Following recent events in Spain, the Open Society Foundations and George Soros would like to make clear that we have not played any role, financial or otherwise, in supporting the Catalonian independence movement or the referendum. We do not take a position on the independence of Catalonia.
The Open Society Foundations work to uphold human rights, civil liberties, and democratic principles across Europe and beyond. Since 2013, the Open Society Initiative for Europe has operated from a regional office in Barcelona, making grants to organizations in the European Union and the Western Balkans. In Spain, we have supported local initiatives aimed at preventing ethnic profiling during police stop-and-searches, fighting xenophobic stereotyping, guaranteeing the right to protest, monitoring the abuse of migrants, protecting whistleblowers, and facilitating access to lifesaving medication.
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Racial Discrimination
A Community Rallies Against Racial Discrimination in Denmark
When Denmark’s housing policies used racial discrimination to upend their community, local residents looked to the law to fight back. Now their six-year legal challenge is before the European Union’s top court in Luxembourg.
Evidence for Accountability
Q&A: How Open Source Evidence Is Challenging Abuses, Atrocities, and Disinformation
Bellingcat has pioneered the use of open-source research to expose human rights abuses, atrocity crimes, and high-level corruption and other criminal activities involving governments, gangs, and other illicit actors.
Navalny’s Legacy
Night Country: The Mysterious Death of Alexei Navalny in Putin’s Russia
Alexei Navalny’s death underscores the paradox of Russian power—that the voice of one man imprisoned and isolated in the Arctic should be such a threat.