Vision and Strategy
Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) envisions a world in which everyone can freely and safely promote and enjoy all human rights. Empowered human rights defenders and a strong and independent civil society are key to this vision.
Strategy
To achieve lasting human rights change, human rights actors must cooperate, develop their capacity, communicate and promote human rights to society, and, especially where oppression is severe, receive protection and support in their own and from other countries.
To achieve its vision, HRHF works to:
HRHF establishes and supports Human Rights Houses and their member organisations, and contributes to building their capacities to effectively address the human rights needs of their societies.
HRHF connects Human Rights Houses into an international Network, and supports collaboration, knowledge, and experience exchange in order to continuously strengthen the Network.
HRHF and Human Rights Houses promote the positive role of human rights defenders, and respond to, and advocate against, reprisals to ensure that Network members and human rights defenders and organisations are better protected.
HRHF and Human Rights Houses promote the freedoms of assembly, association, and expression and the right to be a human rights defender, advocating together for strong international mechanisms and standards and joining with Network partners on national advocacy campaigns.
By these actions, HRHF helps to create fair societies in which everyone can safely and freely promote and enjoy all human rights.
Values
HRHF and the network of Human Rights Houses are guided by a code of conduct and a common set of values that guide our work including:
We respect all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all persons in all countries of the world, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Our work is effective and targeted. All activities we undertake and support must serve a purpose and lead to stronger impact. We review all actions and evaluate the tactics and mechanisms we use to gain influence.
Human Rights Houses are core to everything Human Rights House Foundation does – from advocacy and awareness raising, to capacity building and protection. All of our work is rooted in and linked to the Human Rights Houses.
We aim to amplify the voice and heighten the visibility of local organisations, raising their profile and increasing their impact.
Each Human Rights House is an equal partner and retains its autonomy. In turn, each member organisation of a Human Rights House is an equal partner in the House and retains its autonomy.
We aim to be a valuable partner for action and a trusted source of expertise.
We are committed to being transparent and open about our objectives, structure and activities. We seek to be independent from our donors and do not tolerate corruption, internally or externally.
Each member organisation in a Human Rights House is an equal partner in the House and retains its autonomy; each Human Rights House is similarly an equal partner in the network and retains its autonomy.
Cooperation is essential to our purpose; joining forces makes us stronger.
Evaluation
Human Rights House Foundation utilises various processes of regular evaluation as a powerful tool to ensure our relevance and sustainability. These evaluations enable us to learn, improve, and inform our organisational strategies and to adjust the course of action when needed.
In addition to internal evaluation processes, we aim to undergo a more extensive external evaluation every few years, to check whether our theory of change is still relevant and whether the work that we do has the intended impact.
In November 2018, HRHF underwent an external assessment of its administrative capacities and competencies.
“HRHF has adequate administrative capacities and competence in place to undertake financial management… The HRHF organisational culture is one of mutual respect, transparency, accountability and ethical performance. There is a high awareness of financial risk, and the organisation has put important measures in place to prevent financial mismanagement and corruption,” concluded the evaluation.
“The Human Rights House concept maintains its relevance as a platform that promotes collaboration, drives innovation, and empowers civil society for the advancement of human rights and dignity for all.” Nino Khurtsidze, External Consultant.
In 2017, HRHF commissioned an external evaluation of the Human Rights House concept and our advocacy work, to assess their relevance and effectiveness, and to offer recommendations to update the concept to maximise its potential positive impact. The findings of the evaluation helped to inform HRHF’s strategy for 2019-2023.
Read in full “Evaluation of the Human Rights House Concept and its Advocacy Component.”
Reflecting on the future of the Houses and the changing environment for human rights defenders, Human Rights House Foundation commissioned an external review process in 2005.
Read in full “Human Rights House Foundation and the HRH-Network
In response to the findings of the evaluation, an effort was made to empower the Human Rights Houses, by giving them more of a say in the development of the network. With the establishment of an International Advisory Board consisting of House members in 2007, the Houses gained direct input in an advisory role to HRHF’s board, as well as input concerning the admittance of new members. (The International Advisory Board is replaced by a new mechanism in 2018).