Kontakt
Adresse: Kirkegata 5, 0153 OSLO
Telefon: 22 47 92 02
Fax: (+47) 22 41 60 76
Epost: nhc@nhc.no
Gavekonto: 5081 05 58927
Successfully concluded:
As a Norwegian partner, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee is pleased with the implementation of the Oslo Freedom Forum 2012, which took place 7 - 9 May. The 2012 Forum has been the best so far, and the NHC is proud to be associated with both the conference and with its participants.
Oppgjør med fortiden fortsatt en politisk utfordring:
- Rettsaken er viktig fordi den gir landene i regionen en mulighet til å ta innover seg hvilke forbrytelser som faktisk ble begått. Det er nødvendig for å bidra til en mer normalisert og tolerant samfunnsutvikling og til bedre relasjoner mellom landene på Vest-Balkan. Dette viser at oppgjøret med krigsforbrytelser ikke er et kapittel som er lukket med utleveringen av de siste ettersøkte fra Serbia til Haag, sier Helsingforskomiteens Balkanrådgver Ole Benny Lilleås.
Seminar: Serbia at another crossroad:
- The most basic European value that Serbia needs is respect for the rule of law and legal procedure, said Sonja Biserko at the seminar “Serbia at another crossroad” hosted by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, just four days before elections in Serbia.
Armenia:
Parliamentary elections on Sunday 6 May was the country’s first elections since the disputed 2008 Presidential elections that led to strong protests and eight persons being killed by security forces. – There were a few improvements from previous elections, but abuse of administrative resources and pressure on voters remained a serious problem, says Lene Wetteland, Advisor who observed Sunday’s election. – Authorities had promised that elections would be conducted according to international standards. But if you are told that your job depends on supporting the President’s party, you stop believing in such promises, she continues.
Serbia:
- Den nye regjeringen vil ha mange store utfordringer. Serbia har forpliktet seg til omfattende reformer på viktige områder som diskrimineringsvern, frie medier og oppgjør med fortiden, men har så langt ikke demonstrert evne til å sørge for en reell implementering av disse, sier Ole B. Lilleås, seniorrådgiver i Den norske Helsingforskomité som observerte søndagens valg i Serbia.
Ukraine:
– The Tymoshenko and similar cases is part of a widespread and deep rooted problem in Ukraine, says Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General. Even though Ukrainian officials portray the cases as anti-corruption, they clearly form part of a pattern of selective justice and political influence over the judiciary. It is important that Norway and other European governments and institutions step up pressure to end these practices. Beginning in May 2010, a number of criminal cases were opened against former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. On 11 October 2011 a court found her guilty of abuse of power, and sentenced her to seven years in jail.
Serbia:
Sunday 6 May citizens of Serbia will vote in presidential, parliamentary, regional and local elections. Even though it is wider support for the need for European integration now than in 2008, it is obvious that the candidates struggle to prevent that this ambition alienates voters.
Russian Federation:
A Just Russia party candidate in the 4 March 2012 mayor elections in Astrakhan, Oleg Shein, ended his 40 days hunger strike on 24 April after receiving access to webcam videos from polling stations in Astrakhan. Shein and his supporters had filed a law suit claiming that massive fraud had taken place during the elections. – The Central Election Commission should give full access to videos in order to help investigation of all substantiated cases of fraud, says Gunnar M. Ekeløve-Slydal, Deputy Secretary General.
Elections in Armenia:
Presidential elections of 19 February 2008 and the subsequent unrest of 1 March, where 10 people lost their lives, and more than hundred were arrested or injured. In the campaign leading up to the elections, President Sargsyan has on several occasions stated the importance of free and fair elections. - It is of utmost importance that these promises are followed up by action, says Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. Norwegian Helsinki Committee's Lene Wetteland is in Armenia during the elections.
Årsmøteuttalelse:
Den norske Helsingforskomité avholdt sitt årsmøte for styre og rådsmedlemmer den 26. april. Årsmøtet ga i årets uttalelse bred støtte til det aktuelle forslaget om å innlemme menneskerettighetene i Grunnloven.
