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On 16 January, the Polish government presented a report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women from the execution of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). A few days earlier (on 12 January) the members of the Committee met with the representatives of Polish women’s organizations and familiarized themselves with the shadow report that they prepared. (25- JAN-07)

On 12 January of this year, attorney Marek Antoni Nowicki, the president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, was appointed by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Kosovo Joachim Rucker, upon the proposal by the President of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, as a member of the Human Rights Advisory Panel. (22-JAN-07)

Mrs. Kesang Takla, the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama for Northern and Central Europe, paid a visit to Republic of Poland on 10 – 12 January 2007. Mrs. Takla arrived in the Republic of Poland at the invitation of the parliamentary Polish-Tibetan Team and the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights. (16-JAN-06)

‘On Saturday before dawn, we regressed to an era of barbarianism. From the outset, it was obvious the conscious decision to eschew an international court meant Saddam Hussein would be quickly hung. With premeditation, he was turned over to a tribunal consisting of Iraqi Kurds and Shiites, thus sealing his fate.’ writes Marek Antoni Nowicki, the President of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights and former UN international ombudsman for Kosovo. (03-JAN-07)

On 8-17 December 2006, Warsaw hosted, already for the sixth time, the International Film Festival WATCH DOCS. Human Rights in Film organized by the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art and the Social Institute of Film. This year a new formula was developed for the festival – film competitions. (18-DEC-06)

Today, 13th December, marks the 25th anniversary of the instatement of martial law. Meetings, conferences and exhibitions are taking place in different cities throughout Republic of Poland, reminding people of the events of December 1981. (13-DEC-06)

The opening of the exhibition of photography by Olivier Toscani, entitled “Thought is forbidden: the face of repression in Cuba”, will take place on 9 December 2006 at 7.30 p.m. at the club M25 located at 25 Miñska Street in Warsaw. Its organizers are the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, the organization Hands Off Cain and the club M25. (9-DEC-06)

Another lecture dedicated to the memory of Marek Nowicki took place on 1 December 2006 at Warsaw University. It was entitled “Reflections on the French Declaration of Rights from 1789 – today” delivered by Professor Jon Elster. (02-DEC-06)

On 16 – 17 November, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance organized an expert seminar devoted to the exchange of views on the topic of: combating racism (hate speech) while respecting freedom of expression. Halina Bortnowska participated in the seminar as the representative of the informal group “Viridarium”, operating alongside the HFHR. (24-NOV-06)