Cooperation partners
The Humboldt Law Clinic cooperates with NGOs and specialized lawyers, as well as corporate law firms. These partners were cooperating with the Humboldt Law Clinic via offering internships to the clinic students (self descriptions):
Amaro Foro e.V. amaro foro is an intercultural youth association of Roma and non-Roma with the aim of creating space for young people to become active citizens through empowerment, mobilisation, self-organisation and participation.
Amnesty International is one of the largest campaign organizations for human rights in the world. This non-profit-NGO reveals human rights violations and lobbies for human rights, including though letters supporting individuals.
The contact point for protection against discrimination at schools (ADAS) is an independent counselling centre for students*, parents/custodians, teachers and school employees of all Berlin districts who have been discriminated against at a school.
The Advice Center of the Anti-Discrimination Office of Sachsen (ADB) is a non-governmental organization and an independent centralized contact point in the Land of Sachsen for all questions on discrimination for reasons of racist ascriptions, ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex/gender, sexual identity, age or dis/ability, including intersectional discrimination.
The Anti-discrimination Network Berlin (ADNB) is a project under the sponsorship of the Turkish Confederation in Berlin-Brandenburg (TBB) and is supported by the State Programme against Right-Wing Extremism, Racism and Anti-Semitism of the Berlin Senate.
The Berlin Anti-Discrimination Network (ADNB) was founded on 16 July 2003. Since then, the project has made an important contribution to society through its work, both politically and civilly.
The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency (ADS) was founded in August 2006 on the basis of the General Equal Treatment Act (Allgemeines Gleichbehandlungsgesetz, AGG), under the aegis of the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). It supports and advises individuals who have experienced discrimination on the basis of race, ethnic origin, sex/gender, religion or belief, dis/ability, age, or sexual orientation. Moreover, the ADS conducts publicity work and academic research, and develops and implements measures for the prevention of discrimination.
Ban Ying is Thai for “Women’s House”. Apart from a refuge for women from South-East Asia, this charity runs an advice and coordination center against human trafficking which deals with violence against migrant women on a practical, theoretical, academic, and political level. The charity focusses on combating human trafficking.
The association Berlin Postkolonial was founded in 2007 with the goal of acontinuous engagement for an antiracist andcolonialism-critical culture of memory in Berlin-Brandenburg. Its members strive for critical work-up ofthe regional colonial history in its global dimension as well as aroundthe disclosure of postcolonial thought and social structures of thepresence. The association is looking for cooperation and networking withlike-minded initiatives. The foundation of “Berlin Postkolonial” traces back to people of different organizations, to people from Germanyand to the former German colonies. Especially because of ourdifferent interests, perspectives and competencies we want towork on the topic together and bring it to the public.
The bff is the Federal Association of Women’s Counselling Centres and Women’s Emergency Calls in Germany. More than 170 counselling centres against violence are united in the bff. In the bff more than 170 counseling centers are united against violence. In Germany, they provide the main share of outpatient counseling and assistance for female victims of violence. Through public relations and actions, the bff outlaws violence against women and girls and, as an umbrella organization, has a significant influence on political decisions. The bff conducts seminars and conferences, disseminates expertise from practice and research and develops information materials on violence against women.
Since 1998, the Federal Association of Unaccompanied Minor Refugees (B-UMF) has been working for the rights of young people who come to Germany without custodians. We work to ensure standards of protection in line with international norms and best practices.
The Federal Association (B-UMF) is a registered organization with three members in the board of directors. The head office, with currently five full-time employees, is situated in Munich. The organization has a total of almost 150 members, including more than 40 other organizations.
The Bureau for the Implementation of Equal Treatment (BUG) offers legal support to individuals across Germany who wish to combat discrimination in court. The BUG’s work focuses on antidiscrimination law suits under the Equal Treatment Act (AGG) which have the potential to set precedents. All grounds listed by the AGG are supported. This strategic litigation work is accompanied by network building, lobby work and publicity work. In 2011, the particular focus was on ethnic discrimination in the access to goods and services, as well as equal pay.
Regarding itself as independent, non-partisan and non-denominational, the association of lawyers and economists with federal office in Berlinis the most important legal association in Germany, standing up forequal rights and equality of women in allsocial areas.
The German Institut for Human Rights (DIMR) is an independent institution of civil society which was founded as a national human rights institute by an act of Parliament. Its main focus is on research and information on the state of human rights in Germany and abroad, as well as in supporting the implementation of human rights in Germany. The Law Clinic is cooperating with the Projekt “Zwangsarbeit heute” (contemporary forced labour).
