What follows is the English translation of the statutes of the German association “Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights e.V”. The German text remains the legally binding one!

Preamble

The association Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights intends to defend human rights, particularly political and civil rights. It refers to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966).

§ 1 Name, Official Headquarter, and Financial Year

The name of the association is “Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights e.V.”. The association is registered in the official register of societies and associations of the District Court. The official head quarter of the association is in Berlin. The financial year corresponds to the calendar year.

§ 2 Purpose and Tasks

(1) The purpose of the association is the preservation and protection of human rights. The association promotes assistance for those persecuted on political, racial or religious grounds, for refugees, displaced persons, for people with disabilities and for victims of criminal acts (§ 52 para. 2 sentence 1 no. 10 AO). It shall promote human rights education (Section 52 (2) sentence 1 no. 7 AO), development cooperation (Section 52 (2) sentence 1 no. 15 AO) and international understanding (Section 52 (2) sentence 1 no. 13 AO).

(2) These purposes shall be realized in particular in that the association shall

    • a) cooperating in partnership with victims of human rights violations, human rights defenders and human rights organizations in Germany and abroad and supporting them in their work.
    • b) collects, processes and disseminates information by all appropriate means (website, printed matter, public events) in order to inform about human rights violations worldwide and to call for active engagement.
    • c) carries out all kinds of peaceful actions useful for its goals, including information events and human rights education activities (seminars, workshops, lectures).
    • d) provides humanitarian aid to people in need.
    • e) through partnership-based international exchanges.

(3) The association acts independently. It acts without influence of any governments, political and religious parties and organizations.

§ 3 Membership

(1) Every natural person which wants to support the objectives of the association actively can become a member. The application for membership has to be submitted to the Executive Board in written from. The Executive Board has the right to refuse any application without giving reasons. The Executive Board also decides on the re-entry of an expelled member.

The membership ends by:

    • a) death.
    • b) quitting. The quit has to be reported to the Executive Board in writing and is not bound to a fixed time.
    • c) exclusion. A member who does not act in accordance with the objectives of the association can be excluded. A member can also be excluded in case of non-payment of the membership dues despite single reminder. The Executive Board decides on the exclusion.

(2) Membership dues are being charged. The assembly of members decide on the annual amount and due-date.

(3) Members are entitled to reimbursement of reasonable expenses which incurred while doing voluntary activities on behalf of the association. The expenses have to be proven.

§ 4 General Assembly

(1) The General Meeting shall meet at least once a year. The general meeting shall generally be held in person. Insofar as there are no mandatory statutory provisions to the contrary, a General Meeting may also be held by means of remote communication, in particular in the form of a video conference with audio transmission. A General Meeting in the form of a so-called hybrid event, i.e. as a face-to-face meeting with the possibility of individual members participating by means of remote communication, is not possible. In any case, the Executive Board shall invite the members to the General Meeting at least four weeks in advance, enclosing a proposed agenda, in writing, by e-mail or by another form of remote communication. In the invitation, the Executive Board shall determine the place or the form of holding the General Meeting. At the request of more than a quarter of the ordinary members, the Executive Board must convene an extraordinary general meeting. § 4 (1) sentences 2 to 4 and sentence 6 shall apply accordingly to the holding of extraordinary general meetings.

(2) Each ordinary member has one vote and may delegate his or her voting right to another member by written proxy.

(3) The general meeting decides on measures to promote the purpose of the association, on amendments to the statutes and on the amount of membership fees. It elects and discharges the members of the Executive Board and the auditors.

(4) Motions to the General Assembly can be submitted by any member. They must be submitted in text form to the Executive Board at least 20 days before the meeting and must be communicated by the Executive Board to all members in text form at least 10 days before the meeting. Amendments, supplementary motions and motions of urgency as well as motions on points of order can be dealt with at short notice, provided that the General Assembly agrees to this. Excluded from this are motions to amend the articles of association and the motion to dissolve the association.

(5) All resolutions of the General Assembly shall be adopted by a simple majority of the votes cast, excluding abstentions, unless the articles of association permit exceptions. A simple majority shall be decisive in elections.

