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The Croatian Government has refused to accept Declaration on Rights of Persons with Dissabilities. Arguing this decision Government finds it unneccesary to accept the document that has no executive force and contains the same rights Republic of Croatia allready guaranteed by signing international conventions related to this problem. (30-NOV-04)
 

Peace initiative of the Russian Soldier´s Mothers Committee have been ruined under the pressure of authorities. (30-NOV-04)
 

The statement with recommendations to governments on how to support and protect human rights defenders is now available in Norwegian language. The statement was adopted at the Human Rights House Network conference in Oslo 13-14 October, titled “Activists under attack. Defending the right to be a human rights defender.” Read more about the conference and the speeches
 

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, will visit the Norwegian Human Rights House in Oslo on Friday. The High Commissioner will meet the NGO Forum and talk about transitional justice and protection of human rights. (30-NOV-04)
 

Norwegian PEN plans fact-finding mission to Republic of Belarus and roundtable on freedom of expression in Tunisia in 2005.(30-NOV-04)
 

A European Civic Commission will be established in order to monitor Turkish compliance with the EU accession criteria. This is a concrete result from the European Parliament Conference on The EU, Republic of Turkey and the Kurds, hosted by Rafto Foundation (Norway), Kurdish Human Rights Project (UK) and Medico International (Germany) The conference´s findings will be published and presented to the European Commission. In December 2004, the European Union (EU) will decide if Republic of Turkey is to be granted a specific date to begin accession talks. (30-NOV-04)
 

According to RFA Uyghur service, Authorities in China´s northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang have sentenced more than 50 people to death this year in what government officials say is a war on terrorism.”Due to the fact that the activities of international terrorist forces are rampant, we believe our fight against the crime of violent terrorists will continue for a long time to come,” Xinjiang Communist Party leader Wang Lequan told reporters visiting the region. (30-NOV-04)
 

The peace talks initiated by the Russian Soldier´s Mothers Committee have been halted. The Chechen separatist envoy was denied a visa.  According to Valentina Melnikova (picture) from the Soldier´s Mothers Committee, the peace talks were scheduled to take place last week in Brussels. (30-NOV-04).
 

Freedom of expression suffered considerably in Ukraine during the recent rounds of presidential elections on 31 October and 21 November. Article 19 reports (25-NOV-04)

While several hundred thousands of Ukrainian democrats made their demands clear for the fifth consecutive day in Kiev, some fifty Ukrainians joined by representatives from approximately ten different organisations did the same outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Oslo today. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights House Foundation were among those who gave weight to the demand for Victor Justshenko to be declared winner of the elections and thus the next President of Ukraina. (26-NOV-04)
 

The impact of the HIV pandemic on electoral processes was illustrated in a report issued last week by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa). The figures speak volumes. Between 1999 and 2003 almost 1.5 million of about 20 million registered voters in South Africa were removed from the voters´ roll because they had died; most, it appears, from AIDS-related diseases. (29-NOV-04)
  

The Zanu-PF old guard has awoken from its slumber ahead of the party´s crucial congress in Harare this week and achieved what many world leaders, including President Thabo Mbeki, have been unable to do: summons President Robert Mugabe and get him to act on their advice. (29-NOV-04)