Kyrgyzstan:
Authorities should take steps to initiate an open and inclusive process of revising the Bakiyev-era Religion Law, says Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. – The 2009 Religion Law fails to comply with the Constitution and with international human rights standards. It severely restricts religious freedoms, including imposing registration requirements that in effect ban registration of new religious communities other than the Orthodox Church and the Spiritual Board of Moslems.
Invitation to the seminar:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has the pleasure of inviting you to our seminar
Parliamentary, presidential and local elections:
- Serbia at another crossroad
Time: Wednesday 2 May 13:30 – 16:00
Venue: Litteraturhuset, Wergelandsveien 29, Oslo,
Hviterussland:
Norsk PEN, Human Rights House Foundation og Den norske Helsingforskomité har i dag sendt brev til Utenriksdepartementet med forslag til en ny strategi for Hviterussland. Forslagene er utarbeidet i rammen av vår kampanje "Aksjon Hviterussland" som har som mål å øke norsk og internasjonalt engasjement for den menneskerettslige krisen i Hviterussland. Norge gjør mye riktig i forholdet til Hviterussland, men det har lenge vært begrenset diplomatisk kontakt mellom landene. Norge støtter EUs sanksjonsregime og gir økende økonomisk støtte til det hviterussiske sivile samfunn. Men vi etterlyser ytterligere tiltak og kreativitet for å legge press på det hviterussiske regimet.
Azerbaijan:
Together with several international human rights organisations, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee strongly condemns the brutal attack on the Azerbaijani journalist Idrak Abbasov and four other journalists on 18 April 2012. In a letter adressed to President Ilham Aliyev the NHC demands that the Azerbaijani authorities launch an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into these brutal attacks. Read the letter in full below.
Norsk utenrikspolitikk:
-Norge kan gjøre en forskjell i den postsovjetiske regionen, sier generalsekretær Bjørn Engesland.
Nylig deltok Engesland i et møte sammen med andre menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner og ga innspill til utenriksminister Jonas
Gahr Støre for strategier for Russland, Hviterussland og Kasakhstan.
Kazakhstan:
The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), a global network of more than 2500 organizations including the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, urges Kazakhstan to accede to the ICC Rome Statute. - Central Asia is significantly underrepresented at the Court; only Tajikistan is a state party, said William R. Pace, Convenor of the CICC in a letter addressed to H.E. President Nursultan Nazarbayev. - When Kazakhstan joins the international justice system established by the Rome Statute and represented by the ICC, it will give the region a greater voice in the global fight to end impunity, and it will be an important step forward nationally toward greater commitment to justice and accountability, he highlighted.
Belarus:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is among international NGOs who today started a joint campaign for the removal of Ice Hockey World Championship from Belarus.
European Court of Human Rights:
Norwegian Helsinki Committee has written a letter to the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning the reform of the European Court of Human Rights. The letter is part of a joint NGO action, led by Amnesty International and other leading European human rights organizations, to campaign for safeguarding the integrity and the authority of the Court in these negotiations and to ensure that it remains effectively accessible to individuals claiming to be victims of violations of their Convention rights.
Dokumentar om Srebrenica:
I forbindelse med at Sveriges television (SVT) i august 2011 sendte dokumentaren "Byen som kunne ofres", ble SVT 2. april felt i Granskningsnemden, Sveriges ekvivalent til PFU.
European Development Bank:
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development must maintain demands that Turkmenistan and Belarus meet set benchmarks before any investment in the restrictive countries. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee today participated in a meeting at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London, discussing the Bank’s calibrated approach towards Belarus and Turkmenistan. The two authoritarian countries are the only cases in which the EBRD has initiated such an approach that allows for closer monitoring of the progress or regress towards set benchmarks on political and economic reform, and more rapid response to the development.
Azerbaijan:
Today marks the launch of a new report by the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA), Running Scared: Azerbaijan’s Silenced Voices. The report highlights the climate of fear and pervasive self-censorship in Azerbaijan, with few brave journalists, bloggers and activists remaining. In the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku in May, the IPGA calls on the international community to engage the Azerbaijani authorities on these issues now. The NHC is a member of the IGPA network, and you can download the report below.
