Newsletter from the Human Rights House Network, 17th December 2004

1 Colombian peace activists threatened
Thirteen persons from the Colombian peace network Redepaz are under threat. The situation is particularly grave in the Eje Cafetero area.

2 Azerbaijan: Concerned about today's elections
"The situation concerning the municipality elections due on 17 December in Azerbaijan is miserable", says Leyla Yunus, director of the non-governmental Institute of Peace and Democracy (IPD). Observers have reported on several irregularities during the day.

3 Moscow: - Stop the pseudo-democracy!
More than 1,000 liberal activists, politicians and critics of President Vladimir Putin gathered at a congress in Moscow on Sunday to oppose what they called a rollback of democracy.
(See also: Prize-winning jornalist arrested in Russia )

4 EU Guidelines an important tool, says HRH
- EU Guidelines on human rights defenders are an important tool for a stronger protection of and support to activists, says the Human Rights House Foundation (HRH). HRH participated at an EU conference last week about implementation of the Guidelines adopted in June.

5 More Belarusian officials declared personae non-grata
The European Union has decided to deny two more Belarusian officials entrance. The reason is police violence and falsification of the results of the parliamentary election and the referendum on 17 October.

6 Sarajevo: Children's rights neglected
Children's rights are among the most neglected human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is one of the conclusions from a project that was finalized this week by the Human Rights House in Sarajevo and the Helsinki Committee.

7 UNHCHR wants universal membership in the Commission on Human Rights
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, recommends universal membership to the Commission on Human Rights. - This will give ownership to the human rights agenda to all states, said Arbour, who visited the Norwegian Human Rights House earlier this month.

8 Oslo: - You ask such unbelievably poor questions, now reprimanded judge said
Carl Hugo Lund, the judge who conducted the proceedings against the police officer accused of involuntary manslaughter of former Norwegian Helsinki Committee employee Tomasz Wazcko (Tomek), has been reprimanded for his arrogance and sarcasms in court, especially against the prosecutor, according to the Norwegian newspaper VG. Lund's behaviour may have affected the jurisdiction in some of his cases.

9 Nobel Peace Prize winner emphasises the need to support civil society-The donor community need to support the civil society movement in Kenya. That is the only way that we can develop a critical mass of well informed people who can act as checks and balances to Government, said Professor Wangari Maathai in her acceptance speech at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

10 Presidential election in the grip of scandals?
After numerous public disscusions, the Croatian Government has set January 2nd 2005 as a date for next presidential election. Judging by the quantity of affairs that shake Croatia at the moment, the campaign has already started and seems to be most controversial so far.

******************************************************************
Free of charge news and background service from the Human
Rights House Network, an international forum of cooperation between
independent human rights houses. It works to strengthen cooperation and
improve the security and capacity of the 70 human rights organizations in
the Network. The Human Rights House Foundation in Oslo is the
secretariat.

More news and background on www.humanrightshouse.org
******************************************************************
Sent by:
Borghild T. Krokan
Project Manager/Editor
The Human Rights House Foundation (HRH)
Address: Tordenskioldsgate 6b, 0160 Oslo, Norway
Tel: (+47) 22 47 92 47, Direct: (+47) 22 47 92 44,
Fax: (+47) 22 47 92 01
Website: http://www.humanrightshouse.org,
http://www.menneskerettigheter.no