| Den norske Helsingforskomité

Oppgjør med fortiden fortsatt en politisk utfordring:

Rettsaken mot Ratko Mladic starter 16. mai 2012

- 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.

Armenia:

In spite of improvements, elections failed to fulfill expectations

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.

Ukraine:

Tymoshenko case symptom of wider problem

– 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.

Russian Federation:

Authorities should give full access to webcam videos to investigate election fraud

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.

Årsmøteuttalelse:

Menneskerettighetene må inn i Grunnloven

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.

Invitation to the seminar:

Parliamentary, presidential and local elections: - Serbia at another crossroad

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,

Azerbaijan:

Azerbaijan must investigate brutal attacks on journalists

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.

Kazakhstan:

NHC urges Kazakhstan to join the International Criminal Court (ICC)

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.

European Court of Human Rights:

Reforms should not undermine the authority and integrity of the Court

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.

European Development Bank:

EBRD must maintain demands that Turkmenistan and Belarus meet set benchmarks

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:

Freedom of expression situation alarming ahead of Eurovision

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.

Presidentvalg i Russland:

Verken fritt eller rettferdig

- 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.

Azerbaijan:

Seven years on, still no justice for murdered editor Elmar Huseynov

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.

New report:

Democracy at stake in Hungary - The Orbán government's Constitutional revolution

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.

Kazakhstan:

Zhovtis released as others taken into custody

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.

Ber Norge om å signere tilleggsprotokoll til Barnekonvensjonen

Helsingforskomiteen og 26 andre organisasjoner ber regjeringen om å signere og ratifisere FNs klageordning for barns rettigheter. Seremonien er om knappe tre uker. - Norge kan gå foran og gi et viktig internasjonalt signal for å fremme barns rettigheter internasjonalt ved å signere og ratifisere tilleggsprotokollen til FNs barnekonvensjon. På denne måten kan vi bidra til at også de mest utsatte barna i land med svake rettssystemer og svakt rettsvern kan få bedre beskyttelse, sier seniorrådgiver Ole Benny Lilleås. Foto: Redd Barna/Nevruz Aksu

Invitation to the seminar::

The Second Conviction of Mikhail Khodorkovsky: Implications for Russian Legal Reform and the European Court of Human Rights

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.