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The Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam, H.E. Kjell Storløkken and the First Secretary of the Norwegian Embassy in charge of Political and Economic affairs, Mr. Fredrik Steen, paid a visit to Venerable Thich Quang Do (right), the 2006 Rafto Prize Laureate and Deputy leader of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). The meeting took place on 2 July at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City, where Thich Quang Do is currently under house arrest (04-JUL-07).

AFS International Exchange marks 60 years in 2007. The organization launched an international peace appeal that will be delivered to UN this autumn. The petition encourages the world leaders to increase support to international exchange programs. AFS has a local office at the Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen (30-JUN-07).

On 26 June, human rights activists for the International Day of solidarity with torture victims published a collection “Torture in Russian Federation: Authorities, Human Rights Activists and the UN Committee against Torture Position.” The collection is a result of joint efforts of the coalition of non-governmental organizations that includes the Russian Research Center for Human Rights. (28-JUN-07)
 

According to the International Center of Investigation of Prisons at London King´s College, Republic of Belarus possesses one of the highest ratings on number of prisoners in Europe: 426 per 100 thousand population. Prisons are overcrowded, have extremely low sanitary level and there are serious threats to prisoners’ security including cases of physical violence and sexual abuse. (04-JUN-07)
 

From 19 to 26 June, protest of nurses and midwives was held outside and inside the Chancellery of the Prime Minister in Warsaw. The nurses demanded raises in salaries and reforms of the health service. The Trade Unions Forum judged that there had been a violation of the fundamental civil rights and freedoms of four women protesting inside the Chancellery of the Prime Minister. (28-JUNE-07)

The Editors’ Union sent an official appeal to the participants of the regional organisation for Demcracy and Economic Development GUAM Summit, held in Baku on the 17-th of June. The appeal contains the brief information about the recent cases of pressure on journalists and obligations of Republic of Azerbaijan in the sphere of democracy and human rights. The appeal states that GUAM members should urge Republic of Azerbaijan to fulfill its obligations and respect human rights. (18-JUN-07)
 

The number of journalists, seeking for political asylum continues to grow and has reached 25. Meanwhile, the deputies of the the Parliament accuse press representatives in “damaging the prestige of Republic of Azerbaijan in the international arena”. The deputy Siyavush Novruzov publicly stated that these journalists do not have “Azerbaijani blood”, for which the journalists prepare to file a lawsuit against him. (17-JUN-07)
 

On 14 June, the group of journalists attempted to hold the picket with slogans to stop the pressure on journalists. However, the police dispersed the unsanctioned journalists´ protest, injuring several journalists and detaining others. (15-JUN-07)

On June 12 in front of the parliament in Holland´s capital city of Hague a protest against pressure on the mass media in Republic of Azerbaijan was held, according to Eldaniz Yusibov, chairman of the World Union of Azerbaijani Political Immigrants. The protest was supposed to be held simultaneously with the journalists´ protest in Baku; however Baku´s Mayor refused to sanction the event for Baku journalists . (13-JUN-07)
 

A new course called Human Rights, intercultural understanding and conflict management will this Autumn be available at Høgskolen i Buskerud. Generally it draws upon the the Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s experience in human rights education and specifically upon the book “Bygg broer, ikke murer” meaning build bridges- not fences, that was published this spring. (28-JUN-07)
 

Ever since the Moroccan invasion in 1975, Western Sahara has suffered tremendous hardship under the rule of its northern-bordering neighbor. Despite international opinion demanding sovereignty for Western Sahara, the territory today still remains occupied. The Norwegian authorities have, among others, repeatedly dissuaded Norwegian companies against doing business with the occupying power. According to Norwatch, this policy has now failed (27-JUN-07).

On 9-11 June, the end of the autumn-spring season of Discordant Marches was marked by public rallies in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Murmansk and Ekaterinburg. The marches proved to be the calmest in their short history although the authorities imposed certain restrictions in respect to the number of participants and the location. (12-JUN-07)