Youth Initiative for Human Rights

The mission of the Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) is to provide protection for the victims of human rights violations, establish new connections between the post-war generations, and enhance the participation of youth in transitional justice processes. YIHR promotes truth, justice, peace and equality as its core values.

Overview

YIHR coordinates its programmes in Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro through its regional office. The office organises large-scale programmes aimed at crucial political changes in the Balkans. Additionally the office provides support to local organisations running programmes consistent with YIHR's core values and goals. Through the Balkan Foundation, the regional office gives small grants.

The YIHR offices are located in Belgrade (Serbia), Prishtina (Kosovo), Podgorica (Montenegro) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), while three local branches have been opened in Kragujevac, Nis and Novi Sad (Serbia). The YIHR is managed by a six-member board, led by YIHR's President. Each program has its own coordinator, who independently decides on the directions and principles of his or her program. YIHR selects its employees and members through public competitions, thus providing everyone with equal opportunity – irrespective of their nationality, religion, gender, sexual or other orientation – to contribute to the organisation's development and to further their own skills.

Programmes

• YIHR introduces young people to the truth about human rights violations directly through the testimony of victims. The "Justice Advocates Network" represents an important element in YIHR's youth education programme, advocating justice and rule of law in local communities, promoting mechanisms and strategies for facing the past, and educating young people about the facts of the recent past and the important role of the ICTY and its activities in establishing those facts.
• The Human rights protection programme implemented by the Belgrade office includes monitoring transitional laws and creating case law in the fields of free access to information of public interest, hate speech and discrimination.
• In Serbia and Kosovo, YIHR organises meetings for journalists with political leaders, representatives of civil society and the media, in attempts to bring journalists closer to relevant information sources and help them include "the other side" in their reporting.
• YIHR's Visiting Programme connects young people from Serbia and Kosovo, providing ground to initiate common projects.
• YIHR's local offices in Novi Sad, Niš and Kragujevac address the education of young people about the past, civic activism and participation in the social life of Serbia at a local level.

What Services are Provided?

YIHR offers consultancy services, training in a variety of skills, as well as producing publications, newsletters, etc.

YIHR's programme in Serbia is focused on creating the conditions in which justice can be obtained before domestic courts for war crimes in the region, as well as before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The programme also informs the public about court proceedings and the work of ICTY, and conducts public debates on prejudice against the decisions of ICTY, especially at a local level, in the towns and villages across Serbia.

YIHR's human rights programme in Kosovo aims to establish the rule of justice in Kosovo by monitoring the implementation of the Anti-discrimination Law and the Law on Access to Official Documents. An important aspect of YIHR's work in this field is to inform decision makers in institutions and the international community of the reality of the human rights situation on the ground. The Kosovo programme further focuses on advancing the capacities and participation of youth in public life, and on building bridges between young people living in Kosovo.

In cooperation with KUMT Consulting, the Kosovo office has established the multimedia Media Centre, providing media and public relations services. The Media Centre aims to become the key element in media and communication infrastructure in Kosovo, professionally reporting on political, economic and cultural events.

YIHR's Sarajevo office is focused on building trust between young people in divided communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), and on regional exchange programmes aiming to establish new connections between youth in the region. YIHR has, since its inception, connected the victims of the Bosnian War with the youth in Serbia, building trust and promoting truth-telling as a model of transitional justice. In 2007, the Bosnia Youth Trust Project (BYTP) will be launched. This project will further stimulate confidence building among youth from different ethnic groups with the aim of creating a sustainable activists' network across BiH. YIHR pays particular attention to sexual and gender minorities and, in cooperation with local partners, develops capacities to promote the rights of the LGBTIQ community.

YIHR's Montenegro office was opened in 2006 in order to pursue its broader methodology of a regional approach to underlying social issues. With the support of the Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights, the programme in Montenegro deals with the development of the rule of law; justice; protection for victims of human rights violations and their legal representation before the courts; analysis of the human rights situation; and establishing closer cooperation between non-governmental human rights organisations. YIHR insists on creating connections between young people in the region and on their active participation in the decision making processes that influence their future. YIHR plans to open two local offices in Montenegro in 2007 – in Pljevlje and in Ulcinj – in order to more effectively pursue the protection of human rights and bring its activities closer to citizens in their local environments.

Geographical Area of Operation

Serbia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo. YIHR operates offices in Belgrade, Pristina, Podgorica and Sarajevo, with three local offices in Serbia - based in Kragujevac, Niš and Novi Sad.

Funding Resources

YIHR is sustained by the generous financial support of our donors. YIHR accepts two kinds of financial grants: program grants – those supporting particular projects; and general grants – those used for operational and developmental costs. All grants are regularly reported to their respective donors. YIHR pays taxes and submits the reports required by domestic legislation.

• Australian Embassy in Belgrade
• Balkan Trust for Democracy
• British Embassy-Belgrade
• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Civil Dialogue
• Comité Catholique contre la Faim et pour le Développement (CCFD)
• Danish Embassy-Belgrade
• East-East Program (Soros)
• Embassy of Finland-Belgrade
• Embassy of France-Belgrade
• Embassy of Germany-Belgrade
• Embassy of Netherlands-Belgrade
• Embassy of the United States of America – Belgrade
• Freedom House
• French Cultural Centre, Belgrade
• Friedrich Ebert Foundation
• Fund for an Open Society-Serbia
• Heinrich Böll Foundation
• Konrad Adenauer Foundation
• Kosovo Foundation for an Open Society
• National Endowment for Democracy
• Norwegian People's Aid
• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
• Quaker Peace and Social Witness
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• Royal Norwegian Embassy-Belgrade
• Swedish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights
• Swiss Government Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• United Nations Development Programme
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
• United States Institute of Peace and US Office Pristina

What Further Information would you like?

Information regarding conflict resolution techniques in other areas of the world.

What New Contacts would you like to make?

Youth networks working in similar fields.

Associated Organisations

• Belgrade District Court’s
• War Crimes Chamber
• Centre for Democratic Initiatives-Jagodina
• Centre for Multicultural Education in Preševo
• Centre for Tolerance and Interreligious Relations
• Centre for Social Emancipation
• Civic Action for Human Rights-Priboj
• CIVIS
• Committee for Human Rights –Bujanovac
• Committee for Human Rights-Negotin
• Committee for Human Rights-Niš
• Gayten LGBT
• FAMA International-Sarajevo
• Forum of Slovaks – Backi Petrovac
• Helsinki Committee for the Protection of Rights and Freedoms of Bulgarians-Dimitrovgrad
• Humanitarian Law Center
• ICTY Outreach Office
• LGBT Vojvodina
• Lambda LGBT Human Rights and Queer Culture Cente
• Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (YUCOM)
• Local Democracy Agency-Subotica
• Movement of Mothers from the Enclaves of Srebenica and Žepa Sarajevo
• Resource Centre Leskovac
• Quaker Peace and Social Witness
• Sanjak Committee for the Protection of Human Rights
• Taboo Zrenjanin
• The European Law Students Organization (ELSA)