Norwegian Helsinki Committee Annual Report 2011 Annual Report 2011

Norwegian Helsinki Committee Established in 1977

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) is a non-governmental organisation that works to promote respect for human rights, nationally and internationally. Its work is based on the conviction that documentation and active promotion of human rights by civil society is needed for states to secure human rights, at home and in other countries.

The work of the NHC is based on the Helsinki Declaration, which was signed by 35 European and North American states at the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in 1975. The declaration states that respect for human rights is a key factor in the development of peace and understanding between states.

The main focal areas of the NHC are the countries of Europe, North America and Central Asia. The NHC works irrespective of ideology or political system in these countries and maintains political neutrality.

How we work

Human rights monitoring and reporting Through monitoring and reporting on problematic human rights situations in specific countries, the NHC sheds light on violations of human rights. The NHC places particular emphasis on civil and political rights, including the fundamental freedoms of expression, belief, association and assembly. On-site research and close co-operation with key civil society actors are our main working methods. The NHC has expertise in election observation and has sent numerous observer missions to elections over the last two decades.

Support of democratic processes By sharing knowledge and with financial assistance, the NHC supports local initiatives for the promotion of an independent civil society and public institutions as well as a free media. A civil society that functions well is a precondition for the development of democracy.

Education and information Through education and information about democracy and human rights, international law and multi­ cultural understanding, we work to increase the focus on human rights violations. Our aim is to influence both public opinion and governments in human rights matters.

International processes As with our educational work, the NHC seeks to influence governments and international organisations through participation in international processes, meetings and conferences to make human rights a priority.

Editor of the Annual Report: Head of information Berit Nising Lindeman Cover photo: Ales Bialiatski, Belarusian human rights defender on trial.

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PERSPECTIVES:

Terror at home

On Friday 22 July 2011, at around 3.30pm, as our staff were about to leave the office for the weekend, a powerful explosion rocked central Oslo. A huge plume of smoke rose from the site of the impact, the ­government buildings in Grubbegata, not many streets away. The images of death and destruction in the streets seemed unreal, as if cut and pasted from some of the conflict zones in Europe and Central Asia where we have documented war crimes and human rights violations over the last 20 years.

And yet the bomb attack on the government buildings was only the beginning. A few hours later a lone terrorist was detained by the police after massacring 69 people, mostly children, at the Labour Party’s youth camp on the lake island of Utøya. These were the most terrible attacks in Norway since the end of the Second World War and struck people from all over the country. The twin spectres of extremism and terrorism which continue to haunt Europe, had appeared on our doorstep.

While Norway was unable to prevent the attacks, and not prepared to react quickly to the unfolding ­disaster, the strong fibres of Norwegian civil society were thrown into sharp relief that evening. The heroism of local people and tourists near Utøya, who spontaneously organized a rescue operation on the cold lake will also form part of our history. Many lives were taken on the island. Perhaps equally many were saved by people in small boats, who risked their lives saving children swimming away from the killer.

The attacks posed some fundamental questions to Norwegian society regarding freedom of speech, the powers of the police and the so-called multicultural society. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg immediately stated that Norway would respond with “more openness, more democracy,” and those words struck a chord. It appears that Norwegian society was strong enough not to respond to terror with measures that would go against the foundations of our democracy: Human rights values.

It seemed that the killer had gone through a process of Internet radicalisation, as he had frequented a number of extremist, so-called counter-jihadist websites and blogs. However, the antidote to the formation of self re-enforcing hate-cells on the Internet, is not necessarily restrictions on freedom of speech, or ­far-reaching powers of surveillance for the police, but rather the vigilance and participation of citizens in the public debate at all levels.

For us, it was important to respond to the challenges with the experience we have gained over many years working against extremism and hate in other parts of the continent. In November we organized the ­conference “Living Together in Diversity”, named after a recent report of a Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe and with Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, as one of the keynote speakers. The conference and report underlined the fact that identity politics is also a human rights issue.

We need to arrive at a point where the individual is free to choose his or her own identity in religious and cultural terms, and still remains firmly rooted in civic society. For a small, traditionally almost ­mono-ethnic country like Norway, this is not an easy or straightforward process, but the attacks of 22/7 showed that there is no other way.

Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General Editor of the Annual Report: Head of information Berit Nising Lindeman Cover photo: Ales Bialiatski, Belarusian human rights defender on trial. Annual Report 2011

The nhc Secretariat

Staff abroad:

Bjørn Engesland Aage Borchgrevink Csilla Czimbalmos Usam Baysaev Secretary General. Senior Advisor, focus on Project manager of Project co-ordinator, Adela Galešic´ Russia and Georgia. the human rights Natalia Estemirova Regional co-ordinator education­ programme. Documentation Centre. of Human Rights Schools in the Western Balkans, Sarajevo.

Gunnar M. Ekeløve-Slydal Ole B. Lilleås Deputy Secretary Senior Advisor, focus Olga Shamshur Anne Marit Austbø General. Focus on on Western Balkans. Project co-ordinator, Advisor, focus on Central Asia, Turkey, Co-ordinator of the EEA grants and Russia. From November. Meirgul Kudabayeva Armenia and Rwanda. Norwegian NGO Natalya Estemirova Administrative Officer at International criminal Forum for Human Documentation the NHC representative courts and justice. Rights, UN Human Center. office in Central Asia in Rights Council. IT Almaty, Kazakhstan administration. (from August).

Vanja Bentsen Kleven Co-ordinator for EEA Fernanda Ivar Dale grants project. Zubillaga Nilsen Advisor, focus on Head of administration, Inna Sangadzhiyeva Central Asia and responsible for office Project manager, focus Georgia. management and on Russia and Belarus. Parvina finance. Abduvakhobova Project co-ordinator at the NHC Central Asia office in Almaty, Kazakhstan (Until October). Lene Wetteland Enver Djuliman Advisor and Berit Nising Lindeman Head of the human Programme Manager, Head of Information, rights education focus on Central Asia Senior Advisor. Focus programme.­ and Armenia. on Belarus, Ukraine and Azerbaijan. Elena Saenkova Project co-ordinator, Murmansk office.

Mina Skouen Ilya Udmelidze Project manager of Anders Nielsen Project co-ordinator, the human rights Natalia Estemirova Information Advisor. education­ programme. Also responsible for the Documentation Centre. EEA Grants information portal www.ngonorway. org.

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Organisation Content

The organisational components of the NHC are the annual meeting, the board and the council. The annual meeting is our highest organ, and consists of members of the council and the board. The board holds monthly meetings, where decisions relevant to NHC strategy, principles and financial matters are made. The Secretary General heads the secretariat, and is responsible for the daily operations of the NHC.

Board Norwegian Helsinki Chairperson: Morten Bergsmo Committee 2 Senior Researcher, University of Oslo; Visiting Professor, Georgetown Perspectives 3 University; and Visiting Fellow, Stanford University. The NHC secretariat 4 Organisation 5 Vice Chairperson: Ragnhild Astrup Tschudi Human Rights Advocate with a special focus on Russia and Eastern Europe. I The year 2011 in retrospect 6 Hauk Lund Ales Bialiatski, major defender Executive director, Hauk Lund Consulting A/S. of human rights in Belarus given a prison sentence 6 Julie Wilhelmsen Denial of war crimes committed Research fellow, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. in the Western Balkans 7 Eirik Moen Kazakhstan: Reopening of NHC Secretary General of the International Democrat Union. representative office, strikes and killings in the West 8 Kari Schage Activities, by country 9 Management consultant, Resources Global Professionals. The Russian Federation 9 Belarus 11 Sylo Taraku Ukraine 13 Head of Unit, National Directorate for Immigration, previously Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers, Norwegian Refugee Council and NHC. South Caucasus 14 Armenia 14 Ragni Ramberg Azerbaijan 15 Lawyer at Østgård Wikasteen, roles in the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) Georgia 17 and formerly Youth Labour Party (AUF). Turkey 17 Central Asia 18 Council Western Balkans 21