The German children’s welfare organisation has been campaigning for over 45 years for achild-friendly Germany. The focus is onchildren’s rights and help for disadvantaged children. It is committedto overcome child poverty in Germany, todemocratization through participation, enough opportunities to play,cultural education and for a competent handling of media.
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) is an independent and not-for-profit legal organization that enforces human rights by holding state and non-state actors responsible for egregious abuses through innovative strategic litigation. ECCHR focuses on cases that have the greatest likelihood of creating legal precedent in order to advance human rights around the world.
The Company for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ)offers customised solutions to complex challenges. We are an experienced service provider and assist the German Government in achieving its objectives in the field of international cooperation. We offer demand-driven, tailor-made and effective services for sustainable development.
The Special Interest Group Self-determined Living in Germany is an organization formed by handicapped individuals and an umbrella organization for centers for self-determined living. It works toward more self-determination and participation for all.
The federal association Intersexuelle Menschen e.V. (IMeV), registered in Hamburg in 2004, was founded by intersexual members of the self-help organization XY Women in order to represent the common goals, interests and demands of intersexed individuals of all age groups in Germanophone areas. The association supports its regional chapters, the self-help groups xy-frauen.de and SHG Intersexuelle Menschen as well as parents’ groups. Itss main tasks are: support, promotion and training of self-help groups; individual advice, support and help; promotion and support of parents’ groups; cooperation with other initiatives and associations; advice to and training of political, social, and medical institutions; development of a network of regional self-help and advice organizations; representation of the interests of intersexed members. The association asserts the right of all individuals to access human rights and combats all forms of discrimination.
JUMEN stands for Legal Human Rights Work in Germany. Thenewly established organization is charitable and sets legalimpulses for the practical implementation of fundamental and human rights inGermany. It specifically supports lawsuits in court toachieve social changes (impact litigation). The focus iscurrently on the rights of refugees and on women’s rights.
The Campaign for Victims of Racist Police Violence (KOP) was founded in 2002 by the victims counselling center ReachOut, the Antidiskriminierungsbüro (ADB e.V.) and others. The Campaign advises individuals affected by racial profiling, organizes trial monitorings and talks, accompanies strategic litigation, and promotes an effective control of police work.
For more than 50 years Kindernothilfe has been supporting children in need worldwide and defending their rights. Their goal has been achieved if they and their families can lead a life in dignity and with good prospects for the future – without poverty, misery and violence. Kindernothilfe currently strengthens, protects and participates in around 1.5 million girls and boys in 29 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The Contact and Consultation Center for Refugees and Migrants (KuB), based in Berlin Kreuzberg and founded in 1983, is a non-profit organization that provides advice and support to refugees and migrants from around the world in issues of social security law, immigration law, psychosocial issues and other existential problems.
The Conference of Equal Opportunity Officers of the Universities of Berlin (LaKoF) is an association of full-time equal opportunity officers that coordinates issues of women’s advancement across the Berlin universities and represents the interests of women in universities. Located at the Land level, it offers to its members a platform for exchange, cooperation and joint political action. The basis of this work is the Berlin Equality Act (LGG) and s. 59 of the Berlin University Act (BerlHG). A recent reform of the BerlHG (s. 5a) obliges all Berlin universities to develop Equal Opportunities by-laws. The full-time equal opportunities officers support these efforts and their implementation with their expertise.
Since 1960, Lebenshilfe Berlin has been working for people with intellectual disabilities, for their parents and relatives, for experts, friends and sponsors. We are a self-help organisation acting in solidarity with competent counselling and care services, with differentiated facilities.
The Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD) is the largest and most successful LGBTI civil rights organization in Germany. It promotes equal rigths, diversity and respect as well as non-discriminination on the basis of sexual identity. It represents its members’ interests and provides advice and empowerment, including social work and project work. In 2007, the LSVD founded the Hirschfeld-Eddy Foundation, focused on international work, the promotion of human rights, and the support of human rights defenders.
The National Coalition for the Implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Germany (NC) is an alliance of over 110 organisations and associations active across Germany. National Coalition members promote the realisation of children’s rights in Germany. In their watchdog function, they also highlight the shortcomings in implementing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UN-CRC) in Germany. The legal entity of the National Coalition is the Board of the Child and Youth Welfare Association (AGJ).
Through litigation, advocacy, research, and technical assistance, the Open Society Justice Initiative promotes human rights and builds legal capacity for open societies. One of its project areas is discrimination, where it uses advocacy and litigation to combat the marginalization of racial and ethnic minorities in Europe, taking on cases involving migrants, school segregation, violence against Roma, and policies that ban Muslims from wearing the hijab or building mosques.
