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Why did the African Union (AU) fail to obtain unified support for the UN mandated humanitarian intervention in Libya? What does this tell us about the AU position on humanitarian intervention and protection of civilians in these conflicts?

Shot clandestinely over a 2-year period by best-selling novelist and filmmaker, Robert H. Lieberman, this film provides a rare look at the second-most isolated country on the planet. It lifts the curtain to expose the everyday life in a country that has been held in the iron grip of a brutal military regime for 48 years.

On May 13, at 13:00 the Lithuanian Parliament is hosting the opening of a photo exhibition dedicated to the events of 19 December, 2010 in Belarus, that initiated unprecedented wave of repressions. The exposition contains the photos from after-election protest demonstration in Belarus. At the same time, you will have a chance to visit a press-conference on the occasion of 15th anniversary of Human Rights Centre “Viasna”.

13 траўня ў Літоўскім Сойме адбудзецца адкрыццё фотавыставы, прысвечанай падзеям 19 снежня 2010 году ў Беларусі, што распачалі беспрэцэдэнтную хвалю рэпрэсій. Выстава адкрыецца ў ходзе адкрытых слуханняў у Літоўскім Сойме. Перад адкрыццём выставы адбудзецца прэс-канферэнцыя з нагоды 15-годдзя найбуйнейшай беларускай праваабарончай арганізацыі “Вясна”.

In February 1989, Iranian authorities issued international fatwa – a death sentence – against Salman Rushdie for having authored the novel ‘Satanic Verses’. In Norway as in many other countries, mobilisation for freedom of expression and a heated debate followed on where to draw the line between what some experienced as blasphemy and others saw as legitimate exercise of freedom of expression.

On 9 May will be shown the first public screening in the UK of ‘I have no enemies’, the Nobel Peace Prize Documentary on Liu Xiaobo, the only Nobel laureate currently in detention.

Free speech is a world issue that forms an integral part of fundamental human rights. In this six-week course led by Amanda Hopkinson, you will examine universal, national and regional declarations of human rights, study the relationship between human justice and legal systems, and focus on individual case studies that showcase the right to liberty, movement and free expression.

For ninety years, English PEN has been fighting for the freedom to write and the freedom to read at home and abroad. In this special birthday performance, devised in partnership with Jonathan Holmes of Jericho House Theatre Company, today’s authors draw on the words of those who have led PEN’s fight over the last century, from HG Wells to Monica Ali.

Staff members of HRHF travel to Azerbaijan to re-open the Human Rights House in Baku. The house was closed by the authorities on 10 March 2011. Meetings have been scheduled with Azerbaijani authorities, various embassies, national human rights organisations and international organisations. HRHF will also participate in a seminar with the Media Rights Institute in Baku.