President: • Dankert Freilem • Manuela Ramin II Human Rights Education 25 Kristin Clemet • Grethe Fossum Osmundsen Vice President: • Bjørn Cato Funnemark • Pål Erik Plaum Anne Marit Bjørnflaten • Steinar Gil • Viktor Roddvik III Human Rights in Norway 28 • Fredrik Grønningsæter • Jan Tore Sanner • Frode Bakken • Bernt Hagtvet • Per Saxegaard • Trond Bakkevig • Hans Morten Haugen • Anne Julie Semb IV Co-operation and • Peter Batta • Anne Holt • Marianne B. Skou International ­processes 31 • Tor G. Birkeland • Morten Høglund • Guro Slettemark • Helge Blakkisrud • Torbjørn Røe Isaksen • Lars Petter Soltvedt • Kjell Magne Bondevik • Bjørn Jacobsen • Atle Sommerfeldt V Eea grants 33 • Bernt Bull • Ingunn Jordheim • Bjørn Stordrange • Nils Butenschøn • Knut Kloster jr. • Michael Tetzschner VI Information 34 • Tor Bøhler • Berit Kvæven • Magne Ove Varsi • Juni Dahr • Arne Liljedahl • Kåre Vollan • Ole Drolsum Lynngård • Maria Warsinski VII Finances 34 • Bente Erichsen • Eigil Nansen • Svein Wilhelmsen • Arne Fjeld • Mette Newth • Stein-Ivar Aarsæther Annual Report 2011

I The year 2011 in retrospect The NHC has a strong national and international commitment, with widespread activities in many countries. Our main focus is the human rights challenge in Eastern Europe, but we also aim to be active human rights defenders in our own country, Norway. Through our expertise and the wide-ranging networks of our staff we follow developments closely, take action on urgent matters and have an extensive range of project activities. The focus is determined by our planning and decisions, but also by current events. With the kind support from Fritt Ord Foundation we were able to have a particular focus on freedom of expression related questions throughout the year. In 2011, three major areas of our attention, concern and activity were the arrest and conviction of our close partner Ales Bialiatski, our engagement to defend the understanding of the war crimes in Srebrenica and important events in Kazakhstan, including social unrest in the city of Zhanaozen, west Kazakhstan.

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Ales Bialiatski, the head of the well-known human rights organisation Viasna in Belarus was in October sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison and confiscation of property for tax evasion. The NHC called the verdict “a shame for Europe”, and demanded his immediate release.

Viasna is Belarus' main human rights organisation, and is known to provide legal and material assis- tance to the victims of the regime's abuse. The organisation has been the main source of informa- tion about the human rights violations that for years have intensified in what is called ‘Europe’s last ­dictatorship’. As a reprisal for their work, Viasna has for years been denied registration and their activities have been forced underground.

With no legal registration in Belarus and with restrictive legislation aimed at stopping activity by

Ales Bialiatski, defender major human rights organisations, Bialiatski was forced to open accounts abroad in order to receive funding from international donors. This was the only way the work could be carried out, with financial support from, among others, the NHC. The case against him became possible when Belarusian authorities Ales Bialiatski outside the Norwegian Storting got access to information about Bialiatski’s bank accounts in Vilnius with the assistance of the the years Viasna has become the most prominent Lithuanian authorities as well as from Polish bank of the human rights organisations in Belarus, with accounts. Lithuania later apologised deeply for efficient work ranging from reporting, election sharing the information with Belarus. observation, anti-death penalty campaigns and extensive assistance to victims of human rights Ales Bialiatski is the jewel in the Belarusian human abuse. The anniversary also marked 15 years of

of rights sentence human a prison given Belarus in rights work, and no-one can quite fill his role. At intense persecution from the authorities. Ales and the same time, Viasna is a strong organisation with the Viasna staff have been detained and threatened dedicated staff determined to continue its work. In countless times and lost registration after zealous 2011 Viasna celebrated its 15th anniversary. Over auditing of formalities. The illegality of the liquidation

