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Srdjan Dizdarevic “made Bosnia and Herzegovina better”
The editorial board of the DANI magazine has selected 10 individuals who “made this country better”. One of them is Srdjan Dizdarevic, the founder and President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, President of the Managing Board of the Human Rights House of Sarajevo and Vice President of the International Helsinki Federation. (31-JAN-05)
Work on drafting a new Anti-Narcotic Bill
Work is being carried out on the draft of a new Act on counteracting drug addiction. The current Act on counteracting drug addiction, which has been in force for 4 years, has not turned out to be useful. (28-JAN-05)
Council of Europe Raps the Russian Federation Over Yukos Case, Demands Khodorkovsky Release
The Council of Europe passed a resolution on Tuesday questioning the legitimacy of the arrest and prosecution by Russian authorities of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other managers of the disintegrating Russian oil giant Yukos. The resolution questions the fairness, impartiality, and objectivity of the authorities, who, it said, appeared to have acted excessively, disregarding fundamental rights of defense. (28-JAN-05)
Russian MPs Retract Demand to Ban Jewish Organizations
A group of deputies from the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, has retracted a demand, sent earlier to the Prosecutor Genera´s Office, to ban all Jewish organizations in the Russian Federation. (28-JAN-05)
Activist concerned on new political prisoners
In a joint operation with their Azerbaijani colleagues, Russian police have apprehended at an undisclosed location Arif Huseinov, the brother of former Prime Minister Suret Huseinov on 26 January. Arif Huseinov is wanted on charges of involvement in the alleged coup d’etat against then President Heydar Aliyev masterminded by Suret Huseinov. (28-JAN-2005)
Recommendations to the Norwegian government on human rights in UN in 2005
Seventeen organizations from the Norwegian NGO Forum have made recommendations on human rights issues which the Norwegian Government should focus on in this year´s meeting in the UN Human Rights Commission. It covers six countries – Colombia, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation including the Republic of the Chechen Republic, Republic of the Sudan, Tunisia, and Uganda – as well as five topics: Counter-terrorism and human rights, Impunity, Indigenous peoples rights, Integrated missions, and UN human rights norms for business. (28-JAN-05)
Zimbabwe: SADC delegation jets in for compliance appraisal
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) delegation of lawyers is expected today to asses Zimbabwe´s compliance with the Mauritius Protocol on the staging of elections in a democracy as the regional grouping races against time to ensure Harare´s March parliamentary elections are free and fair. (28-JAN-05)
Azerbaijan: Activist concerned on new political prisoners
In a joint operation with their Azerbaijani colleagues, Russian police have apprehended at an undisclosed location Arif Huseinov, the brother of former Prime Minister Suret Huseinov on 26 January. The human rights activist Eldar Zeynalov hopes that the international organizations should display “adequate reaction” to Sadai Nazarov`s arrest. (28-JAN-2005)
Sudan: The south starts picking up the pieces
The roads are carpeted by thick layers of dust. Tanks, military trucks and the skeletal remains of buildings dot the landscape. Welcome to Rumbek: the newly-designated administrative capital of southern Republic of the Sudan. Less visible than bombed out buildings are the damaging memories people have of the conflict that engulfed this part of the country for more than two decades. (28-JAN-05)