Azerbaijan:
Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA) condemns the blackmail and continued harassment of one of the few independent investigative journalists working in Azerbaijan, Khadija Ismayilova. The most recent episode in the harassment campaign involves a one minute film of an intimate nature being posted on the internet on Wednesday March 14). A week earlier Ismayilova said she had received a letter including intimate photographs and a threat, stating "Whore, behave. Or you will be defamed”. Ismayilova has refused to give in to the blackmail attempts.
Presidentvalg i Russland:
- Presidentvalget i Russland 4. mars var ikke fritt og rettferdig, sier generalsekretær Bjørn Engesland i Den norske Helsingforskomité. Den norske Helsingforskomité (DNH) har fulgt valgprosessen gjennom vårt samarbeid med GOLOS, den mest erfarne uavhengige valgobservatørgruppen i landet. To representanter fra DNH var dessuten til stede i Moskva valghelgen.
Conference in Oslo 22 March:
Norwegian PEN, Human Rights House Foundation and Norwegian Helsinki Committee invite you to the conference "Action on Belarus!" in Litteraturhuset in Oslo on 22 March. We are proud to present prominent speakers from Belarus, Norway and European institutions, including the Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland and State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Torgeir Larsen. The questions we aim to answer are: Is the pursued policy efficient? Is Norway’s policy towards Belarus clear enough? How can we offer more support to freedom-longing Belarusians? And is the Belarusian people ready for a change?
Azerbaijan:
Today marks the seventh anniversary of the murder of Monitor editor-in-chief Elmar Huseynov, who was fatally gunned down in his apartment building in a well-organised attack in 2005. Since Elmar Huseynov’s murder, there have been dozens of violent attacks against journalists in Azerbaijan, including the murder of prominent journalist and writer Rafig Tagi in November 2011. None of these attacks have been seriously investigated or prosecuted, resulting in a climate of impunity for those who wish to use violence to silence critical voices. Elmar Huseynov's widow has complained the apparent inactivity of the Azerbaijani Government to the European Court of Human Rights.
Russia:
Three days ahead of the 4 March 2012 Presidential elections in Russia there is little doubt about the outcome. Despite increasing public protests against prime minister Vladimir Putin, all indications suggest that he will declare victory, probably after the first ballot. This will happen in an environment where free and fair elections are not possible. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) will be present in Moscow during the elections.
New report:
In late January and beginning of February, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee conducted a fact-finding mission to Hungary. Due to recent concerns on threats to democratic rule in Hungary, expressed both by Hungarian and international observers, the NHC wanted to get a better understanding of current legal and political developments in the country. This report presents the findings from the mission, and contains the Norwegian Helsinki Committee's recommendations to the Government of Hungary, the European Union and to the Norwegian Government.
Kyrgyzstan:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is disappointed to learn that authorities in Kyrgyzstan have moved to block access to a highly
respected news agency covering the Central Asian region, Ferghana.ru.
The decision is not only in breach of the country’s international obligations with respect to media freedoms, but stands in
contrast to the positive level of openness which has characterized Kyrgyzstan in recent years.
Kazakhstan:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee was delighted to learn Friday that prominent Kazakhstani human rights defender Evgeniy Zhovtis was finally released from prison in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Having been amnestied after serving 2,5 years in prison following a highly politicized trial in 2009, Zhovtis can now rejoin his family, friends and colleagues in Almaty.
Seminar:
- Putin will not survive the next presidential term. He will off course win the upcoming elections, he is in reality the only candidate, but he will be replaced within two years. The Russian political elites will ensure this, together with the protesters in the streets. This was one of the conclusions of Nicolay Petrov, who participated at The Norwegian Helsinki Committee’s seminar Presidential Elections in Russia – a New Spring?, at the House of Literature in Oslo on 15 February.
Seminar:
Det olje- og gassrike Kasakhstan har lenge vore kjend som det best utvikla landet i Sentral-Asia, utan etnisk eller anna uro og med stabil økonomisk utvikling. President Nasarbajev har styrt landet sidan 1989, og med referanse til stabilitet og økonomisk framgang har både innbyggjarane og det internasjonale samfunnet stort sett latt Nasarbajev styre utan innblanding. Men så gjekk ei gruppe oljearbeidarar i det vestlege Kasakhstan i mai 2011 i streik for å få den løna og arbeidsforholda dei meinte dei hadde krav på etter lova. I sju månader var det ingen som brydde seg særskild om dei streikande, før dei skrekkelege nyhenda kom den 16.desember 2011: minst 17 menneske var drepne og fleire skadde i opptøyar mellom streikande og politistyrkar i den vesle byen Zhanaozen i ørkenen. Korleis kunne ein grunnleggjande arbeidskonflikt om lovregulert løn og arbeidsforhold gå så langt?
