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The Belarusian Central Election Committee registered four Presidential Candidates on January 17.  A. Milinkevich, A. Lukashenko, A. Kazulin, and S. Gaidukevich got the certificate as Presidential Candidates. Nevertheless Milinkevich´s regional teams are subjected to sytematic pressure from authorities (21-FEB-06)

On 31 January 2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina received the new, fifth High Representative – Christian Schwarz-Schilling (right). Schwarz-Schilling has been engaged in work with Bosnia and Herzegovina for a long time already, having worked as a mediator during and after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His appointment to the post of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina was welcomed by many citizens, who recognized him as a true friend of this country. (21-FEB-06)
 

The Central Election Committee of Republic of Belarus  registered 4 Presidential Candidates on January 17.  A. Milinkevich, A. Lukashenko, A. Kazulin, and S. Gaidukevich got the certificates of Presidential Candidates. The agitation stage started on the same day.  The incumbent President declared equal opportunities for all the participants of the election campaign.  (21-FEB-06)

On 31 January 2006, Bosnia and Herzegovina received the new, fifth High Representative – Christian Schwarz-Schilling (right). Schwarz-Schilling has been engaged in work with Bosnia and Herzegovina for a long time already, having worked as a mediator during and after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. His appointment to the post of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina was welcomed by many citizens, who recognized him as a true friend of this country. (21-FEB-05)
 

Is it alright to trample on other people´s beliefs? Should blasphemy be allowed, or should freedom of expression be limited in order to avoid hurting people´s religious feelings and beliefs? By printing the Muhammed-drawings in September 2005, Jyllands-Posten have brought these questions to the top of the international agenda. At the first seminar in 2006 on Freedom of Expression  – to be held in The Rafto House on Feb. 21st – we will deal with the dilemmas regarding where to draw the judicial limits of freedom of expression. (20-FEB-2006)
 

For the last two weeks, the Norwegian Burma Committee and the Nobel Peace Center have held role-plays for high school students at the Human rights House in Oslo. The aim of the play was to agree upon how to end the use of child soldiers in Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar). The students truly became their parts: junta generals refusing all allegations; Thailand’s ministers disagreeing among themselves – there were even spies infiltrating the other groups and taping secret negotiations. (20-FEB-06)

Is it alright to trample on other people´s beliefs? Should blasphemy be allowed, or should freedom of expression be limited in order to avoid hurting people´s religious feelings and beliefs? By printing the Muhammed-drawings in September 2005, Jyllands-Posten have brought these questions to the top of the international agenda. At the first seminar in 2006 on Freedom of Expression  – to be held in The Rafto House on Feb. 21st – we will deal with the dilemmas regarding where to draw the judicial limits of freedom of expression. (20-FEB-2006)
 

On the 15-th of February the Committee to Protect Journalists distributed annual report “Attacks on the press in 2005”. In the chapter about Republic of Azerbaijan it reads that the murder of a prominent editor, detentions of other journalists, police abuses, and bureaucratic obstruction curtailed independent reporting in the run-up to a November 6 parliamentary election that saw President Ilham Aliyev’s ruling Yeni Republic of Azerbaijan Party and its allies sweep to victory. (19-FEB-2006)

The Azadlig Election Bloc, which was created in March 2005 by the Musavat, Popular Front and Democratic parties to with the goal of forming a united list of candidates for participation in the parliamentary elections – split in the middle of February 2006. Musavat Party left the Electoral Bloc Azadlig, which was later on transformed to the Political Bloc, aiming at joint struggle against the “authoritarian regime.” (18-FEB-2006)

In January 2006 International Organization Human Rights Watch released its annual world report. In the section about Republic of Azerbaijan, it reads that Republic of Azerbaijan has a history of seriously flawed elections. In 2005, repression and harassment of opposition party members, an overwhelmingly pro-government bias in the electronic media, and government control of election commissions ensured that the parliamentary elections would not be free and fair. (15-FEB-2006)

-There is no doubt that with sufficient political will, both nationally and internationally, the conflict in Northern Republic of Uganda could have been brought to an end and the humanitiarian crisis resolved, said OCHA- director and deputy Secretary general of the UN Jan Egeland, right, at a seminar in Norway last week. (19-FEB-06)
 

According to the annual report of the Moscow Bureau for Human Rights, in 2005 total xenophobic rate in country was staying stable high and about 60% of population upholds anti-Semitic and xenophobic slogans to some extent. There are more than 100 newspapers publishing anti-Semitic and xenophobic slogans and hundreds of web-sites advocating national hatred. Obvious appeals to violence are heard and some political circles aspire to make them legitimate. (18-FEB-06)