Hellenic Union for Human and Citizen Rights

The Hellenic Union for Human and Citizen Rights (Greek: Ελληνική Ένωση για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου και του Πολίτη, ΕΕΔΑΠ; also known by the shorter form ΕλΕΔΑ) is a Greek civil-society organisation dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights. According to its own identity page and the Greek Wikipedia entry, it is the oldest non-governmental organisation active in Greece in the field of human-rights protection. It operates as a membership association (σωματείο) rather than a commercial company, but it functions as a recognised institutional brand in Greek public life, publishing reports, legal interventions, press releases and legislative proposals under its name. The organisation traces its origins to a first attempt at founding in 1918 by figures including G. Kafantaris, Al. Delmouzos and G. Petsopoulos. It was formally established in 1936 with Alexandros Svolos as its first president, but was dissolved by the Metaxas dictatorship of 4 August 1936. It was re-founded in 1953, and among the personalities associated with its board were Elias Tsirimokos, Stratis Someritis, Agni Rousopoulou, Dimitris Kallitsounakis and Thaleia Kolyva. The 1967 military dictatorship again dissolved the Union; during that period it remained active particularly in Paris, and it was reconstituted in Greece at the end of 1974. Faidon Vegleris was among the key witnesses against the Greek government in the celebrated "Greek case" at the Council of Europe, which set a unique precedent: apart from the Greece of the colonels, no other state has been expelled from the Council of Europe for systematic rights violations. The Union is a full member of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Its current president is Konstantinos Tsitselikis. Its work is organised around thematic areas that include police arbitrariness and impunity; gender and LGBTI rights; citizenship; minorities; migration and asylum; racist speech and violence; state–church relations; and the prison system and prisoners' rights. It also addresses other human-rights themes. Publicly, the organisation issues press releases, announcements, draft legislation, documentation texts, reports and articles, and it runs programmes, activities, judicial interventions, radio broadcasts, events, a library and publications. It accepts donations, distributes newsletters and invites people to become members. Its website is bilingual, with a Greek main site and an English section. Recent public interventions include a letter to the Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations calling for the immediate abolition of a joint ministerial decision on legal guidance for asylum seekers, and campaigning for justice three years after the Pylos shipwreck, in which survivors and relatives of victims continued to seek accountability.

The Hellenic Union for Human and Citizen Rights (Greek: Ελληνική Ένωση για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου και του Πολίτη, ΕΕΔΑΠ; commonly ΕλΕΔΑ) is described by Greek Wikipedia as the oldest non-governmental organisation active in Greece for the protection of human rights. Its own identity-history page records that the first attempt to found it was made in 1918 by G. Kafantaris, Al. Delmouzos, G. Petsopoulos and others. The Union was initially founded in 1936, with Alexandros Svolos as president, but was dissolved by the dictatorship of 4 August (the Metaxas regime). It was re-founded in 1953. Beyond Svolos, personalities who served on its board included Elias Tsirimokos, Stratis Someritis, Agni Rousopoulou, Dimitris Kallitsounakis and Thaleia Kolyva. The 1967 military dictatorship dissolved the Union again. During that period the organisation remained active particularly in Paris, and it was reconstituted in Greece at the end of 1974. Faidon Vegleris was among the key witnesses against the Greek government in the celebrated "Greek case" at the Council of Europe, which created a unique precedent: with the exception of the Greece of the colonels, no other state has been expelled from the Council of Europe because of systematic rights violations. In the post-1974 period the Union re-established itself as a permanent feature of Greek civil society, working across a broad thematic agenda. Its website lists thematic areas including police arbitrariness and impunity; gender and LGBTI rights; citizenship; minorities; migration and asylum; racist speech and violence; state–church relations; and the prison system and prisoners' rights, as well as other human-rights themes. It is a full member of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). Its current president is Konstantinos Tsitselikis. The organisation's public activity takes the form of press releases, announcements, draft legislative proposals, documentation texts, reports and articles, alongside programmes, activities, judicial interventions, radio broadcasts, events, a library and publications. It solicits donations, publishes newsletters and invites membership. Its website is bilingual, with a Greek main site and an English section. Recent public interventions documented on its homepage include a letter to the Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations seeking the immediate abolition of a joint ministerial decision on legal guidance for asylum seekers, and a campaign marking three years since the Pylos shipwreck, in which survivors and victims' relatives continue to seek justice and accountability.

• 2026

  The Union writes to the Plenary of the Greek Bar Associations seeking immediate abolition of the joint ministerial decision on legal guidance for asylum seekers.

• 1974

  The Union is reconstituted in Greece at the end of the year.

• 1967

  The military dictatorship dissolves the Union; it remains active particularly in Paris.

• 1953

  The Union is re-founded.

• 1936

  The Union is founded with Alexandros Svolos as first president; it is dissolved by the Metaxas dictatorship of 4 August.

• 1918

  First attempt to found the Union, by G. Kafantaris, Al. Delmouzos, G. Petsopoulos and others.

Greece's oldest human-rights NGO; a civil-society advocacy and watchdog organisation, member of FIDH, operating as a membership association.

• Human-rights reports and documentation

• Draft legislative proposals

• Press releases and announcements

• Judicial interventions

• Radio broadcasts

• Publications and library

1. 1Ελληνική Ένωση για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου και του Πολίτη – official websitehlhr.gr
2. 2Ταυτότητα - Ιστορία | Ελληνική Ένωση για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπουhlhr.gr
3. 3Hellenic Union for Human and Citizen Rights – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Ελληνική Ένωση για τα Δικαιώματα του Ανθρώπου και του Πολίτη – Wikipedia (Greek)el.wikipedia.org