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The Human Rights House Foundation visited Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in March 2007 in order to share the concept of a human rights house with local human rights defenders and their organisations. It became clear that the most vulnerable group was female human rights defenders working to improve women´s position in the Afghan society. In cooperation with the Norwegian Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Committe and FOKUS we have invited four of them to Norway. (07-NOV-07)

Delegates from throughout the Human Rights House Network (HRH N) will gather this weekend in Nairobi for the Network’s annual meeting, immediately followed by a regional and international conference, addressing the security and working conditions for human rights defenders in the East and Horn of Africa, and aspects of the sustainability of their organisations. (07-NOV-07)
 

 “…caste determines what one is allowed to be, what one is forced to, and denies one’s ability to live a life of human dignity. Caste is an all encompassing frame of barriers and violations for those of us – the Dalits at the bottom of the caste system”.  With these words, General Secretary Vincent Manoharan (right) of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights in his acceptance speech summarised the effects of caste discrimination on the 260 million Dalits of the world, who suffer this dehumanising practise every day (05-NOV-07).
 

At least 10 Ethiopian university student refugees were killed over the last two weeks in the Republic of Kenya by security forces loyal to the government of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Addis Ababa, Kenya´s Citizen TV announced on Monday. Earlier on Saturday, unidentified armed men also held four exiled Ethiopian journalists at gunpoint, tied their hands behind their backs, dragged them out of their home when violence-wary neighbors cried out for help and stopped the progress of the crime. (05-NOV-07)
 

Social March “For Justice” took place in Minsk in November the 4th. Participants of the action put number of claims to the authorities – to stop the prices increase, to carry out economical reforms in the Republic of Belarus, to get back the benefits, to give liberty to the privet industry, to increase wages and retires payments. (05-NOV-07) 
  

In recent months, lawyers from the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights Legal Assistance for Refugees and Migrants Program regularly received information from foreigners, who were granted the permit for tolerated stay in Republic of Poland, about problems associated with issuing resident cards. The above information was confirmed during conversations between the Program’s lawyers and officials from the Office for Foreigners.(03-NOV-07)

ARTICLE 19, English PEN and Index on Censorship welcome the UK Prime Minister’s commitment to liberty, set out in his speech on 25 October. Gordon Brown’s promise to respect and extend freedom of assembly, freedom of the press and the public right to know marks a sea change in government attitudes towards these fundamental rights. (26-OCT-07)

The Supreme Court of the Republic of Belarus considered the Ministry of Justice refusal to register Human Rights Association “Viasna” warrantable. The trial was open. The Belarusian democratic society has no doubts in a political way to resolve the question. (27-OCT-07)
 

The non-governmental organizations gathered around the Human Rights House have expressed great concern with the complication of political relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rise of inter-ethnic tensions. (29-OCT-07)

Early in October so called “Civil pool”, a coalition of public organizations, established to control the election process to the State Duma on 2 December, announced about its self-dissolution. It happened after Vladimir Putin made a statement to head the party “United Russia”. The “Pool” was created in spring 2007 by initiative of Ella Pamfilova, the Chairman of the Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights Council under the President of the Russian Federation. (29-OCT-2007)
 

Today, 31 October at 18:00, the Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurds RKR) will host an open meeting on the current military crisis between Republic of Turkey and Iraq. In addition to Vidar Birkeland, chairman of RKR´s board, representatives of both North and East Kurdistan, and also the political environment in Norway, will come to contribute to the discussion. (31-OCT-07)
 

The non-governmental organizations gathered around the Human Rights House of Sarajevo have expressed great concern with the complication of political relations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the rise of inter-ethnic tensions. (29-OCT-07)