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“The disputed presidential elections of October 2003 and rigged municipal elections of 2005 in the Republic of Azerbaijan proved that the local NGOs should work dynamically and actively with the general public, particularly with those living in remote areas. For the reason that these people are lack of the awareness on basic electoral rights and other fundamental civil rights. At present, we should focus on purging the cynicism in society against free and fair elections.”, says Fuad Hasanov, the director of the “Against Violence” Human Rights Centre (AVHRC). (10-FEB-2005)

Representatives of the Ukrainian newborn democracy expressed optimism at a seminar hosted by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs this morning. (10-FEB-05)
 

“Many people addressing to our Committee are mostly those who suffered and were terribly tortured by police. Nowadays, our citizens are so awfully tortured in police stations and military units. There is no strange that it is impossible to surprise the people of Republic of Azerbaijan if someone beaten and tortured in police station will be killed there. The tortures are so much terrible that everybody will confess in any crime that he had never committed. All society of our country is aware of the fact that if somebody had been in police station could die as a consequence of tortures; nobody will be punished for this”, says Elchin Behbudov, chairman of Republic of Azerbaijan Committee Against Tortures (ACAT). (9-FEB-2005)

“I think all the items inserted into the OSCE report are true to the facts.” This is how human rights activist Murad Sadaddinov commented on the provisions of the OSCE report on people convicted for involvement into disturbances, which happened just aftermath the disputed presidential elections of October 2003. Leyla Yunus, Director of Institute of Peace and Democracy, said that OSCE recommendations to the Azerbaijani authorities to pay compensations to the suffered people must be immediately carried into life. (9-FEB-2005)

On January 12, members of Bergen City Council, their advisers and administrative staff visited the Rafto Human Rights House for a specially designed seminar on human rights. A similar seminar was held for the members of the City Government a week later. “It is very encouraging that politicians in Bergen are concerned about human rights issues and the relevance of human rights for norwegain politicians,” says executive director Therese Jebsen. (09-FEB-2005)

“We were able to obtain a copy of the original hand written letter that was sent by fax by a high ranking North Korean government official when he was visiting the People´s Republic of China to South Korea´s largest newspaper, Chosun Ilbo”, says Suzanne Scholte from Defense Forum Foundation in a newsletter published today. The letter, that was published in the Chosun Ilbo on December 29, 2004, is translated by DFF´s special assistant, Mary Gohng.  It is consistent with everything we have heard from defectors and recent refugees about the situation inside North Korea. (09-FEB-2005)

HURINET – Human Rights Network Republic of Kenya – has issued a press release condemning the Kibaki administration for its handling of the ever clearer indications in recent weeks that the political will to combat corruption comes way short of achieving anything of lasting impact and importance. To regain whatever might be left of credibility, Kibaki must sack everyone suspected to be involved in any of the scandals currently under investigation, recommends HURINET. (9-FEB-05)
  

Kenyan civil society has reacted with anger to the news that John Githongo, the director of President Kibaki’s alleged campaign to combat corruption, has resigned. Even though Githongo has yet to state a reason for his stepping down, it is widely assumed that he does so out of dismay with the lack of political will to back his attempt to fight corruption. A broad coalition of civil society organisations has issued a condemning statement of the Kenyan government. (9-FEB-05)
 

President Mwai Kibaki’s advisor on corruption, Mr John Githongo, resigned yesterday, dealing a devastating blow to the Government’s anti-corruption programme. Githongo, the Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics, resigned while on official duty in the UK, where he is expected to stay for a while. (8-FEB-05)
 

On the 24th of January, Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, and Salah Mohammed Abu Alrahman, Director and member, respectively, of the Republic of the Sudan Social Development Organisation (SUDO) were allegedly arrested by members of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Agency at Dr. Mudawi’s family home in Kondua, North Kordofan. (7-FEB-05)
 

UN envoy Jan Pronk has warned that the recent Sudanese peace agreement could fail if the bloodshed in the western region of Darfur proves unstopable. The Khartoum government and the Republic of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M) signed the peace deal in the Republic of Kenya 9 January, capping some three years of negotiations to the long-running conflict in the south of the country. (6-FEB-05)
 

The Congress of South African Trade Unions’s (Cosatu) expulsion from Zimbabwe this week has triggered a wave of protest among South African civil society organisations, church groups and youth organisations riled by the African National Congress’s policy of “quiet diplomacy”. This week 12 civil society organisations met in Johannesburg to formulate plans to mobilise mass-based protests in South Africa against the Mugabe regime. (5-FEB-05)