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In India, Dalits are subject to flagrant violations of human rights and dignity. Last week at “Wednesday Dialogue” in the Rafto Human Rights House, the situation of Dalit was in centre of discussion. Dag Erik Berg from the University of Bergen was invited to talk about the human rights situation of Dalits in India. (15-FEB-2004)

 The War and Children Identity Project, a member of the Bergen Human Rights House, is
 currently  collecting new and updated information about the situation of war children all over
 the world. More accurate information will be added to previously published reports, and a
 database for  comparative studies of the situation worldwide will be established. (09-FEB-04)
 

 Norwegian Church Aid, whose Bergen office has just moved into Raftohuset, will carry out their
 annual information and fundraising campaign on March 23rd. This year, the focus will be on
 the fundamental right to water. Read what Jannike Hachvaag Grieg, the local project co-
 ordinator, has to tell about it. (28-JAN-04)

 Mehdi Zana, for 40 years among the most prominent writers, politicians and spokespersons
 for the Kurds, recently visited the Human Rights House in Bergen. Zana, the husband of the
 Kurdish MP and Rafto Prize Laureate of 1994 Leyla Zana, is widely respected for his
 advocacy for a non-violent path to Kurdish independence and respect for his people´s cultural
 rights. (13-JAN-04)

 From January 1st 2004, Norway has ratified a new law concerning the treatment of drug
 abusers. The new law entitles drug abusers to ordinary patients´ rights, equal to those of any
 other patients. Egil Rafto House Foundation will focus upon the treatment of drug abusers
 from a human rights perspective. (28-Dec-03)

Last autumn, the Department of comparative colitics at the University of Bergen and the Rafto House Foundation co-taught their course in human rights observation. Tanja Clifford, regional coordinator and human rights education officer for Amnesty International Norway sat through all three parts of the course; human rights in a historical perspective, human rights and good governance, and human rights and realpolitik. (28-DEC-03)
 

WCIP, the War and Children Identity Project, based at the Egil Rafto Human Rights House, works to secure war children´s right to nationality and identity. These are children whose parents belong on opposite sides or who face stigmatisation for reasons related to the situation under which they were conceived. WCIP will give a presentation at the first ever conference on such children, to take place in Montreal, Canada mid-March. (28-DEC-03)
  

While in Oslo this week to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi will launch her book ´Democracy, Human Rights and Islam in Modern Islamic Republic of Iran. Psychological, Social and Cultural Perspectives´. The book, a critical analysis of contemporary Islamic Republic of Iran focussing on family issues, education and the economy, has been written and edited in co-operation with the Rafto Foundation, one of the organisations at the Human Rights House in Bergen. (8-DEC-03)
     

The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for 2003 is awarded to the Eritrean human rights activist Paulos Tesfagiorgis. For more than 20 years, Paulos has worked for the empowerment of the people of State of Eritrea, the creation of opportunities for genuine democratic participation, and the widening of space for human rights. (26-SEPT-03)