Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

CIHRS is an independent organization founded in 1993 to advocate human rights and democracy in the MENA region through empowering and building the capacity of local civic society organizations. CIHRS’ head office is now in Tunisia, but has presence in Cairo, Brussels, Geneva, and New York, with a mandate covering the entire MENA region. CIHRS’s objectives include increasing the visibility and capacity of local human rights and democracy activists to engage and advocate on rights issues on the national and international levels; fostering solidarity, coordination and network building between human rights defenders and democracy activists across the MENA region; supporting effective national, regional and international advocacy campaigns on human rights issues; and spreading a culture of respect for human rights principles among the future generation of leaders in the MENA region. These objectives are fulfilled through several activities, including capacity building and human rights education, networking, advocacy with UN bodies, EU institutions, as well as US and European governments and parliaments.

Working Group(s) / Area(s) of Work: