In defence of equality
Coalitions and networks
There is power in numbers.
While we work with dozens of minority and indigenous partner organizations every day, MRG is also a member of a number of coalitions and networks where we join forces with like-minded organizations on issues pertaining to our mandate.
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Anna Lindh Foundation
The Anna Lindh Foundation runs the largest network of civil society organizations involved in the promotion of intercultural dialogue across the Euro-Mediterranean region.
The Anna Lindh Foundation facilitates and supports the work of civil society of the Euro-Mediterranean Region in priority fields which affects the capacity for individuals and groups to share values and live together. The Foundation’s programme is focused on activities in fields which are essential for human and social dialogue: Education and Youth; Culture and Arts; Peace and Co-existence; Values, Religion and Spirituality; Cities and Migration; Media.
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Civic Solidarity Platform
The Civic Solidarity Platform was created to bring together nongovernment organizations committed to improving the human rights situation in Europe, Eurasia and the US.
The Civic Solidarity Platform functions as a decentralized advocacy network of independent civic groups from across the OSCE region, including a core group of activists that have already engaged in efforts to improve cooperation among human rights organizations based in the US, Europe and former Soviet Union. Working groups have been formed to undertake focused and coordinated action on specific human rights topics, such as security and human rights and racism, xenophobia and intolerance in Europe. MRG is currently a member of the Working Group on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance. Civic Solidarity Platform members are also working collectively to dispatch teams to monitor unfolding crises in the region and ensure a strategic and coordinated response to human rights developments.
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Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern Africa – CELEP
The Coalition of European Lobbies for Eastern African Pastoralism (CELEP) is an informal coalition of European members and East African partners focusing on communication, knowledge management and lobbying in favour of pastoralism in Eastern Africa.
The Members of the Coalition will work together to lobby their national governments, EU bodies (Council, Parliament and Commission) as well as other policy-formulating bodies / agencies in Europe (e.g. the European Headquarters of the UN in Geneva and the FAO in Rome) to explicitly recognise and support pastoralism (and the people who practise pastoralism: pastoralists) in the drylands of Eastern Africa.
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Coalition for Human Rights in Development
The Coalition for Human Rights in Development is a global coalition of social movements, civil society organizations, and grassroots groups working together to ensure that development is community-led and that it respects, protects, and fulfils human rights.
The Coalition does so by making sure that communities have the information, power and resources to determine their own development paths and priorities and to hold development finance institutions, governments, and other actors accountable for their impacts on people, peoples and the planet. Coalition for Human Rights in Development members are not-for-profit civil society organizations, social movements, and community groups committed to ensuring that all development finance institutions respect, protect, and fulfil human rights.
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Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development – CREID
The Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) provides research evidence and delivers practical programmes which aim to redress poverty, hardship, and exclusion resulting from discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief.
CREID is an international consortium led by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and funded by UK aid from the UK Government. Key partners include Al-Khoei Foundation, MRG, and Refcemi.
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Eastern Partnership – Civil Society Forum – EAP-CSF
Serving as the civil society and people-to-people dimension of the Eastern Partnership (EaP), the Eastern partnership Civil Society Forum has six main fields of activities.
EaP-CSF ensures participation of civil societies of EaP and the EU in the process of planning, monitoring and implementation of the EaP policy and provide policy expertise on a variety of topics for the decision makers in EaP countries and the EU. They campaign towards the Eastern Partnership as a democratic, prosperous and peaceful region and support regional projects in EaP countries to strengthen the capacity of civil society. Moreover, EaP-CSF assess the current development of EaP countries towards sustainable democratic development and European integration and facilitate public discussions with experts and stakeholders and increase the awareness of citizens towards the EaP region. As part of EAP-CSF MRG is also a member of the Working Group on Democracy, Good Governance, Stability and Human Rights.
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Eastern Partnership Minorities Network
The Eastern Partnership Minorities Network, founded by MRGE, with partners Analytical Centre for Regional Cooperation (Armenia), Social Action Centre (Ukraine) and Centre for Participation and Development (Georgia), brings together about 80 minority organizations and civil society leaders.
