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OUR LIST by Krasimir KANEV When Yuliana Metodieva asked me to summarise the achievements of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee in the 15 years of its existence, at first I thought it might be a bit too early for that. People normally start drawing balances when they get to their 50s. Why should we be more exacting of organisations? I also thought that unlike growing potatoes - a favourite comparison of former AOUNSU (Academy of Public Studies and Social Management) professors - activities for human rights protection are in essence ideological, and their impact assessment is a complicated matter. I then started to tick off in my mind our priorities and activities, as well as what had happened in the human rights field in Bulgaria in recent years. At the same time, the conviction gradually shaped in me that for a public organisation it is essential to be not only able to make a list of its achievements but to also announce it publicly. Of course, speaking of a non-governmental human rights organisation, we need to make it clear from the start that an organisation like this cannot solve a single human rights issue on its own. Bulgaria’s achievements and problems in this area result directly from the legislative and legal executive activities of the state. These activities, however, are under the influence of a number of legal, cultural, and political factors which, in turn, are provoked or suppressed by the civil society at local and international level. This is the same civil society in which the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) found its sustainable place for the last 15 years. Where did we manage to generate impact for improving human rights protection in Bulgaria?

1 Cases of police violence, including those leading to loss of human life, have decreased in the past 10 years. Although police arbitrariness continues to be a serious problem for our country, the number of detainees complaining today is smaller. While in its annual reports on human rights from the mid 1990s the BHC would register 10-12 death cases in the hands of the police per year, today we are talking 1 or 2 cases. BHC has contributed to this reduction through its activities for representation and protection of victims in front of local and international bodies; through its active position on announcement of these cases to the media; through the exchange of information and evaluations with international hu-

man rights organisations; and through lobbying and direct participation in the drafting of some of the bylaws concerning detainment conditions and control on police activities.

2 BHC has actively lobbied for the abolishment of the death penalty which eventually happened, irreversibly, with the Bulgarian Parliament adopting two international treaties to this effect.

3 The legislative framework for protection against discrimination in Bulgaria has improved. The Law on Protection from Discrimination adopted in 2003 was among the most forward ones in Europe. For years BHC had insisted and lobbied for its adoption, and took direct part in its drafting. Unfortunately, a myriad of remarks and recommendations may still be addressed to the enforcement bodies today. Our human rights organisation is watching their activity closely and is among those who regularly approach them. It has contributed to the increased readiness of Bulgarian citizens to complain from discrimination, for basically avoiding having a law in theory only.

4 The procedure for compulsory placement of people for treatment in psychiatric hospitals has been reformed in accordance with international human rights standards. On this point BHC was the main driver for change, through the strategic lawsuit “Varbanov v. Bulgaria” (2000) in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), and through its direct participation, in 2004, in the drafting of that part of the Law on Public Health concerning compulsive treatment.

5 The economic circumstances of social homes for persons with mental disabilities have improved. There is still much to be desired with regard to the quality of care, and even more with regard to the placement and incapacitation of their clients. But that lowest level of human treatment in the shape of the numbers of crumbling, enclosed, dirty, and totally repulsive human warehouses is gradually becoming a picture of the past. BHC was the first organisation to provide a systematic description of the circumstances in those places and refer them to local and international observers, as well as taking legal action for the protection of those placed in them.

6 Although slowly and painfully, Bulgaria saw the start of the reform of children’s institutions, including the closure of some of them and the removal of the OBEKTIV 1


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