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Human rights defenders comment on election results
Belarusian human rights defenders presented their conclusions on the 2008 parliamentary elections in the Republic of Belarus to the Lithuanian media during a press conference organized by the HRH Vilnius on 3 October 2008.
Anna Politkovskaya: unanswered questions
Three men are facing trial for the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, but the investigation is far from over. Index on Censorship reports
Uganda Human Rights Commission commemorates ten years
Margaret Ssekaggya, the chairperson of the Republic of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), said, “10 years since the inception of UHRC, steady progress has been achieved in fulfillment of the body’s mandate. People have been empowered. Government has been held to account and the commission has progressed well in holding all those responsible to account.” she said this during a networking dinner held to celebrate the ten years under the theme, “a decade of human rights Work; Making human Rights a Reality for All.”
Belarusian Elections Fall Foul of International Standards
On 28 September 2008 Belarusians elected members of the House of Representatives. These elections were internationally expected to bring further positive changes on the country´s political arena, but unfortunately the elections fell short of OSCE’s standards. National observers stated numerous violations of international standards. However EU still wants a dialogue with official Minsk (01-OCT-08).
The level of xenophobia in the Russian Federation in 2008
In 2008, the number of attacks owing to national intolerance in the Russian Federation declined. Deputy Director of the Information-Analytical Center “SOVA” Galina Kozhevnikova said it with reference to the monitoring data of the Center. 71 people were killed and 268 were injured as a result of racist attacks this year in the Russian Federation. (30-SEN-08)
Belarusian Elections Fall Foul of International Standards
On 28 September 2008 Belarusians elected members of the House of Representatives. These elections were internationally expected to bring further positive changes on the country´s political arena, but unfortunately the elections fell short of OSCE’s standards. National observers stated numerous violations of international standards. However EU still wants a dialogue with official Minsk (01-OCT-08).
Russia signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
On 24 September, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on behalf of the Russian Federation signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He also deposited the instrument of ratification by the Russian Federation the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict to the headquarters of the UN. (30-SEN-08)
Media representatives receive death threats
The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned about death threats against several media representatives in Bosnia following coverage of Queer festival.
Uganda celebrates the international right to know day
On 28th September, the Media Associations, Human Rights Network – Republic of Uganda (HURINET-U), and members of the Coalition on Freedom of Information (COFI) presented a petition to the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda to expedite the implementation of the Access to Information Law (Under Article 41 of the Constitution of Republic of Uganda, 1995 and the Access to Information Act, 2005).
Malaysia’s culture of fear
The extension of Raja Petra Kamaruddin¡’s period of detention to two years is another example of the nefarious uses of Malaysia¡’s Internal Security Act, But the reaction of ordinary citizens shows the tide may be turning in favour of free expression.