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A new course called Human Rights, intercultural understanding and conflict management will this Autumn be available at Høgskolen i Buskerud. Generally it draws upon the the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s experience in human rights education and specifically upon the book “Bygg broer, ikke murer” meaning build bridges- not fences, that was published this spring. (28-JUN-07)
 

Ever since the Moroccan invasion in 1975, Western Sahara has suffered tremendous hardship under the rule of its northern-bordering neighbor. Despite international opinion demanding sovereignty for Western Sahara, the territory today still remains occupied. The Norwegian authorities have, among others, repeatedly dissuaded Norwegian companies against doing business with the occupying power. According to Norwatch, this policy has now failed (27-JUN-07).

On 9-11 June, the end of the autumn-spring season of Discordant Marches was marked by public rallies in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Murmansk and Ekaterinburg. The marches proved to be the calmest in their short history although the authorities imposed certain restrictions in respect to the number of participants and the location. (12-JUN-07) 
 

The Civil Commission of Good Will initiated its activity on 21 June on a press conference in the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights headquarters. Its members include underground opposition activists from the period of the Polish People’s Republic, historians, lawyers as well as clergymen. The Commission wants to bring aid to individuals accused of cooperation with the secret service of the Polish People’s Republic, who have a sense of wrong and injustice in connection with the publication of information regarding their past. (25-JUNE-07)

The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV) in Norway organized International Conference on “Peace through Human Development” in Oslo on 5 May. The Rafto Foundation participated at the conference. The Conference was attended by Norwegian, Vietnamese and international participants, scholars, Buddhist monks from Norway, Sweden and from chapters of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam in Europe, Australia and the USA (25-JUN-07).

Niels Jacob Harbitz, right, programme co-ordinator for Africa for HRH F, recently represented the international human rights community on the investigation into an incident reported by Save the Children in the Kotido district of Karamoja in which thechild rights agency alleged that 66 children were killed. Harbitz concludes that “on the basis of what our investigation found and on the balance of evidence accumulated by other investigative missions, children were killed as a direct consequence of the UPDF’s attack.” (25-JUNE-07)
 

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights launched its new project entitled “Strengthening the rule of law and human rights protection in the Republic of Poland through involvement of business entities, civil society groups and individuals in strategic litigation activities” 18 June. The conference included several dozen representatives from the worlds of science, business, media and NGOs. (20-JUNE-07)
 

A new Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights project entitled “Strengthening the rule of law and human rights protection in the Republic of Poland through involvement of business entities, civil society groups and individuals in strategic litigation activities” was inaugurated on 18 June during a conference that included several dozen representatives from the world of science, business, media and nongovernmental organizations. (20-JUNE-07)

The Human Rights House Foundation is immensely pleased to announce that Nasha Niva, the last independent Belarusian language weekly, has been awarded the Freedom of Expression Foundation / Zeit Stiftung´s joint Free Press of Eastern Europe Award. Nasha Niva´s editor Andrej Dynko, right, well known to the Human Rights House Network, is in Norway to receive the award on behalf of his newspaper. (21-JUNE-07)