The Honorary Award of the Bruno Kreisky Foundation for Services to Human Rights was presented to attorney Wolfgang Kaleck on June 19 at 7 p.m. in the Bruno Kreisky Forum for International Dialogues in special recognition of his legal work within the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights.
In 2007, attorney Wolfgang Kaleck founded the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) in Berlin together with internationally active attorneys. Since then, he has been its Secretary General and Legal Director.
As an independent organization, the ECCHR, together with lawyers and organizations worldwide, initiates, conducts and supports a large number of legal proceedings for international crimes against state and non-state actors. In the area of business and human rights, ECCHR uses a variety of legal means to take action against inhumane working conditions and their consequences.
Prior to founding ECCHR, the criminal law specialist had worked as a criminal defense attorney at the law firm Hummel.Kaleck.Rechtsanwälte since 1991. Since 1998, he has also worked in the Coalition Against Impunity to ensure that those responsible for the murder and so-called disappearances of Germans during the Argentine military dictatorship are held accountable. Together with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Kaleck pursued criminal cases against U.S. military officials, including former U.S. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, from 2004 to 2008.
As an attorney, Kaleck represents whistleblower Edward Snowden in his matters in Germany and coordinates Snowden's legal team in Europe. In addition to his work as a lawyer, Kaleck is also a publicist.