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International prosecutions are needed to deter ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday in a report documenting crimes committed in the region. Today, the UN international commission of inquiry on Darfur is expected to report its findings to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. (25-JAN-05)
 

English PEN has launched a campaign to stop the British Government introducing legislation that could make it illegal to express provocative views on people’s religion. (24-JAN-05)

The record poor turnout characterising the recent Zanu PF primary elections countrywide could be a barometer of what the ruling party can expect in the March parliamentary elections. The elections, which were riddled with allegations of vote buying, intimidation and inter-party violence, witnessed what could be the lowest turnout in an election of such magnitude since independence. (24-JAN-05)
 

The African National Congress’s surprise censure of Zanu-PF last week is seen as a spin-off from last year’s fence-mending between the ANC and Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party. During a visit to South Africa towards the end of last year, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai endorsed President Thabo Mbeki as an honest broker between Zimbabwe’s two antagonists. (24-JAN-05) 
 

The Human Rights situation in Nigeria remains serious. The Human Rights Violations Investigations Commission spent a long time touring different parts of the country to heal the wounds of military despotism. Although the Federal Government was stopped from implementing the panels report, the document has continued to quietly circulate and raise further debates on what it is worth. (24-JAN-05)
  

The Thorolf Rafto Foundation for Human Rights, the Uyghur American Association and the National Endowment for Democracy, in conjunction with the Congressional Human Rights Caucus organize an award ceremony and reception in honor of 2004 Rafto Memorial Prize laureate Ms. Rebiya Kadeer on January 26, 2005 at Capitol Hill, Washington. (22-JAN-05)

In a press release, published on 14 Jan, The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Uyghur American Association/Uyghur Human Rights Project (UAA/UHRP) strongly condemn China´s recent arrest of a Uyghur man for speaking to an American reporter and demand the Chinese authorities to release him immediately. (22-JAN-05)

In the Republic of Belarus many methods are used to persecute public and political activists. One of such methods is dismissal from work. For the first month of the new year two such cases have been registered. (22-JAN-05)

Though the parliamentary election and the referendum are already over, the struggle of officials against “undesirable” information doesn’t stop. Less than a month has passed since the New Year, but even for this short period many facts of lawless limitation of the right to receive and distribute information were registered.

Although the parliamentary election and the referendum are already over, the struggle of officials against “undesirable” information doesn’t stop. In January, a great number of lawless limitations of the right to receive and distribute information were registered. (22-JAN-05)
 

There are more and more signals concerning the violation of employees’ rights by stores and supermarkets in the Republic of Poland. The employees demand compensation from companies mainly for: overtime, unused holiday and dismissals contrary to the regulations. The first of such lawsuits was brought by Mrs. Bozena Lopacka against the company Biedronka, which belongs to the Portuguese chain Jeronimo Martins Distribution (JMD). (21-JAN-05)

Professor Theo van Boven has been awarded the Lisl and Leo Eitinger Prize; the University of Oslo´ Human Rights Prize, for his long, beneficial efforts to eradicate  torture, disappearances and other serious violations of human rights. Van Boven has worked for the UN, for the Christian World Council and for numerous non-governmental organisations. (21-JAN-05)