In a letter to the government of Azerbaijan, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, together with members of the Human Rights House Network call upon the Azerbaijani authorities to immediately execute the decision of the European Court of Human Rights from 22 April 2010 in the case ‘Fatullayev v. Azerbaijan’ (application no 40984/07), to release the journalist from detention and compensate him for the damages he has suffered. Read the statement here

In a letter sent to the President of the Republic of Belarus, Mr Alexander Lukashenko, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, together with 50 other organisations, condemns the execution of Mr. Andrei Zhuk and Mr. Vasily Yuzepchuk. The cases of Andrei Zhuk and Vasily Yuzepchuk were pending at the Human Rights Committee, which had requested interim measures of protection. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee call upon Belarus to consider the rule of law as the principle under which penal justice is executed, and to therefore fully implement the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The Government of Belarus should also establish an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty, in line with the United Nations General Assembly resolution 63/168 adopted on 18 December 2008. Finally, the more than 50 organisations signing the letter, urge the Belarusian authorities to put an end to the harassment against all human rights defenders. Read the letter here

The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPs) is an important initiative, addressing the issue of balancing security needs while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. They are seen as genuinely filling a critical void for companies seeking guidance about managing potential risks related to their security and human rights practices, especially in countries that are often associated with conflict or alleged abuses. Adopted 10 years ago the VPs has yet, however, to develop into an effective system ensuring that all stakeholders respect human rights in their security-related activities. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee submitted a memo prior to the 10th Anniversary of the VPs on how to improve implementation. Go to VPs homepage for more information Read the memo here

The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina reports on monitoring of the execution of criminal sanctions in the country. The report is based on a monitoring project carried out in co-operation with the Norwegian Helsinki Committee during 2009. The reports highlights a number of shortcomings in legislation and practice and recommends inter alia that the independent prison inspection established in 2009 be made operational as soon as possible. Read More

Over ten years have passed since Yeltsin announced a second full ground offensive against Chechnya with the words “we want to end once and for all the centre of international terrorism in Chechnya.” But what has Moscow achieved? The harsh policies pursued during continuous anti-terrorist operations in the region probably fuel rather than soothe conflict. Recent developments in North Caucasus suggest that the islamist insurgency is spreading. These issues were discussed at a seminar hosted by the Norwegian Helsinki Committee in cooperation with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs this Wednesday. Read More

In a letter to the President of the Republic of Belarus Mr. Alexander Lukashenko, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, together with Civil Rights Defenders, Human Rights House Foundation and The Human Rights House Vilnius condemn the detention of activists of the Human Rights Center 'Viasna' Ales Bialiatski, Valiantsin Stefanovich and Iryna Toustsik, as yet another case in which the right of peaceful and freedom of speech are severly restricted by Belarusian authorities. Read the letter here

On the Day of Solidarity in Belarus, March 16th, searches were carried out in the offices of the web-site charter97.org and in the office of the independent newspaper Narodnaya Volya. In addition, searches were held in the private apartment of the leader of ‘European Belarus’ and the founder of Charter 97 Andrei Sannikov and his wife, the journalist Iryna Khalip and the Narodnaya Volya journalist Natalya Radzina. The editor–in-chief of the charter97 web-page, Natalya Radzina, was beaten during the raid.The searches were carried out by masked special forces of the KGB, and the same evening searches were also carried out in the homes of other staff of Charter97. All office equipment, including computers, was seized at the raid. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee condemns the raid. Read More

A group of human rights organisations condemn the pressure and intimidation exerted by Georgian authorities against leading investigative journalist Vakhtang Komakhidze, and denounce a continuous defamation campaign against Mr. Komakhidze. The organisations behind the protests are the South Caucasus Network of Human Rights Defenders, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)), Human Rights House Foundation, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Front Line and ARTICLE 19. Read More

In a letter to Jonas Gahr Støre, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the NGO forum for human rights presents recommendations on issues of concern during this years’ sessions in the UN Human Rights Council, the UN General Assembly and in Norway’s bilateral consultations.
The recommendations highlight the worsening human rights situation in Russia, where the situation in the North Caucasus is particularly alarming. Among other issues are limitations in freedom of expression for human rights defenders in China, conflict and violence in Sudan and systematic human rights violations in Turkmenistan.
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The system for the protection of human rights in Europe is under scrutiny. States are examining the European Court of Human Rights at a Conference in Interlaken in Switzerland 18-19 February 2010. At the conference they will take decisions which could bring welcome reform to relieve the Court’s backlog of cases. Conversely, the decisions taken could undermine a body that has provided redress for the victims of human rights violations in Europe for 50 years. The Norwegian Helsinki Committee, together with 156 organisations from 36 Council of Europe states, is supporting a joint appeal on the reform of the European Court of Human Rights.
Read the appeal here