Presentation

The association Plaider les droits de l’homme (PLDH – Advocating for human rights) was founded in Strasbourg in 2006 by academics and professionals working in the legal world, who are committed to the implementation and defence of human rights. Under the direction of Professor Florence Benoît-Rohmer, this non-profit, independent, apolitical and non-religious association constitutes a unique think tank in the protection of fundamental rights. PLDH brings together a limited circle of members and is not a “large-scale” association. It does not adopt official positions or resolutions of a political or social nature and does not defend individuals in court.

PLDH aims to promote training and reflection on the implementation of human rights, in Europe and around the world. However, beyond the traditional aspect of human rights, the association focuses in particular on issues that are “emerging but only just” in the judicial world, especially due to economic and social changes in society. Confrontations between human rights and new technologies, tax evasion or insurance had already been studied by the association long before the courts took up these issues. PLDH aims to develop these issues and thus contribute to scientific research and to the transmission of knowledge in the field of human rights.

The association’s members, coming from professional and academic circles in different countries, seek to improve knowledge on the implementation of human rights, not only through working groups in various fields (application before the European Court of Human Rights, corporate social responsibility, guarantism, right of asylum), but also by the implementation of tools to support scientific research (human rights documentation site). Moreover, teaching and the transmission of this knowledge are at the heart of PLDH’s mission. Through exchanges, teamwork and meetings with personalities from the world of human rights and other fields, it invites students to open up to new reflections and seek innovative solutions through the various activities proposed by the association.

By developing links between the economic and academic world, the student and professional world, between practice and research, the association is now seeking to make its knowledge and resources available, in particular by offering its legal expertise and its network of professionals and academics to ensure the implementation of human rights around the world.