Welcome to emdhr.org – about us
In this section you will find most of the information about the organization Eritrean movement for democracy and human rights. Should you need more information please don’t hesitate to contact us.

ABOUT EMDHR
Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR) is a non-violent an autonomous, non-for-profit, civic movement that strives for the promotion of human and democratic rights in Eritrea. EMDHR is voluntarily founded in December 2003 by a group of Eritrean students and exiles in the Republic of South Africa who recognized the need to establish an impartial and apolitical civic movement that serves as a platform to promote civic knowledge and advocate for the basic rights of all Eritreans. The movement is founded on the principle that Eritreans should join their efforts in order to realize their dreams of sustainable democracy and lasting peace in Eritrea, in particular and the Horn of Africa in general.
 
EMDHR can easily be explained as a sphere of interaction between Eritrean citizens and all active Eritrean political powers, which is manifested in norms of community cooperation, structure of voluntary association, and networks of public communication.
 
It is built upon norms and networks: norms of reciprocity through which Eritreans learn to trust one another and build networks of interpersonal communication and exchange.

Since its inception, the EMDHR has been intervening and strongly advocating on behalf of Eritrean asylum seekers Moreover, the EMDHR independently as well as in collaboration with other Eritrean and international civil societies has been consistently appealing to the Government of Eritrea and the international community to acknowledge and take necessary action on the ongoing suppression of fundamental freedoms in Eritrea.

As part of its civic awareness campaigns, between mid 2005 –July 2006, the EMDHR developed and published an educational manual on nonviolent action in Tigringa language, titled “Challenging our Perception”. The principles and practices of nonviolent strategy incorporated in the manual are hoped to serve as underpinning theory guiding the endeavors of building a new society in which all Eritreans are empowered to non-violently exercise their basic rights. Despite the fact that the circumstances inside Eritrea are not favorable, the EMDHR has been persistently transferring the values of nonviolent action to the people inside the country via various mediums that happen to be permeable from time to time.

The EMDHR has developed its own mass media communication platforms which will enable the organization to conduct its civic education programs and create a platform for discussion and interaction among the citizens. The two most developed communication platforms are the radio program on meselna delina,  Magazine Meseley and of course this website.

The EMDHR ultimately hopes to serve as a sphere of interaction between Eritrean citizens and all active Eritrean political powers, which is manifested in norms of community cooperation, structure of voluntary association, and networks of public communication with the sole intent of empowering one another.