The organisations in the emerging Human Rights House will organise a seminar in Minsk 18-19 of February 2005. The object is to familiarize Belarusian journalists, lawyers and judges with European standards of human rights. A delegation from the Norwegian PEN and the Huma Rights House Foundation will attend the seminar in Minsk. (20-JAN-05)

The main focus will be the structure and functions of the European Court and the Council of Europe. The first day of the Conference Belarussian spesialists from BAJ, Belarusian PEN, Legal Initiative and VIASNA will give presentation on  the Belarusian legislation and its applications with regard to human rights and freedoms. The second day will include 3 interactive workshops. One of the workshops “Freedom of Speech and Protecting the Rights of Journalists” will be mediated by Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ). The main purpose is to raise the legal awareness of journalists and their knowledge of democratic standards in the field of freedom of the media.

Lack of information and knowledge
The Belarus Constitution recognizes the priority of universal principles of international law and ensures the compatibility of the relevant laws. Yet, none of the Council of Europe´s documents, including the European Convention for Human Rights and Freedoms, has been signed and ratified by Belarus.The Belarus Constitutional Court  seldom refers to the European provisions and rulings of the Strasbourg court. Belarus lacks this experience, although the European convention is known to be the most efficient instrument in the world in the field of human rights.The lack of information and knowledge in the field in Belarus prevents Belarus from forming a democratic state and integrating into the European community, both presently and in the future.