The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) has ceased its 30-year-old legal aid program in Bulgaria for refugees and migrants on January 1, 2026. The Director of the Refugee & Migrant Protection Program at BHC, Iliana Savova, stated that one reason is the global funding crisis affecting the organizations UNHCR partnership, which makes the running of the program no longer possible.
The BHC is an independent non-governmental organization for human rights, which was funded in 1992. Since 1996, the program provided legal assistance to 209,703 individuals and represented clients in 3,326 court cases across Bulgaria. According to the statement, the BHC continues to seek solutions to restore this vital, long-standing, and comprehensive legal protection service.