site.btaProject Draws Attention to International Human Rights Protection

A project, titled "International Human Rights Standards in Focus" was presented at a press conference at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia on Monday. During the initiative, implemented by the Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights Foundation (BLHR), 12 discussions simulating cases regarding human rights were held, the project manager, lawyer Dilyana Giteva, said.

The project with a budget of EUR 150,000 started in early August 2022 and ends on Tuesday. It has been implemented with financial support from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway under the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.

The activities under the initiative were attended by lawyers, magistrates, and jurists. The lectures within the project were related to the right to life, family, and privacy, as well as issues concerning protection from domestic violence, refugee and migrant rights, rights to freedom and security, among others. The simulation processes were exercises in which participants were divided into three groups - lawyers, government representatives, and court members. They discussed and pleaded different cases. There were 12 simulations in total with each lasting for four hours.

During the project, a human rights manual was also developed, updating topics from an existing manual. Five new topics were also developed, Giteva explained.

BLHR Executive Director Stoyan Madin said that his organization notices a reluctance in Bulgarian institutions to comply with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.