6 Former YugoslaviaFormer and International the of Court Internationalof the Criminal Tribunal for the and mistakes in film the contradicted key findings NHCThe complained instances about of biases not like planned ethnic cleansing”. To us this an chaotic extremely seems situation, ageneralas who has to take control of an area …. extensive of war. acts We show how Mladic´ acts werepeople executed. In reality this of waspart anew Holocaustas in Europe, in which 8,000 explained media: to the “Many think of Srebrenica sification of history. programme of the One makers maintaining that programme the contributed to fal Ethics Norwegian to the Complaints Press Committee, against NRK for violating of Journalists Code the and submitted acomplaint documentary the betrayed”. NHC The publically against protested Srebrenica on the genocidementary called “A town Norwegian Public Broadcaster, aired NRK, adocu 26On April, Mladic´’s before month the the arrest, international and courts. domestic in past accordanceof the established with by facts tion in Bosnia, Serbia and crimes the Norway about NHCThe has worked for years to provide informa major impediment to reconciliation in region. the still considered awar hero. are Such a attitudes especiallySerbs, in Bosnia, Mladic´ is nevertheless duringcommitted 1992-95 the war. To many ethnic genocide and appalling other crimes that his army Haguethe to answer for his role in crime the of general,Serb wasfinally and brought arrested to In May 2011 Ratko Mladic´, formerBosnian the intodenied entry Belarus to monitor Ales’ trial. 2012the award. NHC’s The Berit Lindeman was Peacefor Nobel the Prize several times, including AwardFreedom in nominated 2006and has been Ales Bialiatski received NHC's the Andrei Sakharov rights activism in Belarus. premises that had alandmark become for human Bialitaski also forced Viasna of out their the offices, registration and compensation. verdict The against which had right the that members stated its to re- of Viasna wasofficially confirmed by UN, the - - - Norway, 16 war. end of the the years after sation and even denial of war crimes, also in that we still for relativi and find support attitudes public debate demonstrated over documentary the Storting (Parliament) which it.However, passed the suchexpressed recognition in aWhite Paper to the countries. In 2011, Norwegian the government resolutions by assembliesmentary passed in other by European the Parliamentpassed and parlia Srebrenica in amanner similar to aresolution ­authorities to recognise formally genocide the in In 2010 NHC called the for Norwegian the ICTY.” and ICJ in Hague, The mention courts the verdicts from the ­journalistic ethics not that programme the does finds it unacceptable of perspective the from warthe in Bosnia. In particular Commission the that basic about some belong facts story to every Commission, film the conceals, overlooks oromits tion provided In opinion the is correct. of the choice of sources, and make sure that informa the of ethics requiring journalists to “Be critical in the gramme in to be violation code of the part of the Complaints Press The Commission found pro the that it wasnoless serious acrime than genocide. operation were planned and well-organised; and war; that massacre the and subsequent cover-up the that victims the were either civilians orprisoners of Bosnian8,000 Muslim and men boys in July 1995; that Bosnian forces killed Serb 7,000 between and established beyond reasonable doubt by ICTY the Justice. NHC The maintained that it has been ­ - - - Sakharov Freedom Award in2006 Ales Bialiatskireceiving the Andrei of thegenocide RIGHT: Mourningthevictims Memorial andCemetery LEFT: Srebrenica-Potocˇari Genocide inSrebrenica Denial of war crimes committed in the Western Balkans 6•7 Lene Wetteland andParvina Abduvakhobova Annual R eport 2011

Kazakhstan: Reopening of NHC representative office, strikes and killings in the West tragedy is such that conclusions the reached by this investigation into events, the nature the of the Zhanaozen. While government the launched own its unrelated death. were Atotal wounded of 64 in 14 and 17 killed in clashes, the well as one as several times, last figures the ranging between government number the of deaths has amended forces shooting and killing fleeing The protesters. shocked images the to see of police and security string of events remains unclear, world the was strikers and police. between out While exact the Tragedy struck on 16 December, when clashes broke 2011 situation. the to observe ­organisations to visit town the in autumn the of town square. NHC The wasamong several workerswhere held continuous on the protests with an increasing police in presence Zhanaozen, rights however, groups. protests, The continued criticised by international trade unions and human “inciting social discord”. decision The waswidely she wassentenced to six years’ imprisonment for strikes,­connection with these and on 7August Sokolova in arrested to first be the became In May, lawyer and trade union activist Natalia were initially­protests to salary connected levels. in Mangistau the Province The of Kazakhstan. particularly in small the town of Zhanaozen, both May, and workers in held city of Aktau the protests surfaceto during the autumn the of 2011. Since brought country of the west underlying problems developments around striking the oil workers in the Central stable of the most Asian republics, the While has long Kazakhstan held an image the as human rights for anumber of years. engagedbeen in promotion the and of democracy to apermanent in presence aregion we where have opening. involves office the NHC, For the areturn rights community were at in present the Kazakhstan FriendsKazakhstan. and colleagues human the from Centralits Asia now office, located in Almaty, In late March 2011, NHC officially the re-opened Zhanaozen strike in workers on NHC meeting Workers on Zhanaozen strike in leaders being placed under administrative arrest. were carried country in out the spite of political Demonstrationsment. in Almaty and elsewhere in on editorial confiscating offices, technical equip in his car in 2010. carried raids out services Security however, relate of apolitical to leaflets nature found government.overthrow the charges The against him, was similarly accused arrested, of conspiring to in-chief Vzglyad of the newspaper, Igor Vinyavskiy, under charges of inciting social discord. editor- The were possibly arrested, party facing years in prison Vladimir Kozlov unregistered of the Alga political new year began, central opposition figures such as of having provoked somehow tragedy. the the As oppositionon the in which Kazakhstan, is accused marked beginning the crack-down open of amore In events abroader sense,in the Zhanaozen also and journalists. to place main the responsibility on opposition groups in manner. asatisfactory Instead, authorities seemed giving carried out to order has shoot not been the actuallythose firing and responsibility the shots for a clear investigation to establish of identity the governmentdetained some officials in region, the shootings. the down after While government the in town the ees while it wasunder military lock- of ill-treatmentregards many the of detain reports international and civil experts society. This also continue to demand abroad investigation involving by local human who rights groups and observers, investigation is likely considered to be untrustworthy Natalia Sokolova the NHCoffice in Almaty Bjørn Engeslandattheopeningof - - 8 8•9

