Welcome at the Netherlands Helsinki Committee

The NHC was founded in 1987 to advance an international and societal rule of law, under which human rights can be fully realized. The NHC promotes security, human rights, democracy, and conflict prevention in the OSCE region. To meet these objectives, the NHC facilitates the activities of international and national governmental and non-governmental organizations, publishes Security and Human Rights, and facilitates training programs for human rights organizations, judicial, and penitential professionals.

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News

01/08/2010
NHC still concerned on downsizing the Bulgarian equality body
On 29 July 2010 the Bulgarian parliament voted at first reading in favor of the proposed downsizing of the Bulgarian Commission for the Protection against Discrimination from nine to seven members. This measure, if confirmed, is considered a regrettable blow to human rights protection in Bulgaria by the Netherlands Helsinki Committee. Many Bulgarian civil society organizations, including the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, expressed their strong disagreement with the measure.

16/07/2010
Official Launch of Digital War Crimes Database
On the 8th of July 2010 an official launch of the Digital War Crimes Database took place in Zagreb. Within the framework of the project 'Documenting the Past of Croatia: Establishment of a Digital Database on War Crimes' the collection of Croatian newspapers clippings have been digitalized, which have been gathered by the Law Faculty of Zagreb since 1995. Special software has been developed in order to digitalize the clippings and make them available via the internetsite of the Law Faculty. Academics are now able to use it for research purposes. The festive Launch was opened by the Dean Zeljko Potocnjak, followed by speeches by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Ms Nienke Trooster and the Deputy Ambassador Ms Willemijn ten Haaften. Ms Gabrijela Gavran, local project manager, gave a presentation on the project and showed how the database works.

17/06/2010
Appeal to the European Union to publicly reiterate support for Turkmen civil society
In the eve of the third round of the EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue, which is scheduled to take place in Ashgabad on 18 June 2010, The Netherlands Helsinki Committee appeals, together with 7 other organizations, to the EU to use this meeting as an opportunity to publicly reiterate support for Turkmen civil society and to request concrete measures from Turkmen authorities to ensure that Turkmen civil society activists can carry out their important work without fear and repression.

11/06/2010
European Court prevents extradition of Uzbek national from Azerbaijan
The Netherlands Helsinki Committee wants to congratulate the lawyers Mrs. L.Madatli, Mr. A. Aliyev, Mr. M.Bakhishov and of course especially the applicant with the recent judgment in the case Garayev v. Azerbaijan. This case had been adopted by the NHC project 'Strategic Litigation of the Caucasus' and supported by the project lawyer from Interights, Mrs. D. Vedernikova and the local project partner Legal Education Society.

09/06/2010
NHC concerned on downsizing the Bulgarian equality body
The Netherlands Helsinki Committee today expressed concern about the proposed downsizing of the Bulgarian equality body. This proposed change in the Protection Against Discrimination Act is also being opposed by a large number of Bulgarian human rights organizations, who consider that it will limit the effectiveness of the fight against discrimination. They sent an Open Letter to the National Assembly stating that the downsizing would seriously jeopardize the chances of thousands of people to receive protection against unequal treatment. The NHC is calling on the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the EU Fundamental Rights Platform to support these concerns and take up the matter with the Bulgarian authorities.

02/05/2010
NHC starts new project in Romania
The Dutch Probation Service (Reclassering Nederland) starts a project in Romania with the support of the Netherlands Helsinki Committee to create an integrated rehabilitation system for drug addicted offenders who receive alternative sanctions to imprisonment. Within the project access to substitution treatment for drug addicted offenders will be improved.

29/04/2010
Unjust imprisonment of Evgeniy Zhovtis
Mr Yevgeni Zhovtis, a well-known human rights defender and director of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR), was convicted for vehicular manslaughter on September 3rd 2009. He was sentenced to four years of imprisonment. The Netherlands Helsinki Committee considers the trial not to be in compliance with the international standards of fair trial. On the 26th of April the Kazakh Supreme Court's supervisory panel for criminal cases refused to reconsider the verdict delivered against Zhovtis.

28/04/2010
Serbian human rights activist Biljana Kovacevic Vuco passed away
Biljana Kovacevic Vuco, chairperson of the Lawyers Committee for Human Rights, YUCOM, and one of the most prominent human rights activists in Serbia, died last week. After a career as a lawyer in human right cases, Ms Kovacevic Vuco worked at the High Court in Belgrade, while at the same time she was active in the antiwar movement. Ms Kovacevic Vuco played an important role in Serbia's human rights and anti-war movement during the rule of Slobodan Milosevic. Ms Kovacevic Vuco was speaking openly against the wars in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. In her long career in the peace movement and human rights-related activities she was, among other roles, founder and secretary general of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights Office for Legal Help in Belgrade from 1994 until 1997, president of the Democracy Transition Center executive board in 1997, and founder and president of YUCOM since 1997.