Most of the members of the association are political prisoners of the GDR who served time in the Cottbus penal institution. When they founded it, they declared their aim to be as follows:

"... to make a contribution to reconciliation in the context of coming to terms with and educating people about the history of the two former GDR detention centres in Cottbus and, in coming to terms with the history of injustice in this place, to awaken understanding and a willingness to help people who are persecuted politically, racially or religiously in other states of this world."
(Excerpt from the statutes)

Since May 2011, the Menschenrechtszentrum Cottbus has been the owner of the former prison on Bautzener Straße and operates the Cottbus Prison Memorial. The central concerns of the former political prisoners are to remember and to serve as a warning. Young people are to be sensitised to the values of a free democratic society based on the rule of law through the vivid depiction of past injustice. The Board of the association, which also includes former political prisoners, decides on the development of the memorial.

• Support in researching files
• Individual discussions and interviews with contemporary witnesses
• Documentation and research on Cottbus as a place of detention
• A variety of events on contemporary historical and current political topics
• Alternating exhibitions
• Educational events and projects for groups and school classes
• Active human rights work at the educational events and humanitarian aid on site, e. g. in northern Iraq and Ukraine
• Lively association life