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-The government of Islamic Republic of Iran should amend or abolish broadly worded national security laws used to stifle peaceful dissent in the country’s Kurdish areas and end arbitrary arrests of Kurdish critics and dissidents,-Human Rights Watch.

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights invites human rights activists, university teachers and representatives of institutions from all levels of public administration dealing with human rights issues from Central, Eastern European and CIS countries to take part in the Summer School on Human Rights.

On January 1st 2009, the Law on Suppression of Discrimination was officially adopted in the Republic of Croatia. The new law includes wide protection from discrimination. It defines precisely what consitutes discriminatory behaviour and determines the Ombudsman as the body in charge of suppression of discrimination.

When: Tuesday, 13. January 2009 15.00 – 17.30 To: Tuesday, 13. January 2009 Where: Warsaw, 11 Zgoda St. Host: Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights More info: www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/news200.html

The Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) believes that a rise in reported arrests for terrorism, extremism and other state security charges in East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the People´s Republic of China (PRC) in 2008 represents a concerted campaign to stamp out all forms of dissent among Uyghurs in the region. UHRP is concerned that behind the officially-reported numbers lies systemic repression that blurs all distinction between peaceful dissent and alleged criminal activity.

There were 9.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Central and Eastern Africa region as of December 2008; according to a United Nations report released today, 400,000 less than at the end of June, but because of the fluidity of the situation officials advised against laying too much store on the reduction. They noted that IDPs are sometimes continually moving, either returning home or being uprooted a second time.
Right: An IDP camp

Amnesty International (AI) called the Charities and Societies Proclamation law (CSO law), adopted today by the Ethiopian parliament, a repressive law designed to strictly control and monitor civil society in an atmosphere of increasing intolerance of the work of human rights defenders and civil society organisations. Previous drafts of the CSO law imposed strict government controls and harsh criminal penalties on non-governmental organisations.

-The Ugandan government has a great opportunity to show its commitment to the rehabilitation of a child abducted into rebel military service, says Georgette Gagnon, right, Africa Director at Human Rights Watch. -Bushobozi Irumba was a child when abducted and a child when captured, and his treatment should reflect that.

Mark Bowden, right, the top United Nations relief official in the Republic of Somalia, has voiced grave concern at the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the strife-torn nation, where fresh clashes last week have reportedly killed more than 40 people and displaced over 50,000.

Reporters Without Borders is stunned to learn that President Mwai Kibaki, right, signed the Republic of Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill 2008 into law on 2 January 2009. “This is a major step backwards in the history of press freedom in the Republic of Kenya,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We have for weeks been joining Kenyan journalists in denouncing this bill’s reactionary and repressive nature. We do not understand President Kibaki’s decision, which will seriously undermine civil liberties in his country.”

Amid commemorative ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as its own 10th anniversary, Journaliste En Danger (JED) released its 2008 annual report on press freedom on 23 December 2008. In the report, entitled “Ten years for press freedom: the situation of freedom of the press in Central Africa”, the organisation notes that safety remains the single greatest concern for media professionals in the DRC, despite the fact that statistically, attacks against the press and journalists are down.

Dark clouds are forming against freedom of expression in the Republic of Kenya, following the recent passing of a controversial Bill by parliament. The Republic of Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill, awaiting presidential assent to become law, gives the state powers to invade media houses, seize broadcast equipment, control broadcast content, even taking a station off air.