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While several hundred thousands of Ukrainian democrats made their demands clear for the fifth consecutive day in Kiev, some fifty Ukrainians joined by representatives from approximately ten different organisations did the same outside the Ukrainian Embassy in Oslo today. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Human Rights House Foundation were among those who gave weight to the demand for Victor Justshenko to be declared winner of the elections and thus the next President of Ukraina. (26-NOV-04)
 

Possible outcomes and long-term consequences of the Presidential Election in Ukraine will be debated 2 December in Oslo at a seminar hosted by The Centre for Russian Studies, NUPI and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. (26-NOV-04)
 

Burma´s military junta has freed the student leader Min Ko Naing, the country´s best known political prisoner after Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. Min Ko Naing was surprisingly released 19 November as part of an announced release of almost 4,000 prisoners. (24-NOV-04)

An open dialogue with Republic of Belarus is a threat to President Lukashenko´s dictatorship. Sanctions and isolation will strengthen the status quo, said representatives of the Belarusian opposition when they visited the Human Rights House in Oslo 18 November in a conference organised by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and NUPI, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs  (22-NOV-04)

The recent elections in the Republic of Belarus bring memories of the Stalin era back to mind, said Berit Lindeman of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee during a post-election seminar hosted by her own organisation on human rights and democracy in the Republic of Belarus last week. Her conclusion is that the recent events that came and went under the name of ´elections´ do not deserve to be called so. (22-NOV-04)
 

– There´s no hope for an open dialogue with President Robert Mugabe, said Morgan Tsvangirai, Leader of ´Movement for Democratic Change´ (MDC), yesterday. Mr Tsvangirai leads the most important opposition party in Zimbabwe and visited the Human Rights house in Oslo yesterday as part of a tour of Northern Europe to inform both state and civil society authorities about the situation in a country that used to be the beacon of hope for Africa.
 

Today the Norwegian PEN awarded the Ossietzky prize for outstanding achievements in the field of freedom of expression to writer and human rights activist Aage Storm Borchgrevink. The Day of the Imprisoned Writer was also marked at the prize ceremony. (15-NOV-04)
 

The Balkan Regional Conference on Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding was held from 4th to 6th November in Igalo, Montenegro. It was organised by the Nansen Dialogue Network in the Balkans in cooperation with the Bulgarian School of Politics and Albanian Peace and Education Project. (08-NOV-04)
 

– To strengthen the EU guidelines on human rights defenders, the Council Secretariat should identify a coordinator responsible for a permanent follow up between the COHOM sessions, said Alexa LeBlanc from FIDH, who spoke at the HRH Anniversary Conference in Oslo 14 October. She also said temporary visas should be granted to human rights defenders at grave risks. (25-OCT-04)