Special edition, with speeches from the Human Rights House Network Anniversary Conference "Activists under attack. Defending the right to be a human rights defender", 13-14 October in Oslo.

1 Statement: Human rights defenders need stronger international support and protection
To prevent the perpetration of violations against defenders and the consequent worsening of human rights situations, the Human Rights House Network and the participants at the Anniversary conference in Oslo 13-14 October address national governments, regional bodies and international organisations, with a number of urgent recommendations.

2 Shirin Ebadi: - Dialogue between civilizations
- Human rights defenders are central in the dialogue between civilizations, said Shirin Ebadi at the opening of the conference. The Iranian Nobel Laureate emphasized that Islam is compatible with democracy.

3 - More hostile environment for defenders
- The environment in which human rights defenders operate is becoming more and more hostile, limiting the space for negotiation. Those who stand up for human rights often pay a high price for their courage, said Musa Gassama, Deputy Director and Manager of the Human Rights Defenders Office in Geneva

4 Colombia: Defenders regularly murdered
- In two years, 46 trade unionists, 6 journalists and 33 human rights defenders have been murdered in Colombia, said Carlos Ivan Lopera from Redepaz Peace Network, speaking at the HRH Anniversary Conference 13 October. Colombia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world, not the least for human rights defenders.

5 - Watchdogs needed everywhere
- Human rights defenders have a fundamental role to play in any political system. Not even one government can claim that there is no need for watchdogs that follow their actions and report about human rights violations, said HRH's Executive Director Maria Dahle.

6 Belarus: Activists denied the right to act
- Under the presidency of Aleksandr Lukashenka, Belarusian government limited political and cultural liberties and established close contacts with the world’s most repressive regimes in order to create a kind of world-wide antidemocratic international, said Vice President of the Belarusian Pen Center, Andrej Dynko in his testimony in Oslo, presented four days before the Parliamentary Elections in Belarus.

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