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The Human Rights House Foundation, together with partner organisations from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and the Russian Federation, took part at the OSCE Human Dimension Implementation meeting in Warsaw on 25-29 September 2011. It made several interventions, addressing human rights issues in the countries, co-organised side events on Belarus and protection of human rights defenders and organised a protest campaign against the arrest of Ales Bialiatski. Maria Dahle, the Executive Director of HRHF, opened the 3rd working session on freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association, national HR institutions and HR education.

A number of human rights organizations prepared and sent a letter of concern on inadmissibility of death penalty to international institutions by reason of the trials of Uladzislau Kavaliou and Dzmitry Kanavalau, accused of organizing terrorist attacks in Belarus. Belarusian HRH joined the statement.

Шэраг праваабарончых і грамадскіх арганізацый падрыхтавалі і накіравалі да міжнародных структур зварот аб недапушчальнасці смяротнага пакарання з нагоды суду над Уладзіславам Кавалёвым і Дзмітрыем Канавалавым, якіх абвінавачваюць у арганізацыі тэрактаў у Беларусі.

The Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) voiced its concerns about the human rights situation in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kenya at the UN Human Rights Council session.

September 21 is an International Day of Peace. The Human Rights House Tbilisi dedicated the Peace Week to this day. Within a week, the HRHT organized several different events during a week, starting from September 21 to 23.

As world leaders gathering in New York for United Nations General Assembly, one of the most controversial political figures, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, once again attracted attention by his populist statements in the General Assembly. However the president said nothing about continuing violations of human rights by his own regime. Iran remains to be one of the worst places in the Middle East with regard to women’s, rights, freedom of expression and other fundamental human rights set in the Universal Human Rights Declaration

On July 5, 2011 the Georgian parliament amended the Civil Code in an expedited way, within 5 working days, allowing religious organizations in Georgia to be registered as legal entities of public law. Some experts consider that the Georgian Parliament approved the amendment through violations of the bylaws. They also deem that amendment allows large interpretation of the norm, thus it requests better formulation.

On 3 September a journalist, poet and activist Faranak Farid was arrested in Iran. On 8 September a prominent journalist, playwright, film-maker and member of Iraqi PEN Hadi al-Mahdi was murdered in Baghdad. On 21 September Omani court sentenced two journalista of an independent newspaper to five months in prison and ordered to shut the newspaper down for a month.

Kazakhstan authorities continue to hold a harsh grip over human rights defenders, lawyers and opposition. Upcoming court appeal hearing of lawyer Natalya Sokolova, right, is yet another example of Kazakhtan’s horrific human rights record.