label of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) graces Edeka’s store-brand products even though they contain palm oil from monoculture plantations in Guatemala owned by the firm NaturAceites – which allegedly engage in exploitation, pollution of local drinking water and theft of indigenous land. The RSPO now suspended two of its certificates for NaturAceites.
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.
Donate for justice
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 business and human rights practice
Together with the FAU and Tilburg Law School, ECCHR organizes an international summer school for human rights practitioners and advanced students on the topic of business and human rights practice. Participants will meet experts and discuss topics such as corporate liability, human rights due diligence or supply chain responsibility.
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
6 April 2025, 10:00 am, Berlin
Berlin Half Marathon 2025 – Run for Justice
ECCHR in the media
Litigating Corporate Responsibility for Climate-Related Loss and Damage
Syrian families file criminal complaint against regime leaders in Germany
The cement company that paid millions to Isis: was Lafarge complicit in crimes against humanity?
What Are Human Rights Worth to Bayer?
The Berlin administrative court’s stance on exports of arms to Israel
Trial and error: Germany reforms its law on international crimes
Let’s stay in touch
Want to stay up to date on our cases, events and publications? Subscribe to our newsletter.
Publications
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.
No Contracts, no Rights: How the Fashion Industry Avoids Paying Minimum Wages in Pakistan
New research findings show that German companies' supply chains often do not even pay the minimum wage. The report "No Contracts, no Rights: How the Fashion Industry Avoids Paying Minimum Wages in Pakistan" uncovers alarming labor rights violations in textile factories in Pakistan that have been going on for years.
Patchwork Justice for Syria? Achievements and blind spots in the struggle for accountability
Although many crimes have yet to be prosecuted, it must be seen as an achievement for justice efforts for Syria that impunity is no longer absolute. This report provides an overview of the accountability efforts to address crimes in Syria from 2011 onwards.
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.”
