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First time ever: International election observation in Norway
For the parliamentary elections in Norway on Monday, 12 September, election observers from Central Asia, Caucasus and Moldova will be present to make sure all procedures meet international standards, so many times checked by Norwegian observers elsewhere. -We’re turning classical election observation on its head, says Berit Lindeman (right), of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. (5-SEP-05)
Total Oil takes an interest in culture. Not in Burma, though
The Norwegian Burma Committee, among the NGOs in the Human Rights House in Oslo, is critical of the City Council of Stavanger, on the west coast of Norway, who welcomes Total, the French oil giant remaining the biggest Western investor in Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar), as sponsor of its huge 2008 Cultural City project. Leif Johan Sevland, Major of Stavanger, waves off all protests. (3-SEP-05)
PEN goes to Tunisia for further monitoring of the human rights situation
Together with Norwegian PEN?s Secretary General Carl Morten Iversen, Board member, author and journalism researcher Elisabeth Eide will next week participate in the IFEX (International Freedom of Exchange) / TMG (Tunisian Monitoring Group) lead third observation envoy to Tunisia. (1-SEP-05)
-Norway must do a lot more to free Western Sahara
The West Saharan liberation movement Polisario´s chief negotiator Emhamed Khadad (right) visited the Norwegian Human Rights House yesterday. -Norway must do a lot more to push Moroccan authorities to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, Khadad stated. With its occupation of Western Sahara, declared illegal by the UN, Morocco remains Africa´s last colonial power. (31-AUG-05)
PLEASE SIGN – Panchen Lama letter to the UN Committee Rights of the Child
From the Norwegian Tibet Committee, one of the in-house member organisations of the Norwegian Human Rights House, www.humanrightshouse.org has received the following appeal, addressing the issue of violations of children’s rights, including Panchen Lama (right) in the People´s Republic of China. Please read and sign it, as soon as possible. (31-AUG-05)
-Kurdish ceasefire immensely positive, says RKR spokeswoman
-In the last six month, the violence in Turkish Kurdistan has seriously escalated. In view of this, RKR (Rådet for Kurdernes Rettigheter / The Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurds) considers it immensely positive that both parties to the conflict now seem to nurture a wish for peace, says RKR spokeswoman Liv Kjølseth (right) (30-AUG-05)
Aggressive attacks on press freedom in Nepal
The government of Nepal is sanctioning the use of threats, violence, detention and censorship against the media community. In a letter sent today, the Norwegian Journalists Association and the Norwegian PEN asked King Gyanendra to reinstate press freedom in Nepal. (29-AUG-05)
HRH receives ED of Northern Ugandan child care organisation
Last week, HRH met Mrs Winnie Okidi, Executive Director of the Gulu based organisation War Affected Children Rehabilitation Organisation (WACRO). Okidi was in Norway on a combined information and fundraising visit and had met with a number of other Norwegian NGOs working in Norway as well, and also with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (26-AUG-05)
Human rights training of our prison staff is needed, says Kurdish Deputy PM
-Our prison staff could do well with some basic human rights training, said Imad Ahmad (right), Deputy Prime Minister of the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan) Administration of one of the two self-determined Kurdish regions within Iraq. Mr. Ahmad visited the Norwegian Council for the Rights of the Kurdish People (RKR), one of the organisations in the Norwegian Human Rights House in Oslo last week. (23-AUG-05)