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Letters from Lukashenka’s Prisoners: Mikola Dziadok
Mikola Dziadok is an anarchist and blogger from the Belarusian district of Mogilev. He was previously held as a political prisoner between 2010 to 2015, when he wrote essays about daily life and the key elements of the Belarusian prison system. His essays formed the collection, The Colours of the Parallel World, which received PEN Belarus’ Francišak Aliachnovič Award in 2017.
Council of Europe member states must renew their commitment to “safeguarding and promoting genuine democracy
Human Rights House Foundation, alongside the undersigned human rights organisations, welcomes the resolution and recommendation on “Safeguarding and promoting genuine democracy in Europe”, passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday.
House-to-House 2022: Call for applications
Human Rights House Foundation announces a call for applications to House-to-House Project Fund 2022. HRHF welcomes all Human Rights Houses, their member organisations as well as organisations and actors from outside of the network to apply for funding.
Further action needed by PACE to address human rights violations following Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine
The consequences of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine is the focus of the ongoing plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg this week. Ahead of the urgent procedure debate on “Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine: ensuring accountability for serious violations of international humanitarian law” on Thursday, 28 April 2022, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) urges PACE to call for additional support to human rights defenders in Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus and to support the establishment of international accountability mechanisms for serious violations of human rights committed as part of Russia’s renewed invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
BELARUS: Kafkaesque accusations against the staff of Viasna ahead of its 26th anniversary
Today, the Minsk City Court will begin hearings in the trial against Viasna member Marfa Rabkova and volunteer Andrey Chapiuk. Both are being prosecuted on politically motivated charges and face up to 20 years and eight years of imprisonment respectively. The proceedings are taking place as Viasna’s 26th anniversary approaches, in an overwhelmingly repressive context in Belarus. The signatory organisations reiterate their utmost support for Viasna, and call for the immediate and unconditional release of all its members as well as all arbitrarily imprisoned human rights defenders in the country.
Human rights crisis in Eastern Europe: Show support with fundraisers
The renewed invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022 must be considered within the broader regional human rights crisis which encompasses Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. Find out how you can take action to support civil society in Eastern Europe through various fundraising activities below.
UNGA suspension of Russia’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council is important but more is needed.
Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) welcomes the action taken today by the UN General Assembly to suspend the Russian Federation’s membership of the Human Rights Council.
UN General Assembly: Suspend Russia’s Membership on the Human Rights Council
We, the undersigned members of the network of Human Rights Houses, call on the United Nations General Assembly to immediately suspend the membership of the Russian Federation on the UN Human Rights Council.
Strategic response to the human rights and security crisis in Eastern Europe
The renewed invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022 must be considered within the broader regional human rights crisis which encompasses Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine and addressed accordingly by the international community.
HRHF welcomes Council of Europe initiatives against SLAPPs
Human Rights House Foundation joins partners of The Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) in welcoming recent steps by the Council of Europe (CoE) to act on the growing threat of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
HRC49: Statement on Ukraine
On 30 March 2022, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council highlighting the human rights situation in Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion of the country. HRHF also highlighted the ongoing human rights crisis in Russia and called for the Council to mandate a Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia.
Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv damaged following full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 7 March 2022, the premises of Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv were damaged during an attack in the area by Russian forces. Thankfully, no one inside the property was injured. The Chernihiv region of Ukraine has seen some of the fiercest fighting and destruction, leaving many injured or dead, following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.