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Two Prosecution witnesses say that they are afraid for their family members’ safety because of their testimonies about crimes committed in Kalinovik. Testifying against the three indictees, charged with crimes committed in Kalinovik, Ilija Djorem and protected witness W1 said that they were afraid to testify because their family members might suffer some consequences.

The remains of 160 Serbs from Banija, Kordun and Lika were discovered at the site, 40 of them women. They were killed in August 1995 in a Croatian military attack on a UN protected zone, known as Sector North.

Macedonia’s Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski says he “highly appreciates the sincerity” of the French Foreign Minister, who said Skopje cannot progress in the EU until the name row is solved.

The Belarusian Human Rights House in Vilnius joined the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by conducting a photo competition for the best illustration of human rights in the Republic of Belarus. The results of the competition were summed up and announced on 10 December.

Multidisciplinary approach to child abuse cases

Zarganar and Nay Phone Latt, two Burmese bloggers, have been chosen as joint winners in the “Cyber-dissident” category of the Reporters Without Borders awards. Dubbed the “Burmese Charlie Chaplin,” comedian Zarganar defended human rights and denounced the military government’s abuses in sketches and entries in the blog he had been keeping since August 2007.

A new human rights film festival is taking place these days in Nairobi and several other locations in the Republic of Kenya. Dunia Moja (One World in Swahili) is partnered, among others, by One World Prague. HRHN has been in contact with One World for several years, and attended their flagship festival in Prague earlier this year.

A group of experts monitoring a United Nations arms embargo on the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) reported today that it had found evidence that the Rwandan authorities and the Congolese army have aided opposing rebel groups in the war-ravaged east of the country.

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) protests the shutting down of Radio Markabley in Bardhere District of Gedo Region in southwest Republic of Somalia by the Regional Islamic Administration. Head of the Security of Islamic Administration in Bardhere Sheik Barre Qoje went to the newly established radio station on 10th December around 19:20 hrs local time and ordered to radio to shutdown. The journalists and the other staff immediately obeyed.

On 10 December the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights Center “Viasna” issued a joint statement on the human rights situation in the Republic of Belarus.

EU states have rejected a Commission recommendation to set an end-2009 target date for completing Croatia’s accession talks. These remain at an early stage and thus the proposed target was ambitious. Yet the refusal to adopt it underlines the raft of challenges still facing Croatia—and not all of them are in Croatia’s power to solve.

Reporters without Borders has written to Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki urging him not to sign the Republic of Kenya Communications (Amendment) Bill 2008 into law. Otherwise known as the ICT Bill, that was adopted by parliament on 10 December 2008.