The Centre for Legal Resources is a non-governmental organization that actively advocates for the establishment and operation of a legal and institutional framework that safeguards human rights, equal opportunity, and free access to justice. The organization also contributes its legal expertise in the general public interest.
When 30 young persons with disabilities were being held in inhumane conditions in the Centre for Recuperation and Rehabilitation of Neuropsychiatry in Bucharest, the Centre for Legal Resources called for action across all civil society and alerted all national and international authorities. Now the institution is obliged to allow independent experts to conduct monitoring visits to ensure that human rights are respected.
The organization is also focused on providing legal representation at the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Valentin Câmpeanu. Câmpeanu was a young orphan Roma with an intellectual disability and infected with HIV who died because of a lack of proper medical treatment in a hospital in Romania. If they win, "any NGO that works on human rights could represent a vulnerable person to the European Court of Human Rights," said Marinela Rață, communication and PR officer with the Centre for Legal Resources.
Technology plays an important role within the organization's workflow. With the help of Microsoft donations, the organization was able to access affordable software. "The money saved was reinvested in launching a documentary movie about Valentin Câmpeanu's trial at the European Court of Human Rights," says Rață. She also notes that part of the money was directed to online resources, such as social media and the organization's website.