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Widespread religious freedom violations by the Burmese government continue, with Christians from the ethnic Karen, Karenni, Chin and Kachin nationalities and Muslim Rohingyas suffering particularly badly. It remains difficult to gather reliable information from inside Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar), but it is estimated that about 300 Buddhist monks and novices are in jail for protesting against the ruling military regime. (11-APR-05)
  

The Norwegian Burma Committee, working out of the Norwegian Human Rights House in Oslo, launched an email campaign this week to force Per-Kristian Foss, the Norwegian Minister of Finance, to address the controversial issue reported previously on this site, re. the state-owned Norwegian Petroleum Fund?s investment in the French Oil giant Total Oil, who in turn make big money while exploiting and violating the rights of Burmese civilians. (6-APR-05)

Later this month, as HRH’s Project Manager for Central and East Africa Niels Jacob Harbitz visits Republic of Kenya, a meeting between representatives of the Kenya Human Rights House Project and the Green Belt Movement, the organisation established by last year’s Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathai, has also been scheduled. Overlapping interests and possible cooperation will be discussed. (8-MAR-05)
 

Today, Sharon Critoph, campaigner on Guantanamo and International Law at Amnesty International’s (AI) headquarters in London, talked to the Norwegian Human Rights House in Oslo about AI?s work to secure fair trials or release of all the post 9/11 Guantanamo detainees. Critoph emphasised the detrimental effect on human rights that Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo have had. (28-FEB-05)
   

At a meeting in Stavanger, Norway this week, representatives from Norwegian, European and North-American cities of asylum for persecuted writers agreed to establish a new, international network. (25-FEB-05)
 

Norwegian PEN and several international freedom of expression- and human rights organizations protest the continuing harassment of writers and publishers in the Republic of Turkey. On March 2, a delegation will monitor two court cases in Istanbul and Ankara. (25-FEB-05)
 

There is still a long way to go for Armenian authorities to ensure compliance with relevant international standards, according to a new report from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. In addition to poor conditions of the majority of the facilities, there are also problems of lengthy pre-trial detentions and abusive interrogation techniques during police investigation. (24-FEB-05)
 

On 9 March, at 11 am, Catharina Vogt (right), a board member of Amnesty International, co-located with the Norwegian Human Rights House in Oslo, will premiere her film ‘Innocent’ at the house, and with key politicians present. The shooting for the film is as fresh as January 2005, and Margaret Laker, the mother of the child portrayed in the film, will attend the premiere. (23-FEB-05)
  

Yesterday, the Britain-based Burma Campaign UK launched a campaign to drive the world’s fourth largest oil company, the French giant Total, out of Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar). Total openly cooperates with the military regime in Burma (Republic of the Union of Myanmar), particularly on a gas project in Yadana in the south of the country. Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has condemned the French company. From the outset, the campaign is supported by 41 organisations, among them Norwegian Church Aid; The Future in our Hands; and the Norwegian Burma Committee, a member organisation of the Oslo Human Rights House.