Latest
New Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
On 5th October 2005, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe elected new Commissioner for Human Rights – Mr Thomas Hammarberg who won the most votes in the second round, defeating two other candidates: Mr Marek Antoni Nowicki – President of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, and Marc Verwilghen – Belgian minister of economy and power industry. (14-OCT-05)
New report claims Burma is a slow genocide
After several years’ research the report ‘Dying Alive: A Legal Assessment of Human Rights in Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar),’ was recently released by the British human rights campaigner Guy Horton. Now, Horton travels the world to convince authorities that what he describes as the slow genocide of Burma is a long overdue case for the UN Security Council. Yesterday, Horton also visited the Human Rights House (right) in Oslo. (14-OCT-05)
In SW Uganda, there is reason to fear that the elections will be violent
From the South West regions of Republic of Uganda, Orishabag Bagamuhunda Justus (right), the Executive Director of the human rights NGO Kizeri Human Rights Activists (KHRA) expresses a deep fear that next year´s elections will be particularly violent in the districts of Kabale, Rukungiri and Kanungu, all in the South West, bordering Rwanda and DR Congo. Below, Justus explains why. (13-OCT-05)
Third Dublin Platform for Human Rights Defenders
Frontline, the international human rights defenders organisation with whom HRH has cooperated on several occasions, is hosting its annual Dublin platform, from today, 13 October until Saturday. The third Dublin platform will bring together more than one hundred human rights defenders from over seventy countries. Borghild Tonnessen-Krokan of HRH?s secretariat participates. (13-OCT-05)
Stop the death penalty, torture and repressions in Uzbekistan!
On 10 October 2005 activists from Amnesty International led a protest in Moscow against the death penalty, torture and repressions in the Republic of Uzbekistan. They used symbolic human figures of “silent witnesses” on which they put the names of real people who are subject to torture and condemned to death. (12-OCT-2005)
Azeri NGOs appeal to the international community
On behalf of the emerging Human Rights House in Baku, the nine Azeri NGOs have sent a protest letter where they appeal to the international community to raise their voices in defense of human rights respect and freedom of assembly, press and speech in the Republic of Azerbaijan. (11-OCT-05)
Georgian authorities insult respected human rights defender
The Human Rights House Foundation asks Georgian authorities in a protest letter to guarantee the physical and psychological interity of Mr. Ucha Nanuashvili, the Executive Director of the independent Georgian organisation Human Rights Information and Documentation Center (HRIDC). (12-OCT-05)
HRH condemns police violence in Baku
In a protest letter to the Azerbaijani president Mr. Ilham Aliyev the Human Rights House Foundation (HRH) condemns the use of violence against opposition and independent journalists in the centre of Baku on the 9th of October. The brutal methods of the police are unacceptable and violates international standards, says HRH. Read the letter below. (11-OCT-05).
Sudanese newspapers still under threat despite recent promises
Not one month after Sudan’s president promised his country a free press, two Sudanese Arabic-language dailies had their printing presses shut down without explanation. The move was neither out of character nor unexpected, but it did abruptly end the honeymoon that permeated Sudan?s political arenas throughout much of July. Index on Censorship reports. (11-OCT-05)
Tibetans jailed in Nepal, deportation likely
From the Norwegian Tibet Committee, a member of the Norwegian Human Rights House, www.humanrightshouse,org has received the following story, another example of violations of the human rights of Tibetan refugees by Nepalese authorities. As previously reported on this site, the situation for Tibetan refugees in Nepal is getting increasingly difficult. (11-OCT-05)
Several human rights NGOs protest the attempts to silence RCFS
Last week, several human rights NGOs and well-known individual human rights defenders demonstrated against the recent attempts to silence the Nizhny-Novgorod-based NGO Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS). www.humanrightshouse.org has received RCFS’s own newsletter report and numerous pictures of the demonstration. Read the report and see the pictures below. (10-OCT-05)
Several human rights NGOs protest the attempts to silence RCFS
Last week, several human rights NGOs and well-known individual human rights defenders demonstrated against the recent attempts to silence the Nizhny-Novgorod-based NGO Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS). www.humanrightshouse.org has received RCFS?s own newsletter report and numerous pictures of the demonstration. read the report and see the pictures below. (10-OCT-05)