www.ihf-hr.org/welcome.php

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) is a self-governing group of nonprofit NGOs that act together to protect human rights throughout Europe, North America, and Central Asia. The primary goal of the Helsinki Federation is to monitor compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Act. The Helsinki Act is a politically and morally binding agreement that was signed in 1975 by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and links peace and security with the respect for human rights. In 1983, the IHF was founded by a number of the Helsinki committees to provide a structure through which the independent committees could support one another and strengthen the human rights movement by giving their efforts internationally.

The Vienna-based IHF secretariat acts as a liaison between the 43 Helsinki committees and their affiliated human rights groups and represents the committees at the international political level. The IHF also maintains links with individuals and groups supporting human rights in countries without Helsinki committees to enhance their network. The IFH gathers and analyzes information on human rights conditions in participating OSCE states and distributes the information to governments, inter-governmental organizations, the press, and the public. The IHF Web site contains a member database and a searchable database of articles, publications, and other documents.

In addition, the IHF is involved in specific projects in conjunction with other committees and affiliated organizations. The IFH is currently involved in the following projects: the North Caucasus Project, Legal Protection of Individual Rights in the Russian Federation, Women's Rights, Preventing Torture in the Closed Institutions of Central and Eastern Europe, Human Rights and Social Rehabilitation of Juveniles, and Improving the Human Rights Situation in Ukraine through Legal Aid Provided by NGOs. These projects involve information gathering and the production of reports, training exercises, and contact with relevant governmental and international organizations.