About the ECCHRD

Rather than a formal organisation, the European Co-ordination Committee on Human Rights Documentation (ECCHRD) is an open network of Europe-based organisations and institutions producing human rights information. More precisely, it is an annual meeting of librarians, documentation and communication workers and similar staff that work with these organisations.

In the beginning years the meetings were bi-annual; since 1989, the meetings of the ECCHRD are held annually. The ECCHRD does not have a formal membership and has no governing body. The secretariat is rotating among active network members.

The Human Rights Directorate of the Council of Europe has provided logistical support to it throughout the years, and hosted the first fourteen meetings. The following organisations acted as ECCHRD Secretariat after 1994:

HURIDOCS activities in Europe and world-wide have always been prominent on the agenda. As from 1994, several participants from Central and Eastern Europe could attend the meeting. The participants of the ECCHRD meetings see them as a possibility to exchange information and experiences. The ECCHRD as such does not envisage to organise additional activities besides the annual meetings, but is certainly helpful in building up and maintaining contacts between the participating organisations.