Abstract: The text deals with the human rights dimension of the foreign development assistance policies of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary and focuses in detail on the official governmental documents. Given the historical experience with the transformation of the society these countries are well equipped to pass it on to the currently undemocratic regimes that violate basic human rights. The core question is whether and how do the states refl ect in their foreign policies the human rights and the assistance to civil societies which are understood as a basic prerequisite for a stable state. The article raises the question: which of the V4 countries is the most advanced and specific in this aspect. It also seeks which states do implement their official declarations. In the conclusion it summarizes that the Czech Republic has new effective tools to work with civil society and Slovakia as well as Poland proclaimed plans to support good governance. Future practice will show how the plans transform into practice. Hungary, the less specific about its strategy, is rather difficult to analyze.

Keywords: Human rights, foreign development assistance policy, transformation experience, democratization, civil society