The Interethnic Initiative for Human Rights Foundation was established in 1996 as a not-for-profit NGO that would promote minorities’ rights and foster inter-community cooperation in all areas of public life in Bulgaria.

Mission

The IEI Foundation has as its mission to promote human and minority rights and to encourage the participation of minorities in public life and intercommunity cooperation in the fields of political, economic, social and cultural development.

Position

The IEI initiates and implements local, national and international projects in three main fields:

• Rights-based educational integration of minorities;
• Ethnocultural pluralism in the media;
• Public participation of minorities, especially in the political arena.

Objectives

• To influence legislation and institutional policies in accordance with international human and minority rights protection standards;
• To raise awareness of these standards among politicians and public servants at local and national levels;
• To encourage citizen participation and supervision regarding the implementation of minority rights standards;
• To enhance public sensitivity and understanding about the problems and rights of minorities, encouraging a spirit of inter-ethnic tolerance, mutual support and non-discriminative practices;
• To enhance minorities’ knowledge about standards and mechanisms to protect their rights and
• To increase their capacity for rights-based advocacy in institutions at all levels;
• To encourage cooperation and solidarity among NGOs and networks at regional and national level in the promotion of minority rights.