EaP Minorities Network is open to activists and civil society organizations, including ethnic, linguistic, national, religious minorities, indigenous peoples and visible minority communities.
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European Union Fundamental Rights Agency – Fundamental Rights Platform
The Fundamental Rights Platform is the civil society cooperation channel of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). The FRA cooperates with civil society organizations from across the EU and in states having observer status with the FRA (North Macedonia, Serbia and Albania).
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Human Rights and Climate Change Working Group
The Human Rights and Climate Change Working Group (HR&CC WG) was formalised in 2010 to bring together civil society advocates and experts seeking to strengthen the recognition of the human rights dimension of climate change, and to secure adequate legal remedies for those impacted.
While the WG has focused primarily on strategising around the UNFCCC process, members also use it to share other relevant updates and to convene conversations on other relevant themes and processes. The HR&CC WG is an informal coalition, with no formal process for collective decision-making or membership, with close to 400 individual members on its main listserv. The members of the WG include civil society advocates, indigenous peoples’ representatives, scholars and allies in intergovernmental organizations and NHRIs.
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Human Rights and Democracy Network – HRDN
The Human Rights and Democracy Network (HRDN) is an informal grouping of NGOs operating at the EU level in the broader areas of human rights, democracy and peace. HRDN’s vision is that human rights and democracy are placed at the heart of the EU’s internal and external policy agenda.
This vision should manifest itself in an EU which effectively protects human rights at home and is a force for positive change in the world. In pursuit of this vision, HRDN aims to influence EU and EU Member States’ human rights policies and the programming of their funding instruments to promote democracy, human rights and peace.
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International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect – ICRtoP
The International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP) is a community of commitment made up of civil society and NGOs from around the world who are dedicated to the promotion of human rights, the prevention of atrocities and effective and consistent implementation of the…
Founded in 2009 by eight organizations, the Coalition now includes members representing all regions of the world. Working with local human rights defenders, global advocates and campaigners for international justice, the Coalition’s membership works to enhance our collective capacity to prevent and halt genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing. The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect currently hosts the Coalition, serving as its Secretariat.
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International Dalit Solidarity Network – IDSN
The International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) was founded in March 2000 to advocate for Dalit human rights and to raise awareness of Dalit issues nationally and internationally.
IDSN is a network of international human rights groups, development agencies, national Dalit solidarity networks from Europe, and national platforms in caste-affected countries. The network has had a significant impact on the internationalisation of caste discrimination as a critical human rights issue. Through engagement with UN, EU and other multilateral institutions, IDSN has successfully lobbied for action-oriented approaches to address ‘untouchability’ and other human rights abuses against Dalits and similar communities that suffer discrimination on the basis of work and descent.
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International Land Coalition – ILC
The International Land Coalition is a global alliance of civil society and farmers’ organizations, UN agencies, NGOs and research institutes. ILC’s stated mission is to ‘promote secure and equitable access to and control over land for poor women and men through knowledge sharing .
Its vision is that ‘secure and equitable access to and control over land reduces poverty and contributes to identity, dignity and inclusion’. The ILC aims to build the capacity of its members and partners through people-centred development. The ILC Secretariat is hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy, and is supported by regional platforms in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
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International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – ESCR-Net
ESCR-Net is a collaborative initiative of over 230 organizational members and some 50 individual advocates across more than 75 countries working to secure economic and social justice through human rights.
Members build shared analysis, define strategies and undertake collective action foremost through working groups, which annually evaluate their progress, revise objectives, and prioritize collective actions as part of shared work plans.
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International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development – PaRD
PaRD brings together governmental and intergovernmental entities with diverse civil society organizations (CSOs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs).
