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The Human Rights Square next to the Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen has been approved as a United Nations Human Rights Plaza and was ceremoniously opened yesterday on June 19th. The date of the ceremony was not chosen accidentally: June 19th is the birthday of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. She received the Rafto Prize in 1990 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Suu Kyi has been kept in house arrest for nearly 11 years. (20-JUNE-2006)
 

From May 9th to May 11th the Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen, Norway and the Seoul based non governmental organization Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights together hosted «North Korea: New Approaches.», the7th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees. Close to 200 delegates from over 20 countries attended the event in Bergen. The aim of the conference was to discuss different approaches for real improvement for human rights in North Korea. Dialogue and different views, as opposed to joint resolutions, were emphasized in order to find strategies for the road ahead.  (01-JUNE-2006)
 

Dr. Soh Changrok is a professor of international relations at the Graduate School of International Studies at Korea University, and a trustee of the Citizens´ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights. In this article, which he wrote after having participated at the 7th Conference on North korean Human Rights and Refugees, he shares his thoughts about a possible new approach to human rigths challenges for the 21st century. (03-JUNE-2006)

On Monday night, May 29, three of Kadeer’s children were detained in Urumchi, the capital of the Xinjiang province in north western the People´s Republic of China, also known as East Turkestan. Speculations are that they were detained before the arrival of a delegation from the US Congress on Tuesday the 30th. The two sons Ablikim and Alim Abdiryim, and the daughter Rushangul have not been allowed to contact their families or their lawyers. (31-May-2006)

The EU Republic of Turkey Civic Commission (EUTCC), which is a Rafto Foundation initiated organisation, regrets the recent escalation of violence in the Kurdish regions of Republic of Turkey in the last 10 days. The EUTCC is gravely concerned about human rights violations which have already occurred, and believe many more people are at risk. Rafto Foundation Board Member, Kariane Westrheim, Chair of the EUTCC, was present in Diyarbakir during the unrest and witnessed the situation with her own eyes. (18-APR-2006)

NORTH KOREA – NEW APPROACHES, the 7th International Conference on North Korean Human Rights & Refugees, is this year being held in Bergen, Norway 9-11 May. Organisers are The Rafto Human Rights House, Bergen and The Citizens´ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, Seoul. We hope that the diverse participation from a wide range of fields will create a framework that will not only enhance dialogue between different views, but also links human rights issues to international security, humanitarian aid, and economic development. (30-MAR-2006)
 

BBC, CNN, Reuters and representatives from a whole range of South Korean Medias were present at the pre-premier of “Yoduk Story” on March 15th in Seoul. “It is probably the least cheerful musical since Les Miserables – a three-hour song and dance extravaganza set in one of North Korea´s notorious labour camps”, says BBC journalist, Charles Scanlon, in an aticle on March 24, 2006. Jan Ramstad and Therese Jebsen from the Rafto Human Rights House, was amazed and impressed by the performance set up by North Korean defector and director, Jung Sung-San. (28-MAR-2006)

Today, 16 March, marks the first anniversary of Rebiya Kadeer’s, right, release from Chinese prison. During Kadeer’s first year in freedom we have experienced increased international awareness on the plight of the Uyghurs. But the mission is far from accomplished: Uyghurs are still facing tremendous difficulties within the Xinjiang province, and innocent men are still caught in a limbo on Guantanamo. (16-MAR-06)
 

Is it alright to trample on other people´s beliefs? Should blasphemy be allowed, or should freedom of expression be limited in order to avoid hurting people´s religious feelings and beliefs? By printing the Muhammed-drawings in September 2005, Jyllands-Posten have brought these questions to the top of the international agenda. At the first seminar in 2006 on Freedom of Expression  – to be held in The Rafto House on Feb. 21st – we will deal with the dilemmas regarding where to draw the judicial limits of freedom of expression. (20-FEB-2006)