Activities, by country

2011 will be remembered in Russia for the largest There was continued insecurity for journalists, human demonstrations and protests since the 1990s, and the rights defenders and other civil activists; a large revived engagement by civil movements in political number of them were beaten, harassed or even transformation of the country. Social media were imprisoned without due process, in circumstances used widely to inform and mobilise civil engage­ that indicate they were punished for expressing ment; to a certain degree similar to democratic their opinions or carrying out their ­legitimate work. waves sweeping across the Arab world and to Criminal prosecution was initiated against 117 civil protest movements in the West such as Occupy activists and heads of NGOs and in 45 cases human Wall Street. However, national factors and events rights defenders and journalists were severely were what mainly triggered increased popular beaten. In total, the Russian NGO Agora registered engagement. Rigging of the 4 December Duma 850 cases of threats and violence against journalists elections, several instances of lawless actions by and human rights defenders in 60 regions in Russia authorities, failed police reforms, conviction of in 2011, up from 603 cases in 2010. activists such as Taisia Osipova, the Khimki forest campaign, the Article 31 demonstrations, and The situation is especially grave in the North The Russian Federation the failed investigations of the murders of Anna Caucasian republics of Chechnya and Dagestan. Politkovskaya and Natalia Estemirova all contributed Two journalists and a university rector were killed to this increased engagement. Over 4,000 activists in 2011 as a result of professional activity. The were arrested during or immediately after taking pattern of near total impunity for human rights part in demonstrations. ­violators remains in the region. The verdict in the Israilov case of 1 June 2011 in a Vienna court was Riots during nationalist protests on Manezhnaya therefore of historical importance. For the first time, Square in Moscow in December 2010 and racist a crime committed by Chechen authorities was attacks in various Russian cities led to increased condemned by an independent court; three concerns of nationalism and racism being on the rise. defendants were convicted and sentenced for the However, the number of victims of racially moti- murder of Umar Israilov, a Chechen who had filed a vated attacks was lower in 2011 than in previous case against the Chechen President in the European years. According to the SOVA Centre for Information Court of Human Rights. The trial shed light on the and Analysis, an NHC partner, 37 people were killed widespread violence, arbitrariness and system of on race grounds in 2011. The Centre also indicated illegal detentions in contemporary Chechnya. that the police and prosecution services were more Israilov had previously been President Kadyrov’s active in 2011 than before in fighting violent racism. bodyguard, but broke ranks with him and became an ardent critic of his rule. A positive development was the conviction of ultra- nationalists Nikita Tikhonov and Yevgenia Khasis, both linked to a banned ultranationalist group, Russky Obraz, for the murders of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova. The acquittal on 14 June in Moscow of the Head of Memorial Human Rights Centre, Oleg Orlov, was another victory for human rights defenders. He had been charged with defamation against the Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Strong public reactions were caused by the second Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal Meeting with Lilya Shibanova at Golos headquarter conviction of Mikhail Khodorkovsky in December Arkadiy Lyubarev, Anna Vasilevich from Golos and Lene Wetteland Ludmila Alexeeva and Inna Sangadzhiyeva 2010 to six more years’ imprisonment in a trial that violated international free trial standards. A bitter fight for justice also continued in the case of Sergey Magnitsky, a respected business lawyer who died in custody in 2009 due to abuse and harsh prison conditions. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev acknowledged that Magnitsky’s death resulted from criminal acts and promised a thorough investigation. However, little has been done to ensure accounta- bility for those responsible for his treatment. Annual Report 2011