Russia:
The credibility of the upcoming Presidential Elections in Russia, already marred by the claims of widespread violations in Parliamentary polls in December last year, is waning after Central Elections Commission’s refusal to register the liberal opposition leader, Grigory Yavlinsky for the Presidential race. At the same time, renewed pressure against the respected election monitor organization and NHC partner Golos is disquieting, says Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General.
Kazakhstan:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is disappointed to learn of raids and arrests of opposition politicians and journalists in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 23 January 2012. The arrests are connected to the ongoing investigation of the events in Zhanozen on 16 December 2011.- Authorities seem intent on cracking down on remaining opposition rather than to carry out a transparent investigation to establish responsibility for the many deaths during these tragic events, says Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Bjørn Engesland.
Belarus:
On January 24, the cassation appeal against the verdict of the Pershamaiski District Court of Minsk, of Ales Bialiatski, Head of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna” in Belarus, Vice-president of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and one of the founders of the Belarusian Human Rights House in exile, left the sentence against Ales Bialiatski in force: 4.5 years imprisonment in a higher security colony and confiscation of properties. The latter disregards the fact that all the taxes and penalties imposed on Ales Bialiatski have been fully paid by the time of the appeal hearing. The same day, "Viasna" had to vacates their offices through almost twelve years.
Azerbaijan:
Member organisations of the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA) are deeply concerned by the continued politically motivated imprisonment of persons in Azerbaijan for exercising their right to freedom of expression. The IPGA calls on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to take immediate action to ensure the release of these persons and to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its obligations as a Member State.
Invitation to the seminar::
Associate Professor of Law Mr. Jeffrey Khan has recently submitted a report to President Medvedev’s Human Rights Council analyzing the second verdict against the imprisoned former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
New report:
The report The Impunity Syndrome in the Caucasus: The Situation of the Georgian-Russian conflict of August 2008, is a follow-up of the report Unable or Unwilling? Georgia’s faulty investigation of crimes committed during the Russo-Georgian war of August 2008, which the NHC published earlier this year. The new report investigates the current situation and the latest developments in the conflict, and it concludes that since Russian and Georgian investigations in relation to the August 2008 war have proven ineffective, the Prosecutor of the ICC should at the very least require proof of progress in domestic investigations within a defined timespan. Download the report below.
Kazakhstan:
At least 14 people have been killed and 86 people wounded in clashes between police and demonstrators in the Mangistau region in Western Kazakhstan. The unrest follows seven months of conflicts between striking oil workers and authorities, and reportedly started in Zhanozen on 16 December, when people attacked a stage set up for the Independence Day event. – It is of paramount importance that investigations into the clashes and the resulting deaths are conducted in an independent and transparent way, said Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General. – Efforts to find peaceful solutions to this conflict should be initiated, and these efforts should be guided by fundamental human rights principles such as freedom of association and speech.
Tsjekkia:
Demokrati- og menneskerettighetsforkjemperen Vaclav Havel døde søndag. – Med Vaclav Havels bortgang har Europa mistet en av sine virkelig store demokratiske ledestjerner, en forkjemper for humanisme, menneskerettigheter og demokrati i Europa, sier Bjørn Engesland, generalsekretær i Den norske Helsingforskomité.
Belarus:
On 19 December last year we witnessed thousands of peaceful citizens gathering in central Minsk, protesting the oppression and the stolen presidential elections. That night all hope of progress was shattered as we saw police forces batter the protesters and arresting them by the hundreds. Presidential candidates, opposition leaders, civil society leaders and unorganized citizens were all herded into vans and brought to prison. Thousands fled, running away from soldiers and police beating indiscriminately. Belarusian citizens keep running still a year later.
