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Women human rights defenders challenge gender inequality and stereotypes, advance sexual and reproductive rights, and promote women’s empowerment and participation in society. They often challenge religious and cultural norms and patriarchal attitudes that subordinate, stigmatize or restrict women.

The Prague Civil Society Centre is established to support civil society and human rights defenders in Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. “Civil society in the region has tremendous potential yet it is under growing pressure“, says the Centre’s director Rostislav Valvoda.

Addressing the crisis in Ukraine, which is the result of the violent repression of peaceful protestors from end of November 2013 to February 2014 by the Ukrainian government, will need full accountability for human rights violations on all sides. The sense of impunity continues to grow in the country, as investigations into killings of EuroMaidan protestors are still awaited and those holding arms in Eastern Ukraine enjoy a sort of immunity sponsored by the Russian Federation for their crimes.

We firmly denounces systemic patterns of violations of the right to freedom of association, which serves the sole purpose of harassing, prosecuting and imprisoning critical voices, including human rights defenders in various countries of the OSCE-region, including the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.

We expect you Mr High Commissioner to always be principled and vocal, avoid double-standards, and hold powerful States as accountable for human rights violations as those you might identify as friendly ones. We see a worrisome trend in the Office of the High Commissioner to neglect human rights violations in Europe. We strongly welcome though the work done by your Office since April in Ukraine.

The NGO Soldiers’ Mothers of Saint Petersburg recently denounced the deaths of Russian soldiers in Ukraine and the silence of the authorities in this regard. The NGO specifically denounced that families and the soldiers themselves were not informed correctly. This public acknowledgement of Russia’s direct involvement in Ukraine was punished by the authorities in Moscow by labeling the NGO “foreign agent.”

Сеть домов прав человека и партнеры из стран-участниц проекта «Международное право для защиты общественных интересов. Дистанционное обучение адвокатов правам человека» объявляют конкурс на участие в международной конференции проекта, которая состоится в Вильнюсе (Литва) 2-3 июня 2014 года.

In March 2013, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the protection of human rights defenders. It establishes principles and standards for States to create an enabling environment for human rights defenders. One year after its adoption, the Human Rights House Network calls upon States to implement this resolution.

In many parts of the Balkans, Caucasus and Eastern Europe human rights defenders face threats and violence, slander and intimidations, and are the targets of new laws restricting their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly, and simply to work to defend human rights.