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The global campaign against the death penalty secured a landmark victory yesterday when the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the call for a worldwide moratorium (suspension) on executions. In a landslide result, 104 UN member states voted in favour of the ground-breaking resolution. 54 countries voted against, while there were 25 abstentions. (19-DEC-07)
 

The closing ceremony of the 7th International Film Festival WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film took place at the Muranów cinema on 16 December 2007. As the best film, the festival’s audience selected the Israeli documentary “Bridge over the Wadi”, directed by Barak Heymann and Tomer Heymann, about a joint Israeli-Arab elementary school. Director Barak Heymann collected the award on Sunday.(18-DEC-07)

The Norwegian Authors Union’s Freedom of Expression Award for 2007 has been given to Tsering Woeser. The Tibetan writer, living in the People´s Republic of China, was selected among many candidates. -We are very proud that a Tibetan writer is receiving this prestigious prize, says Chungdak Koren, chairwoman of the Norwegian Tibet Committee. (17-DEC-07)
 

The International Federation of Journalists joins the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) in condemning yesterday’s kidnapping of French journalist Gwen Le Gouil on Sunday  by unknown gunmen in the port town of Bossasso, the capital of the Bari region in the north-eastern part of Republic of Somalia. (17-DEC-07)
 

The Norwegian Authors Union´s Freedom of Expression Award for 2007 has been given to Tsering Woeser, right. The Tibetan writer, living in the People´s Republic of China, was selected among many candidates. -We are very proud that a Tibetan writer is receiving this prestigious prize, says Chungdak Koren, chairwoman of the Norwegian Tibet Committee. (17-DEC-07)
 

The Human Rights House in Moscow (The Russian Research Centre for Human Rights) celebrated its 15th anniversary yesterday with a conference summing up the centre´s activities through a dramatic decade and a half in Russian history. The 60 people attending ´New challenges – new strategies´ concluded that the Centre has been vital for the human rights movement in the Russian Federation, but addressed also the fact that the Centre´s future survival is in the balance, with rents rising to levels no longer manageable. (14-DEC-07)
 

The Human Rights House in Moscow (The Russian Research Centre for Human Rights) celebrated its 15th anniversary yesterday with a conference summing up the centre´s activities through a dramatic decade and a half in Russian history. The 60 people attending ´New challenges – new strategies´ concluded that the Centre has been vital for the human rights movement in the Russian Federation, but addressed also the fact that the Centre´s future survival is in the balance, with rents rising to levels no longer manageable. (14-DEC-07)
 

The Rafto Foundation has received information that Ablikim Abdureyim (right),  the son of the 2004 Rafto Prize laureate and Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer, is in dire medical condition in Bajiahu prison near Urumchi, the regional capital of East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China (13-DEC-07).

The Rafto Foundation has received information that Ablikim Abdureyim, right,  the son of the 2004 Rafto Prize laureate and Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer, is in dire medical condition in Bajiahu prison near Urumchi, the regional capital of East Turkestan, also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China. (13-DEC-07)
 

Expressing discontent and concern with the general state of affairs in which the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have had growing difficulties exercising their rights, the Helsinki Committee in Bosnia and Herzegovina wanted to use the occasion of 10 December, the Day of Human Rights, to particularly stress the issues in the fields of social protection, education and environment. (11-DEC-07)
 

The delicate balance of Malaysia’s inter-ethnic politics has come under threat from an unexpected source and the response from the national government poses serious questions about freedom of expression. A recent rally resulted in clashes between demonstrators and the police, in which a police officer was injured, police vehicles were attacked and more than 200 were arrested. (11-DEC-07)
 

Expressing discontent and concern with the general state of affairs in which the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have had growing difficulties exercising their rights, the Helsinki Committee in Bosnia and Herzegovina wanted to use the occasion of 10 December, the Day of Human Rights, to particularly stress the issues in the fields of social protection, education and environment. (11-DEC-07)