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– Human rights defenders have a fundamental role to play in any political system. Not even one government can claim that there is no need for watchdogs that follow their actions and report about human rights violations, said HRH´s Executive Director Maria Dahle at the opening of the anniversary conference 13 October in Oslo. (19-OCT-04)
  
 

– Under the presidency of Alaksandr Lukashenka, Belarusian government limited political and cultural liberties and established close contacts with the world’s most repressive regimes in order to create a kind of world-wide antidemocratic international, said Vice President of the Belarusian Pen Center, Andrej Dynko, at the Anniversary conference of the Human Rights House Network that opened in Oslo today. (13-OCT-04)
 
 

– The environment in which human rights defenders operate is becoming more and more hostile, limiting the space for negotiation. Those who stand up for human rights often pay high price for their courage, said Musa Gassama, Deputy Director and Manager of the Human Rights Defenders Office in Geneva, at the HRH Anniversary conference opening today in Oslo. (13-OCT-04)
 

– Human rights defenders are central in the dialogue between civilizations, said Shirin Ebadi at the opening of the HRH conference 13 October in Oslo. The Iranian Nobel Laureate expressed the need for a Human Rights House in Iran where defenders can come together. (13-OCT-04)
 

The Human Rights House Foundation (HRH) congratulates Wangari Maathai as winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2004. -The award is a tremendous inspiration for the huge, but largely over-looked efforts of non-governmental organizations world-wide, not only for the environment and sustainable development, but also for peace and human rights, says Niels Jacob Harbitz, HRH’s Project Manager for East Africa. (08-OCT-04)

Nineteen organizations from the “Norwegian NGO Forum” have made recommendations on human rights issues which the Norwegian Government should focus on in this year´s meeting in the UN Human Rights Commission. The NGO forum has focused on five countries, – Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Burundi, Israel and the Ocupied territories, Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Russian Federation, and on five issues, – anti-terror measures, IDP´s, torture, freedom of religion, and neutraliy of humanitarian aid. (29-SEP-04)
 

Shirin Ebadi will attend a conference in Oslo 13 October hosted by the Human Rights House Foundation. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate will talk about the importance of networks in strengthening the security of human rights defenders. (30-AUG-04)
 

The Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik attended the official opening of the new Norwegian Human Rights House in Oslo yesterday. In his speech he stressed that co-locating human rights organisations helps strengthen the defense of human dignity. (27-AUG-04)

The three major Greek newspapers; Athens News, Khatimerini and Eleftherotypia, have all refused to publish a commercial advertisement submitted by the International Tibet Support Network. (26-AUG-04)