The conference was organized within the framework of the HRHN Project “Electronic Human Rights Education for Lawyers” (EHREL) for the best students of the first stage of distance learning and alumni of the previous cycle of the program. Journalists, human rights defenders and experts from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine – countries participating in EHREL – were invited to the conference as well.

The participants discussed how to provide prompt and effective legal assistance to victims of violations of the right to freedom of speech, assembly and association.

The most relevant questions for discussion were selected long before the beginning of the conference. The discussion itself was conducted in the «open space» format, i.e. the participants jointly compiled a list of topics to be discussed, and worked in discussion groups, which facilitated active information sharing among the conference participants. This group work helped to get the overall picture concerning the status quo and the development of legal instruments to protect the rights to freedom of speech, assembly and association in all the project participant countries. The input of experts and journalists allowed to receive the professional assessment and made the discussion practice-oriented.

According to Liudmila Ulyashyna (right), the Human Rights House Foundation´s manager of the “International Law in Advocacy” program implemented by the Human Rights House Network, the meeting of lawyers and experts from five CIS member states is not only an important step in consolidating the participants’ knowledge, but it also brings the community of “advocates of human rights” into being. This promotes the development of each of the legal systems, as well as the enhancement of the human rights culture in the former Soviet countries.

In her conference speech, Liudmila Ulyashyna stressed that the conference topic – “Freedom of expression and association: From theory to practice” – is important for the former Soviet Union countries on the whole, not just for their legal systems. This is stipulated by the fact that these freedoms are essential values ​​that give scope to the functioning of the civil society. That is why they need to be guaranteed with judicial protection based on legal concepts and approaches developed by lawyers specializing in this field of ​​law, including international and regional bodies. The more professionally lawyers act at the national level (for example, using the nuances of the legal concept of the protection of freedom of speech), the easier it will be for the state to provide guarantees for the implementation of this right.

“Of course, exercising this right, as well as almost any other individual rights and freedoms, is subject to limitations – without establishing certain restrictions, which are aimed at the legal regulation of individual rights, the state would not have been able to fulfill its international obligations and constitutional guarantees. At the same time, it is dangerous when the government considers establishing restrictions as the main, if not the only, measure to implement international law at the national level. Comparative legal analysis of national regulations for compliance with standards is an important component of successful defense and it reveals the balance between the goal and the means of such restrictions. Lawyers can demonstrate it even in the process of protection on the national level why those restrictions are disproportionate or violate the essence of the law”, Liudmila Ulyashyna said.

Helene Sand Andersen, the representative of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Norway to the Russian Federation, gave a salutatory address at the conference. Ms Andersen emphasized the importance of the work carried out by Human Rights House Foundation (Oslo, Norway) to bring together civil society organizations, international and national experts to improve the level of professional training of advocates in the field of human rights.

 The conference was also attended by Harald Ciarlo (left), the representative of the Norwegian mission of NORLAM experts in the field of rule of law, who noted that the very possibility of such a conference is a positive trend, “The fact that such a conference is possible, that you have managed to organize and conduct it is a positive development and is really encouraging, because a few years ago such a conference could not have been organized in this part of the world”.

Participants shared their knowledge on the use of new technologies to improve the skills and professionalism of advocates and lawyers. 

The members of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights acted as the key speakers at the conference. Vasily Lukashevich, the representative of the European Court of Human Rights, addressed the participants and spoke about the international standards, requirements and current problems in the field of freedom of expression. Natalia Kravchuk, the Council of Europe’s HELP Program coordinator in Russia, and Galina Arapova, consultant to Council of Europe on the admissibility of complaints to the ECHR, made a presentation of HELP Program. The Program, which was launched in 2006, is one of the components of the the Council of Europe’s effort to ensure the continued effectiveness of the ECHR and strengthening the implementation of the ECHR at national level.

As part of the discussion panel, issues of cooperation between human rights defenders, the media, academia and advocates were discussed.

During the conference, journalists presented and analysed cases and issues of interaction of human rights defenders with the media and the academic community when providing legal assistance to victims of violations of freedom of speech, assembly and association. Journalist Anatoly Tsygankov, representative of the Center for Political and Social Research of the Republic of Karelia, and Olga Sidarovich, the editor of Comparative constitutional review and International justice magazines, made a presentation of these publications. The representatives of several non-governmental organizations that monitor the media – Damir Gainutdinov, legal analyst at inter-regional human rights organization “Agora”, and Boris Timoshenko, representing the Glasnost Defense Foundation, also spoke at the conference and answered questions from the participants.

Stressing the importance of experience sharing between attorneys, lawyers, human rights defenders and journalists at the conference, Liudmila Ulyashyna said: “The exchange of ideas and experience between journalists, advocates and human rights defenders during this conference was very useful to move from criticism to the “balance” stage – the balance of the public interest and the protection of human rights, the balance of the necessity for respect for the judiciary, but also the respect for an individual who, while exercising his/her right, ought to have an opportunity to use all the defense mechanisms he/she is interested in. And in this case professionally trained advocates are the backbone of the legal state”.

The conference was streamed live on the Internet. The video archive of the conference presentations and discussions is accessible here.

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The conference was organized by the Russian Research Center for Human Rights and the Human Rights House Foundation (Norway) within the project “International Law in Advocacy. Electronic Human Rights Education for Lawyers” with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Norwegian mission of experts in the field of the rule of law in Moldova (NORLAM).

The project “Electronic Human Rights Education for Lawyers” is organized in the framework of Human Rights House Network program “International Law in Advocacy” , which was developed and implemented in collaboration with partner organizations of Human Rights House Foundation.

The project aims to establish a connection between the advocates of the CIS countries, providing them with educational materials on human rights on the Internet prepared by international and national experts. The project contributes to efforts to implement the commitments as part of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other international organizations, to support the implementation of the commitments on human rights in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The aim of the project is to strengthen the promotion, protection and fulfillment of human rights under the rule of law, and the consolidation of the potential by training of lawyers, setting up the networks and raising awareness of the direct application of human rights standards at the national level.

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