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The Rafto Foundation is deeply saddened by the death of Preah Maha Ghosananda, the Cambodian Rafto Laureate from 1992. Ghosananda passed away March 12, 2007 almost 80 years old. With the spiritual strength of his Buddhist belief, he emphasised peace and reconciliation as the remedy for Cambodia’s deep wounds after the Khmer Rouge terror. (21-MAR-07)

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights has prepared a short overview of the situation in Republic of Poland. Republic of Poland remains a relatively homogenous country ethnically and racially. According to the General Census, in 2002, Poland´s population was 38 230 thousand, of which 96,74% declared their nationality to be Polish. However, since accession to the European Union, the number of foreigners and migrants settling in the Republic of Poland has been increasing. Agnieszka Mikulska, right, of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, reports. (21-MAR-07)
 

‘The Act of disclosing information regarding security services documents from 1944-1990 and the contents of those documents [“Act”] came into effect 15 March 2006. This Act violates human rights and fundamental freedoms in numerous ways.’ writes the Helsinki Committee in Poland in its latest position regarding the lustration process. (21-MAR-07)

Yesterday, eleven Sahrawi political prisoners appeared before the Court of Appeal in El-Ayoune. The Moroccan court issued heavy sentences against some of the prisoners, while the trial of others was postponed; only one was released. The proceeding witnessed a massive presence of Moroccan security services. Only a few family members of the prisoners were allowed to attend. Two Spanish foreign legal observers were able to attend the proceedings. (21-MAR-07)
 

Aminatou Haidar, right, has been imprisoned and tortured because of her struggle for Africa’s last colony. “When I was freed, I was reduced to a shadow of my real self. A ghost, a young girl emerging from a nameless hell”, she says about the day she was released from prison, June 19, 1991. She now appeals for Norwegian recognition of Western Sahara as an independent state. (21-MAR-07)
 

For the first time, high level experts will discuss how human rights education can contribute to a positive development both within and between the neighbouring states of Norway and the Russian Federation. (20-MAR-07)
 

Last night the Norwegian human rights advocate Kieu Tran, right, was brought in for questioning by the Vietnamese authorities. Tran acted as an interpreter on Thursday when Therese Jebsen of the Rafto Foundation were arrested while visiting last year´s Rafto Human Rights Prize laureate, venerable Thich Quang Do, together with Mr Tom Rune Orset, a journalist from the Norwegian TV2. (17-MAR-07)
 

Last night the Norwegian human rights advocate Kieu Tran was brought in for questioning by the Vietnamese authorities. Tran acted as an interpreter on Thursday this week when Therese Jebsen, representative of the Rafto Foundation for Human Rights in Bergen, Norway, visited last year´s Rafto Human Rights Prize laureate, venerable Thich Quang Do, together with Tom Rune Orset, a journalist from the Norwegian TV2. (17-MAR-07)
 

“I call upon people from around the world, especially those who are investing or giving development aid to Vietnam, to draw lessons from today’s events. Instead of helping to strengthen the communist regime and prolong its survival, try to use your economic aid to save 80 million Vietnamese, and liberate them from the great prison in which they languish today”. Read an interview with Thich Quang Do after arrest of Therese Jebsen, on March 15, 2007.
(16-MAR-07)

´The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights would like to express its deep concern with respect to the Polish Government’s stance adopted at a Common Conference of the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Cluster Munitions Coalition on the prohibition of the use and production of cluster munitions (Oslo Conference on Cluster Munitions), held on 22-23 February 2007.´ writes Mr Marek Antoni Nowicki President of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights to the Polish Prime Minister. (16-MAR-07)

Acknowledging the interdependence of fundamental human rights, ARTICLE 19´s report Pioneering Women’s Voices: A Celebration of Women’s Journalism Across the Globe,  looks at freedom of expression and access to information as essential components of broader freedoms such as the right to political participation. Looking at women and journalism, the report documents how women´s work and identities are shaped by multiple issues –including age, class, religion and political affiliation. (15-MAR-07)
 

Moments after handing over to Thich Quang Do the diploma for the Rafto Human Rights Prize for 2006, the diploma that Quang Do was not allowed to come to Bergen last November to receive, Therese Jebsen, right, of the Rafto Foundation and interpreter Kieu Tran was arrested in Saigon this morning. -This arrest makes me ashamed and humiliated for my country and people, said Quang Do. (15-MAR-07)