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Description
The Covid -19 crisis is a “convenient” excuse not to abide by the human rights standards under the pretext that the restrictions in the exercising of some of the rights are “necessary” to deal with the pandemic. The dynamic situation and the introduction/revocation of the restrictive measures bring additional confusion to citizens, many of whom are not sufficiently aware of their rights as a whole. The project aims at providing legal aid in the form of consultations to people who believe their rights have been violated as well as opinions on pending cases. Citizens will be provided with free-of-charge professional consultations about the legal and factual actions they can take to safeguard their rights. The project comes as a response to the likelihood of a growing number of violations of human rights “dictated” by the fight against Covid-19. The project is in line with Thematic Priority 2 Increased Support for Human Rights and specific objective 3 Legal Aid and Counselling Services Provided to Victims of Human Rights Violations. The project will contribute to improved protection of human rights by providing counselling services to at least 80 people regarding violations of human rights and four opinions on pending proceedings. The activities are targeted at the general public, at all citizens who believe that their rights have been violated, taking into account that vulnerable groups have been much more affected by the pandemic, due to which we expect increased interest by people with disabilities, the Roma, the unemployed, the elderly and others.
Summary of project results
The project was implemented in response to the potential increase in human rights violations driven by measures taken to combat COVID-19.
The goal of the project was to provide legal assistance in the form of consultations for individuals who believed their rights had been violated or had experienced discrimination, as well as to offer legal opinions on ongoing cases.
The project was implemented in response to the increased risk of human rights violations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was addressed by providing legal aid and counseling to victims of discrimination and human rights violations through individual consultations for those who believed their rights had been violated, as well as by offering legal opinions on pending cases.
Throughout the project’s implementation, lawyers from the Foundation "Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights" provided a total of 144 hours of legal consultations to 84 end users, guiding them on the legal and procedural actions they could take to protect and guarantee their rights.
During the project implementation, four expert opinions were prepared for ongoing legal proceedings involving citizens who needed and requested additional expert analysis. To develop these opinions, our experts held meetings, thoroughly reviewed each case, and subsequently prepared detailed legal assessments tailored to the specific circumstances of each individual case.