Kazakhstan:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) is concerned with recently adopted legislation on religious organizations; coming into force on 25 October 2011. – The legislation is very restrictive, violating international human rights on numerous points. Prohibiting unregistered religious activities and establishing censorship of religious literature is clearly in breach of human rights provisions on freedom of religion or belief. In addition, so far authorities have failed to present instructions on how to abide by the law, says Gunnar M. Ekeløve-Slydal, Deputy Secretary General in the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia:
The Norwegian Helsinki Committee held a regional meeting in Sarajevo about the program Build Bridges not Walls that has been
initiated at the universities in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbia.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss the role of the universities in peacebuilding with all interested parties in the program,
including university professors, student union representatives and NGOs.
Dumavalg:
- Russiske myndigheter må akseptere fredelige demonstrasjoner mot måten Duma-valget ble gjennomført på, sier Bjørn Engesland, generalsekretær i Den norske Helsingforskomité. - Norge og EU-land må ta avstand fra arrestasjonene og oppfordre russiske myndigheter til å etterforske brudd på valglovgivningen og respektere ytrings- og forsamlingsfriheten, fortsetter Engesland.
State Duma elections:
The tendency in the result of the voting yesterday nevertheless shows that the Russian population is getting wary of the tightfisted rule of the Medvedev/Putin tandem, says Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee Bjørn Engesland. -Independent national observers all over the country have registered countless violations in the election legislation, including pressure against voters to vote for the ruling party United Russia.
Russia:
Russian authorities undermining trust in elections by impeding monitoring. In the run-up to Russian Duma elections taking place on Sunday 4 December, the country’s most experienced election monitoring group is being under scrutiny by prosecutors and pro-government media. –The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is concerned that these are deliberate attempts at hindering Golos important work, says Bjørn Engesland, Secretary-General. “By limiting monitoring of the elections, authorities are also undermining trust in elections being conducted in compliance with international standards of freeness and fairness.”
Statement:
The elections process ahead of the 4 December Duma elections in the Russian Federation has not been fair”, said Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee. “We have serious concerns on obstacles related to nomination of delegates and registration of parties, as well as lack of equal opportunities to campaign.”
Seminar:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee have the great pleasure of inviting you to a seminar on Albania - Domestic and International Challenges.
Azerbaijan:
Prominent Azerbaijani journalist and writer, Rafiq Tagi, died in Baku on 23 November from the injuries he sustained during a brutal knife attack four days earlier. Rafiq’s death on 23 November – the world’s first International Day to End Impunity– is a chilling reminder of the dangers faced by journalists in Azerbaijan. As the Azerbaijan freedom of expression community mourns the loss of Rafiq, the International Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA) calls for an end to the cycle of impunity in the country and for an independent, impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.
Hviterussland:
Ales Bialiatski, leder av den kjente menneskerettighetsorganisasjonen Viasna i Hviterussland ble kl 09:45 norsk tid dømt til fire og et halvt års fengsel for skatteunndragelse samt til inndragning av eiendom. Denne dommen er en skam for Europa, og vi må stå samlet i vår fordømmelse av regimet i Hviterussland, sier Helsingforskomiteens generalsekretær Bjørn Engesland. - Europeiske ledere, inkludert den norske regjeringen, må kreve umiddelbar løslatelse av Bialiatski.
Konferanse:
- Den Europeiske virkeligheten er en flerkulturell virkelighet. Det må alle i Europa forstå og akseptere. Europa er avhengige av 40-50 millioner flere innvandrere for å opprettholde vår levestandard. Denne realiteten står i skarp kontrast til en virkelighetsoppfatning som er i ferd med å spre seg særlig blant høyreradikale i Europa, nemlig den at vi står overfor en trussel fra masseinnvandring. Denne myten må avlives og arbeidet med å få alle til å forstå at vi lever i en flerkulturell virkelighet i Europa må forsterkes, sa Generalsekretær i Europarådet Thorbjørn Jagland på konferansen Å leve sammen i ulikhet som Den norske Helsingforskomité arrangerte sammen med NOAS og Amnesty på Litteraturhuset mandag. På konferansen var norske og internasjonale eksperter invitert for å diskutere hvordan vi skal leve sammen i det flerkulturelle samfunn i det 21. århundre.
