EuroMed Rights, formerly the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN, French: Réseau euro-mediterranéen des droits de l'Homme) is a network of 80 human rights organisations, institutions and individuals based in 30 countries in Europe and the Mediterranean region. It was established in 1997 in response to the Barcelona Declaration, which led to the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The members of EuroMed Rights admit to universal human rights principles and are convinced of the value of cooperation and dialogue across and within borders. EuroMed Rights promotes networking, cooperation and development of partnerships between human rights NGOs, activists and a wider civil society. Aims and achievements EuroMed Rights was created in relation to the existence of the inter-governmental Euromediterranean Partnership (EMP), and in particular, the Barcelona Process proposed by the EMP. EuroMed Rights' role is primarily as an intermediary between governmental institutions and grassroots human rights organisations. It received most of its funding during its first years from governmental sources and is closely linked to the EuroMed Civil Forums that constitutes a relatively government-linked alternative to the grassroots Alternative Mediterranean Conference that was organised in 1995. As of 2008, EuroMed Rights had become well recognised both by European Union (EU) institutions and NGOs. Its activities range from communication among NGO members and activist campaigning through to lobbying of institutions. EuroMed Rights describes itself as a regional forum for human rights NGOs and a pool of expertise on promotion, protection and strengthening of human rights. Its online library is an important collection of press releases, statements, open letters and reports about the Euro-Mediterranean region. It states that it brings people together in inter-cultural settings to promote dialogue and understanding, with stress on the following subjects: lobbying human rights mechanisms within the European Union (EU) and the Euromediterranean Partnership, especially concerning the association agreements with the Mediterranean Partners and the European Neighbourhood Policy supporting reform processes in the Arab World by strengthening democratization processes originating from the civil society working towards transforming the non-European Mediterranean region into states of law, especially by backing movements for the enforcement of the freedoms of speech and assembly bringing human rights values and principles as well as women rights and the idea of public education to the public in order to achieve a broad popular participation in changing the living conditions where human rights are abused or denied sending of delegations and observers, and publishing urgent alerts in