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On the eve of the Eurovision 2012 song contest, which is currently held in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, a number of Azerbaijani NGOs and activists have initiated information campaigns on human rights violations in the country or called upon international journalists to not only cover the song contest but also make press reports about human rights situation in Azerbaijan.

The new Head of the Rafto Foundation’s Board of Directors is Gunnar Sørbø. He is a Senior Researcher at Christian Michelsen Research Institute (CMI) in Bergen.

The anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe receives very little attention in today’s Belarus. The Belarusian organization “For Children of Chernobyl” emphasises the importance of remembering about what happened on 26 April 1986.

ARTICLE 19 calls for lifting of the blanket ban on all protests on the Habib Bourguiba Avenue of the Tunisian capital and for investigation into the heavy-handed tactics used by Tunisian security forces to disperse thousands of protestors – including journalists, unionist and civil society representatives – that were commemorating Martyrs’ Day on the Avenue on 9 April 2012.

Burma’s by-elections on 1 April have been widely covered by international media. Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she hopes Sunday’s by-elections marked the start of a new era in Burma.

Invisible Children, a charity organization based in San Diego, launched an internet campaign to bring accused Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony to justice. Invisible Children posted a half-hour film about the rebel leader online, hoping to spark international action. The film about the abuse of children in Africa has been watched more than 50 million times on the internet within four days of its release, and almost six million people, including US celebrities George Clooney, Rihanna and others, have tweeted about the campaign using #StopKony.

The 2012 Rafto Prize laureate will be honoured at a ceremony and concert to be held on Sunday, 4 November 2012, at the National Venue of Theatre in Bergen, Norway.

The 2012 Rafto Prize laureate will be announced at a press conference to be held on Thursday, 27 September at 10:00, at the Rafto Human Rights House in Bergen.

Alexander Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus has often been called by international media “the last true remaining dictatorship in the heart of Europe”. Gennady Grushevoy, the 1999 Rafto Prize laureate, shares his thoughts on the current political situation in Belarus.