(6) The resolutions of the General Assembly shall be protocolled.

§ 5 Executive Board

(1) The Executive Board according to § 26 BGB consists of at least three persons: a chairperson, a deputy chairperson, the board member for finances and a number of further board members to be determined by the general meeting.

(2) The association is represented by two board members jointly.

(3) The Executive Board has the following duties in particular:

    • a) Preparation, convening and execution of the General Assembly of Members as well as preparation of the agenda
    • b) Execution of resolutions of the general meeting
    • c) Bookkeeping
    • d) Preparation of the annual report
    • e) Preparation of an annual plan and an annual budget
    • f) Preparation of rules of procedure
    • g) Establishment of one or more office(s)

(4) The members of the Executive Board are elected by the General Meeting by a simple majority for a period of two years and remain in office until the election of a new Executive Board. The appointment is revocable. If a board member resigns during the first year of office, a successor can be elected for one year at the next general meeting. Only members of the association can be elected as board members.

(5) The Executive Board may be remunerated for activities that go beyond the scope of regular Executive Board activities. No funds from donations and membership fees may be used for such remuneration.

(6) Members of state local, national or international executive authorities in a leading position are excluded from membership in the Executive Board and are not allowed to represent the association externally.

(7) Full-time employees of the Association are excluded from membership of the Executive Board. If a member of the Executive Board changes to full-time employment for the Association, his or her membership on the Executive Board shall automatically end. If this reduces the number of board members below three, an extraordinary general meeting shall elect a successor.

§ 6 Special representation

(1) The Executive Board may designate and appoint one or more special representatives (“Besondere Vertreter”) for certain areas of responsibility in accordance with § 30 BGB. The Executive Board can exempt special representatives from the restrictions of § 181 BGB. Non-members may also be appointed as special representatives. The Executive Board can revoke the appointment or withdraw areas of responsibility at any time.

(2) Special representatives are assigned the following areas of responsibility:

    • a) Organization, administration, personnel management and management of the office
    • b) Cooperation and project initiation
    • c) Networking
    • d) Fundraising
    • e) Press and public relations
    • f) Organizational support of the Executive Board

(3) Special representatives may be limited in their internal competences by the Executive Board. They are bound by the instructions of the Executive Board, can be controlled by it and are obliged to provide information to it at any time upon request.

(4) The allocation of duties between the Executive Board and the special representative shall be determined in more detail by rules of procedure.

§ 7 Common public interest

 Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights exclusively and directly pursues non-profit and charitabl purposes of common public interest according to the section “tax-deductible purposes” of the tax law. The association works on the basis of selflessness, it has no interest in making profit. Funds of the association shall only be used to fulfil objectives according to the statutes. The executive board decides about the refund of expenses which members have by voluntary work for Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights. Members shall not receive any benefits from the funds of the association in their capacity as members. No person shall get disproportionate high payments which are not in accordance with the purposes of the association.

§ 8 Dissolution

The General Assembly may decide to dissolve Libereco – Partnership for Human Rights by a three-quarters majority of the votes cast. In the event of the dissolution of the association or in the event of the discontinuation of its tax-privileged purpose, the assets of the association shall be transferred to one or more tax-privileged corporations for the purpose of providing assistance to persons persecuted on political, racial or religious grounds, to refugees, displaced persons, to persons with disabilities and to victims of crime or for human rights education or for development cooperation or for international understanding. In any case, even after dissolution, the assets may be used exclusively and directly for non-profit and charitable purposes. The general meeting decides on the distribution and the recipients of the association’s assets with a simple majority.

§ 9 Amendments

Amendments to the statutes can only be decided by the assembly of members with a minimum of two-thirds of all members taking part in the vote. An application for amending the statutes can only be discussed if a written suggestion is submitted within the period of time described in § 4.

The executive board is exclusively empowered to execute amendments to the statutes intended by the register court or the tax office.

Statutes from 01.02.2009
Last amended by resolution of 11.03.2023