# German Institute for Human Rights

The German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR) is a human rights organisation based in Berlin. It was established as a registered association on 8 March 2001. As a national human rights institution, the DIMR works based on the United Nations Paris Principles. In May 2002, the organisation had approximately 130 full-time employees.

## Basics

The Act on the Legal Status and Tasks of the German Institute for Human Rights has been in force since 2015. According to the law and the statutes, it is politically independent, but its funding depends on the client (Bundestag) or the federal budget. It is primarily financed by public funds from the federal budget, insofar as these are included in the budget of the German Bundestag, § 1 para. 1 sentence 2 DIMRG; third-party funds are raised for individual projects.
The Board of Trustees sets the guidelines for the content of its work.
The Institute also supports and monitors the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. To this end, it set up a monitoring centre in May 2009 and November 2015. The Federal Government has entrusted the Institute with independent national reporting on the Council of Europe Conventions on combating trafficking in human beings and the exploitation of the prostitution of others and on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).

## Mission and activities

The mission is defined by the law and the statutes. The Institute conducts interdisciplinary and application-oriented research on human rights issues and monitors the human rights situation in Germany. It reports annually to the German Bundestag and prepares statements for national and international courts (so-called amicus curiæ statements) and international human rights bodies.
It works closely with the human rights bodies of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union. The Institute is also a member of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions. The Institute maintains a publicly accessible specialised library on human rights issues and publishes public relations work to promote human rights.
Other tasks include political consulting and informing the public about the human rights situation at national and international level.

## Board of trustees

Members of the board of trustees include Caroline Ausserer, Jochen von Bernstorff, Elise Bittenbinder, Matthias Boehning, Julia Duchrow, Oliver Ernst, Elke Ferner, Jonas Geissler, Uta Gerlant, Deborah Hartmann, Anetta Kahane, Lisa Kretschmer, Nora Markard, Nivedita Prasad, Pierre Thielbörger, Derya Türk-Neubaur, Sophia Wirsching and Antje Welke. The non-voting members include Luise Amtsberg, Anke Domuradt, Jürgen Dusel, Natalie Pawlik, Sigrid Jacoby, Michael Maier-Borst, Johannes Sturm und Martin Wimmer.

## Weblinks

* German Institute for Human Rights Website
* Online catalogue of the library of the German Institute for Human Rights
* Beate Rudolf: Detailed interview
* Entwicklung der Menschenrechtssituation in Deutschland Juli 2020 — Juni 2021. Report to the German Bundestag according to § 2 section 5 DIMRG German Institute for Human Rights, 9 December 2021.
* Human rights reports controversially assessed in committee German Bundestag, 18 May 2017
* German Institute for Human Rights: Entwicklung der Menschenrechtssituation in Deutschland Januar 2015 – Juni 2016. Report to the German Bundestag according to § 2 section 5 DIMRG German Bundestag, 18th electoral term, printed matter 18/10615, 7 December 2016.