News

As a reaction to the deteriorating human rights situation in Central Asia a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between human rights NGOs from all five Central Asian countries. In the MoU the NGOs declare their commitment to continue their human rights work, they agree to coordinate their activities and cooperate on international level, provide mutual support and solidarity and they provide recommendations to international organizations.

The Universal Periodic Review of Uzbekistan on 24 April 2013 by the UN Human Rights Council ended with the adoption of an outcome report containing a set of recommendations in Geneva on 26 April 2013. International Partnership for Human Rights, the Netherlands Helsinki Committee and the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Defenders of Uzbekistan appeal to Uzbekistan's partners to champion the implementation of these recommendations in its relations with the Central Asian country.

In April 2013 the Netherlands Helsinki Committee has started with the implementation of the project 'Enhancing professionalism in the Libyan Prison Service'. The aim of the project is to strengthen the penitentiary system in Libya and incorporate international human rights standards by sharing Netherlands experience and stimulating cooperation.

In the second week of April, fifteen activists from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for a training of trainers on a rights based approach to social policies relevant to women and children. The training was held in the context of the project: ‘Countering discrimination of women and children and promoting their rights by changing social and economic policies in Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan’.

In the last few weeks hundreds of NGOs in different parts of Russia have been subjected to inspections apparently aimed at determining whether they comply with legal requirements. According to an order from the General Prosecutor’s office, which has been published by media, regional prosecutors have been instructed to particularly look into the “lawfulness” of NGO funding, as well as possible signs of “extremism” in their activities.

On 7 February, the Centre for Civil Liberties in Kiev partnered with the Netherlands Helsinki Committee in organizing a conference on Freedom of Assembly and Association in the OSCE region. NGOs from a number of ex-USSR countries presented a generally bleak picture of the development of these freedoms in their countries. A positive exception was the new NGO-legislation in the Ukraine which came into force on 1 January 2013. This legislation provides a high degree of freedom of association and could serve as an example for other countries in the OSCE space. Implementation of this legislation is being monitored by Ukrainian NGOs.

The Netherlands Helsinki Committee together with its project partners has held a conference on the human rights situation in Central Asia in Kiev on 6 February 2013. The conference was dedicated to formulating a Memorandum of Understanding between the NGOs present from all five Central Asian countries in which they declare their commitment and determination to carry on with their human rights work and they agree to cooperate, provide support and solidarity.

In January 2013, The Netherlands Helsinki Committee has started with the implementation of the anti-trafficking project “Promotion of the Rights of Trafficked Persons in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia with Emphasis on Legal Support – A Human Rights-Based Approach”. This project has been awarded a grant by the European Commission under the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme (ISEC).

On 30 January, two European NGO-coalitions issued an appeal protesting recent arrests of scores of demonstrators in Baku, Azerbaijan, followed by heavy fines and in some cases by administrative detention. The Netherlands Helsinki Committee is a signatory to this appeal. It calls on the Council of Europe and the European Parliament to take into account these new repressive measures in their decision-making related to Azerbaijan.

Nils Muiznieks, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe on the 25th of January called on the European Union to take a more determined role in addressing internal human rights issues. He was the key note speaker at the conference on The Future of Human Rights in Europe, organized by the Netherlands Helsinki Committee.

Our first public event this year will be our Conference on 'The Future of Human Rights in Europe', scheduled on Friday 25 January 2013 from 10.00 till 16.30 at The Hague University of Applied Sciences (Haagse Hogeschool). We are honoured to announce Mr. Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, as keynote speaker of our Conference. Mr Muiznieks has taken up his post on 1 April 2012. This is his first visit to The Netherlands. Registration for the conference is possible on the dedicated page on our website

Human rights defender Vadim Kuramshin has been sentenced to 12 years in prison with confiscation of his property. He was found guilty of extortion. The circumstances of the case suggest that he is being punished for his efforts to attract attention to problems of torture and abuse of prisoners. The sentence comes at a time when a growing crackdown on free speech is being witnessed in Kazakhstan.