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 Bonn. 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 Assembly shall meet at least once a year. The Executive Board shall invite the members to this meeting at least four weeks in advance, enclosing a proposed agenda. At the request of more than one quarter of the ordinary members, the board must convene an extraordinary General Assembly.

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

(3) The General Assembly shall decide on measures to promote the purpose of the association, on amendments to the articles of association, on the association’s rules of procedure, on the budget of the association and on the amount of the membership fees. It elects and discharges the members of the 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 board at least 20 days before the meeting and must be communicated by the 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 consists of at least three members: a chair, a deputy chairs, a board member in charge of the finances and executives whose numbers are to be declared by the members assembly.

The association is represented by two members of the executive board.

The executive board has primarily the following duties:

    • a) Preparation, convening and executing of the members assembly as well as the disposition of the agenda.
    • b) Execution of the decisions of the assembly of members.
    • c) Preparing the budget, book-keeping and annual report.

(2) The members of the executive board are elected by the members assembly 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 member of the executive board resigns during the first year of office, a successor is elected at the next members assembly for one year.

Only members of the association can be elected onto the executive board.

(3) The executive board may be remunerated for activities which go beyond the scope of regular executive board activities. No funds from donations or membership fees may be used for such remunerations.

(4) Members of national local, national or international executive authorities in a leading position are excluded to hold an executive or representative position in the association.

§ 6 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.

§ 7 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.

§ 8 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 19.03.2022