Maria Dahle, right, Executive Director of HRH, left Baku with a big smile on her face. -Going into its second decade, she says, -the Human Rights House Network is showing signs of maturing into something far bigger and more powerful than we could have hoped for only a few years ago, she says. (30-SEP-05)

-The conference, workshops and network meeting in Baku were all a bit of a gamble, explains Dahle. –We knew we had a strong emerging Human Rights House there, driven forward by a very competent group of local human rights defenders. But even so, without the point of gravity that an established house represents, it was always going to be difficult. Looking back, however, it has proven a right decision to have hosted the conference, workshops and the annual network meeting here, and for a number of reasons.

Powerful statement
-Given the fact that Azerbaijan will have parliamentary elections next month, I firmly believe that the strong international presence that these arrangements demonstrated served towards Azeri authorities as a signal of international awareness, solidarity and support to Azeri human rights defenders. It was also a reminder that the call for the suppression of oppositionals, independent media and human rights defenders to come to an end, and for the forthcoming elections to be free and fair is not only a local one, but one that the entire, international community of human rights defenders shares. The statement that was presented to Azeri and international media, signed by all independent delegates, including those of the Swedish Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights Defenders Office of the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), said as much.

First time in the region for Hina Jilani
By hosting the whole programme of the Challenges for Azeri human rights defenders conference, the workshops chaired by ISHR and others and HRH’s own annual network meeting all in Baku, we took the opportunity to invite human rights defenders not only from other parts of Azerbaijan, but also from neighbouring countries. Thus, Hina Jilani, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Human Rights defenders could also meet and discuss with human rights defenders from a broad selection of organisations, and representing the whole region that she and her mandate had yet to visit prior to this event. Combined with the workshops chaired by the two representatives of the Geneva based NGO International Service for Human Rights on the particular problems of human rights defenders and how to deal with those at the local, national and international levels, it all turned out immensely fruitful for all parties involved.

-Tremendous feedback
-In all the different sessions we went through during the four days the delegates from all the established and emerging Human Rights Houses spent together, new ideas for mutual support, further exchange and co-operation, strengthening of the network and enhancement of our different capacities came up. To a greater extent than in previous years, there was an immediate understanding of what the Human Rights House Network is, what it is for, and what it may well become if we all pull together. The feedback on the plan of action that was presented was tremendous. So was the response in, among other places, the network contact persons’ workshop.

-On the right track
-Needless to say, this meeting also made it very clear that the Human Rights House Network has a very long way to go before its true potential is fulfilled. Even so, or exactly therefore, the enthusiasm throughout was incredible. Suggestions were frequently followed up by someone spontaneously taking responsibility for seeing them through to fruition. Other ideas were developed, with contributions from just about everyone present, all the way to the point of being ready to be turned into reality. While lots of new ideas came up, this gathering also confirmed that HRH is doing a lot of things right already. One of them, at least in this case, was to host the meeting in a country where it so obviously mattered politically that we all came and made our presence and points of view upon the local human rights situation clear.