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The Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway, will host an international conference on North Korean Human rights and refugees in May. -Our partner, says Sverre Wilhelmsen, right, the coordinator for the conference, -is Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human rights, a South Korean NGO, who has launched annual conferences on the subject since 1999. Previous conferences have been held in Seoul (three times), Tokyo, Prague and Warsaw. (31-JAN-06)
 

-The attempts by certain politicians and the State Duma Deputies to use the ‘spy scandal’ to discredit NGOs are undermining the interaction between the authorities and civil society, reads the statement signed by 85 Russian representativess Hundreds of individuals, inside and outside the Russian Federation, have also declared their support. Read the statement below. (31-JAN-06)
 

The Norwegian Tibet Committee, one of the organisations of the Human Rights House in Oslo, has played a key part in staging a big exhibition on Tibet, ranging from traditional culture to contemporary society, religious life and political plight. Chungdak Koren, right, Chairwoman of the Tibet Committe, guides through the exhibition and will introduce a film on refugee children Sunday 12 February. (30-JAN-06)
 

Nardaran village, which is located in the outskirts of Baku city has again become in the center of attention for last few days. This village, where the religious and traditional customs and values are deeply rooted, has repeatedly been in the news in different times for the strong and principal standpoint in public/political processes. The population of the village is strongly united and supportive to one another. The incident of gunfire between local citizens and police occurred on the 24-th of January – caused the non-stop rally of the population with the demand to investigate the case and punish the guilty (29-JAN-2006).

This week, the European Human Rights Court in Strasbourg awarded Aleksei Mihkeev, right, a victim of torture conducted by representatives of the Rusian state bureaucracy, 150.000 Euro in redress for the lasting injuries he has suffered. In a desparate attempt to escape further pain, Mihkeev jumped out out of a window, broke his back and was paralysed from his hips down. (29-JAN-06)
 

On 27 January the initiative groups of the potential candidates for the position of the president of the country finish collection of signatures. As is known, elections are due on 19 March 2006. To be registered, each of the 6 pretenders has to collect at least 100 thousand signatures, apart from submitting tax declarations. The signature collectors face all kinds of obstacles. (27-JAN-06)

-Hard as this seems to imagine, not the least in East Africa, state and civil society need to learn how to trust and support, cooperate and compliment each other. If not, democracy itself will fall, HRH’s Niels Jacob Harbitz, right, stressed in his closing remarks at the seminar ‘Aid and the troubled democracies of East Africa’ last week. (27-JAN-06)
  

6 January Rebiya Kadeer, the Uyghur business woman, human rights activist and former prisoner of conscience, was involved in a mysterious traffic accident close to her home in washington DC in which her car was rammed twice by heavy utility truck. The 2004 Rafto laureate managed to get out of her vehicle when the driver in the truck seemed to be preparing for a third hit. After a week in hospital, she is now slowly recovering.  (26-JAN-2006)
 

As Google launched its Chinese portal google.cn yesterday, defenders of freedom of expression like Chungdak Koren, right, of the Norwegian Tibet Committee, and international human rights groups protest the self-censorship regulations Google has agreed with Chinese authorities. -This is a major blow for freedom of expression and human rights in the People´s Republic of China, says Koren. -Google should never have agreed to this. (26-JAN-06)