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The network of Human Rights Houses is concerned by recent actions on the part of state authorities across western and eastern Europe, the western Balkans, and the Caucasus in response to the escalating COVID-19 crisis. These actions, taken to combat the rising number of infections and deaths associated with COVID-19, raise questions about states’ commitments to civic freedoms and human rights.

Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) remains very concerned with a number of recent actions taken by the Azerbaijani authorities in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Oslo & Geneva, February 14, 2020: Following events of February 11, 2020 in Baku, Human Rights House Foundation condemns the on-going violence used by Azerbaijani authorities against peaceful protestors raising concerns about recent early Parliamentary elections as well as violence against journalists covering those protests. HRHF renews its call on the Azerbaijani authorities to end the use of violence and unlawful detention against peaceful protestors and journalists.

Discover how Human Rights House Foundation protected and advanced the rights of human rights defenders, strengthened independent civil society, and supported a strong, active network of Human Rights Houses.

The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, has announced much-needed reforms to the human rights body’s “reprisal mechanism” – launched in May 2017 to ensure “human rights defenders… never face retribution for their principled stance.”

In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC41) on 10 July 2019, HRHF focused on freedom expression in Crimea which has deteriorated since the beginning of the Russian occupation of the peninsula.

Ensure the freedoms of assembly and expression of the LGBT community in Georgia and those defending their rights, urge 37 member and partner NGOs of Human Rights Houses in a letter to the Georgian government.

Human Rights House Tbilisi, its member organisations, and a coalition of NGOs have issued a joint statement urging the  Georgian authorities to take all necessary measures to effectively investigate Afgan Mukhtarli’s alleged abduction and hold any offenders accountable.

Armenian authorities should condemn hate speech, smear campaigns, and threats against human rights defenders, express support for defenders, and create an enabling environment, writes Human Rights House Foundation in a letter raising threats against defenders in Armenia.