PAPATYA offers protection and help to girls and young women with a migration background who have fled their homes due to cultural and family conflicts and are threatened by their families.
Paritätische Gesamtverband is an association of social movements in the area of welfare work. It comprises over 10,000 charities from all fields of social and health work. These organizations employ some 560,000 staff and about 1 mio. volunteers. A main characteristic is the fact that almost all self-help organizations of chronically ill and handicapped individuals are members of the Paritätische. The association is currently focusing on the effect of the new UN Convention on the Rights of Handicapped People for the domestic social security law.
Since 1952 Pro Familia has been active as a non-profit association for independent family planning and self-determined sexuality. For this purpose, Pro Familie offers advice on sexuality, pregnancy and partnership. At the same time, the association is working nationally and internationally for the interests of women, men, young people and children in the context of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Rights of Handicapped Individuals (rbm) is a non-profit legal advice association of the German Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBSV) and the German Association of the Blind and the Visually Impaired in Education and Profession (DVBS). It offers legal advice and representation in the areas of social security and administrative law in relation to blindness and visual impairment. The advice and representation is provided exclusively by well-educated lawyers who are themselves handicapped.
Berlin’s Gay Counselling Center, founded in 1981, offers assistance, advice and exchange for gay and bisexual men, people living with HIV/AIDS, and trans-persons, including shared housing, groups on addiction, coming out, age, HIV, psychiatric problems, etc, a contact café, an HIV prevention project, a multi-generation house currently under construction, and much more.
The Berlin Senate Department for Justice, Consumer Protection and Anti-discrimination (short SenJ) is one of ten specialist administrative departments of Berlin’ssenate in the rank of a state ministry and as such part ofthe provincial government as well as the competent highest state authority forlegal policy, penal system and administration of justice, and consumer protectionand anti-discrimination policy in the German capital.
Transgender Europe envisions a Europe free from all discrimination – especially including discrimination on grounds of gender identity and gender expression; a Europe where transgender people are respected and valued, a Europe where each and every person can freely choose to live in whichever gender they prefer, without interference.
Transparency International (TI) is a civil society organization striving to eliminate corruption. TI provides information about and reveals cases of corruption. Among other things, TI’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALAC) support witnesses and victims.
TransInterQueer e.V. (TrIQ) an association based in Berlin, has been offering advocacy, education, advice and research from and for trans*, inter* and queer individuals since 2006 – locally, nationally and internationally. TriQ promotes: the emancipation and human rights of trans*, inter* and queer individuals and their participation in all areas of life; increased acceptance of trans/inter/queer lifestyles for a greater diversity of ways of living in our society; the reduction of taboo, pathologizing and exoticization of inter*/trans* individuals, hermaphrodizes and all others whose sex or gender expression departs from the binary gender norm; the reduction of prejudice and discrimination in relation to body, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation.
Türkischer Bund in Berlin-Brandenburg e.V. is a non-partisan umbrella organization of organizations and individuals. Currently the Turkish Federation has 30 member organisations and 75 individual members.
Since 1992, all Berlin universities are legally obliged to elect an Equal Opportunities Officer, who works to implement sex equality and equal opportunities in teaching and research at all public Berlin universities. The Central Equal Opportunities Officer at Humboldt University coordinates the decentralized Equal Opportunities Officers’ work in the faculties and represents women’s interests at the university level. She is part of the Regional Conference (LaKoF), see above.
Cooperating attorneys
Christina Clemm is a specialized lawyer for criminal law and family law in Berlin.
Theda Giencke is a specialized lawyer for family law in Berlin.
Carsten Ilius is a lawyer in Berlin who represents the relatives of the victims in the NSU-process.
Inken Stern is an attorney for residence/asylum law and social law in Berlin. She also works on parenthood of Trans*people.
Felix Tautz is a lawyer in Potsdam and specialises in questions of AGG and social law.
Barbara Wessel is an attorney in Berlin for residence/asylum law and family law, in particular same-sex (registered) civil partnerships.
Sponsors
The Humboldt Law Clinic Grund- und Menschenrechte currently receives funding from:
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin aus Mitteln des “Qualitätspakts Lehre” (seit 2011) of BMBF
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
During the first project phase 2010/11, the Clinic received additional start-up funding from:
Ashurst LLP
Latham & Watkins LLP
White and Case LLP
We thank all of our sponsors for their support which has been making the Clinic’s work possible!
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Donation account
Account holder: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
IBAN: DE95 1007 0848 0512 6206 01
BIC: DEUTDEDB110
Institute: Berliner Bank – NL der Deutsche Bank PGK AG
Reference: Humboldt Law Clinic 10104521