To engage the social capital and capacities vested in diverse faith communities for sustainable development and humanitarian assistance in the spirit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. PaRD aims at greater and institutionalised communication and coordination between secular and non-secular actors, while fostering new synergies through cooperation and collaboration of its members. In addition, PaRD uses synergies with existing networks and initiatives to contribute towards a more coherent, inclusive and effective international agenda on religion and development.
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The International Alliance to End Genocide
Genocide Watch is the coordinating organization of The International Alliance to End Genocide (IAEG), an international coalition of organizations.
The IAEG aims to educate the general public and policy makers about the causes, processes, and warning signs of genocide; to create the institutions and political will to prevent and stop genocide; and to bring perpetrators of genocide to justice. Genocide Watch exists to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder. They seek to raise awareness and influence public policy concerning potential and actual genocide. Their purpose is to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide.
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Namati – Innovations in Legal Empowerment
Namati is a learning organization. With their partners and network members, Namati is continually working to understand how best to advance justice through legal empowerment.
To date, they have authored or co-authored over 200 publications, including books, policy briefs, essays, peer-reviewed articles, and guides for practitioners.
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NGO Major Group
The NGO Major Group is tasked with facilitating the participation and enhancing the engagement of non-governmental organizations in the processes directly and indirectly related to the High Level Political Forum (HLPF).
When possible, they work to organize positions on behalf of the members to be delivered in various United Nations spaces. Because of the diversity of voices and perspectives within this group, they are organized around thematic clusters which act as hubs of expertise on numerous issues and/or Sustainable Development Goals.
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The South Asia Collective
The South Asia Collective (SAC) came together in December 2015 to document the condition of the South Asia region’s minorities – religious, linguistic, ethnic, caste and gender, among others – hoping this would help in bettering outcomes for South Asia’s many marginalised groups.
It has since been able to rally other like-minded groups and platforms to our cause. Building on this initial success, SAC has also begun experimenting with small-scale practical support to minority groups across borders, to nurture their capacity for better outcomes for minority communities, working at local and regional levels.
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The UK Civil Society Atrocity Prevention Working Group
The UK Civil Society Atrocity Prevention Working Group exists to cooperate, collaborate and share knowledge with the aim to improve the UK’s prediction and prevention of mass atrocities. The Group is convened by Protection Approaches and is a collaborative endeavour amongst a number of NGOs.
The Working Group works both publicly and privately, to increase resource-light, impact-heavy activities such as regular communication, semi-regular meetings, knowledge exchange and best-practice sharing, goal setting, and collective advocacy. They believe more joined up thinking and coordinated activity could make a significant difference to how government, parliament and the wider human rights movement conceive and implement atrocity prevention.
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The UK Freedom of Religion or Belief Forum
The UK FoRB Forum is comprised of over 70 stakeholder organizations, which fund the Forum through donations, and lead advocacy initiatives related to issues of common concern. The Forum is guided by a Steering Group which convenes between each stakeholder meeting.
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UNITED for Intercultural Action
UNITED for Intercultural Action is the European network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants, refugees and minorities.
Together with over 560 supporter organizations all around Europe, ranging from local grassroots associations to national and international NGOs, UNITED coordinates campaigns, organizes conferences, takes part in projects, produces publications and undertakes advocacy work to protest against discrimination and promote our shared vision for a diverse and inclusive society.
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World Organisation Against Torture – OMCT
The OMCT works with 200 member organizations to end torture and ill-treatment, assist victims, and protect human rights defenders at risk wherever they are.
OMCT work to protect the most vulnerable members of our societies, including women, children, indigenous peoples, migrants and other marginalized communities. To achieve this, OMCT advocate with governments to change or implement their laws and policies, we help victims seek justice and strive to hold perpetrators to account. Because torture can never be tolerated, and human dignity is not negotiable.
A demonstration for the rights of Roma people in Budapest over a contested court ruling on compensation to segregated Roma pupils in Gyöngyöspata, a northern Hungarian village. Credit: Gabriella Csoszó / FreeDoc
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Our strategy
We work with ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and indigenous peoples to secure their rights and promote understanding between communities.
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