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On the occasion of 10 December, the International Day of Human Rights, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina wishes to draw attention of all levels of government and of the public to the unacceptably poor status of the Roma minority in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (09-DEC-05)

On 28 November 2005, the trial of the so-called “Zvornik Group” commenced before the War Crimes Chamber in Belgrade. Branko Grujic, Branko Popovic, Dragan Slavkovic, Ivan Korac, Sinisa Filipovic, Dragutin Dragicevic, and Dusko Vuckovic, who died in prison last week, have been accused of murder of at least 22 and forceful deportation of 1822 Bosnian Muslim civilians from the Zvornik municipality. (02-DEC-2005)

Consciously and intentionally, directly or indirectly, the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child have been continuously violated in the Una-Sana Canton over the past ten years, said Sejfo Mustafic (right), chairman of the Velika Kladusa Municipal Council. (23-NOV-05)

Representatives of Helsinki Committees and other human rights organizations from throughout Europe, Central Asia and North America, meeting in Budapest for the General Assembly meeting of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) expressed their concern that human rights are in retreat in the OSCE region, with human rights defenders and civil society structures threatened especially in the name of preserving security. (21-NOV-05)

A court in Banja Luka has sentenced Dragan Radakovic, Drasko Krndija and Radoslav Knezevic, three former members of the Bosnian Serb police, to prison time ranging from 15 to 20 years for war crimes, i.e. murders of six Bosnian Muslim civilians during the war. This is the first verdict for war crimes at a court in Republika Srpska since the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended ten years ago. (18-NOV-05)

The International War Crimes Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia acquitted Wednesday in The Hague former commander of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 53-year-old Sefer Halilovic (right), of charges of responsibility for murders of Croat civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993. (17-NOV-05)

One of the most famous personalities of modern American history, a racial equality activist, Rosa Parks, has died at the age of 92. Almost fifty years ago, her act of civil disobedience had enthused the forces of perhaps the biggest social change of the 20th century. (27-OCT-2005)

After the possibility that Ivica Rajic, also know as Viktor Andric, (left) been transferred from the ICTY to Sarajevo, he proposed Plea Agreement between with the Prosecutor, and at the hearing on Wednesday 26 October 2005, he entered a guilty plea to the four counts listed in the amended indictment. In the Plea Agreement, Ivica Rajic and the Prosecution agreed to recommend a single combined sentence in the range of 12 to 15 years’ imprisonment. (26-OCT-05)

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina organized a series of three roundtables and the Conference on the common topic of „What does Bosnia and Herzegovina need to achieve in the field of human rights in order to satisfy the European Union criteria?“. The roundtables were held in Bihac on June 2, Livno on June 16 and Trebinje on June 30, and the Conference was held in Sarajevo on October 4 and 5. (07-OCT-05)