Demonstration in St.Petersburg after the Duma election

Project Russia accounts for 26.6 percent of cases pending defenders. They took part in a seminar arranged by support at the European Court of Human Rights. Complaints the NHC and Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament, ❯❯ Human Rights against Russia frequently concern poor conditions in connection with a Parliamentary Assembly of Centre Memorial and inadequate medical assistance in pre-trial the Council of Europe (PACE) meeting in Oslo. (Moscow, Ryazan, detention facilities, as well as a range of other serious North Caucasus) abuses. Notwithstanding Russia paying compensation, In October 2011, the NHC organised a seminar in ❯❯ Civic Assistance Russian authorities refrain from fully implementing cooperation with the Norwegian Institute of Foreign Committee ECHR decisions and from dealing with the root Affairs (NUPI) dedicated to the memory of Anna (Moscow)­ causes of the large amounts of complaints. Politkovskaya, marking the five years since the ❯❯ Golos (Moscow) murder of this award-winning journalist. Sergey ❯❯ Glasnost Defence In the last month of 2011, a wave of public protests Sokolov, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and the Head of Foundation spread across Russia after numerous reports of the Investigations Department at Novaya Gazeta, (Moscow)­ fraud during elections to the Duma. The movement talked about the ongoing investigation of Anna ❯❯ Nevolya Magazine “For Fair Elections” spread from St. Petersburg to Politkovskaya’s murder and the impact it had on (Moscow) Vladivostok, raising protest waves in Nizhny the work of the newspaper. Also the challenges of ❯❯ Civic Control Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Buryatia, Krasnoyarsk, journalistic work in Russia and the coverage of (St. Petersburg) Barnaul, Novokuznetsk and Tver. A stronger civil Russia by the Norwegian media were discussed. ❯❯ Informational society started to emerge; strong enough that the Other guest speakers at the seminar were Editor-in- Agency Caucasian Kremlin had to present some reform measures in Chief of Caucasian Knot, Grigory Shvedov, and a Knot (Moscow and order to improve future elections and make the number of Norwegian journalists and politicians. Caucasus) registration of candidates easier. ❯❯ Public Verdict The NHC has run an extensive project to establish (Moscow) Despite efforts from Norwegian authorities to con- the Natalia Estemirova Documentation Centre. ❯❯ Committee Against vince the Russian authorities to lift bans on enter- This is a major effort to secure and make online Torture (Nizhny ing Russia, the Secretary General and several other documentation easily accessible about human Novgorod) staff of the NHC remained effectively banned from rights violations in the North Caucasus and is in ❯❯ Society of Russian- entering Russia in 2011. cooperation with eight leading international and Chechen Friend- Russian human rights groups. The centre will ship (Nizhny Activities gather and analyze documentation of human rights Novgorod) Work on human rights issues in the Russian violations and international criminal law cases, and ❯❯ Information Centre Federation remained a priority for the NHC. Two serve as a resource centre for historical research, SOVA (Moscow) NHC staff travelled to Moscow and St. Petersburg journalism as well as for prosecution services and ❯❯ NGO MASHR during the Duma elections. NHC staff also travelled lawyers. The NHC has built a team of human (Ingushetia) to Russia to take part in training seminars and other rights workers from the region and international events throughout the year. experts in order to establish the centre.

The NHC hosted several human rights defenders and The NHC also published articles and open letters

Sergey Sokolov journalists to take part in seminars and meetings in about human rights issues in Russia. Norway. The NHC took part in international net­work meetings with Russian colleagues in Stockholm, Kirkenes and other European cities to discuss developments in Russia. In September 2011 an NHC delegation travelled to Moscow in order to discuss project cooperation with Russian colleagues and take part in a training seminar for representatives of Public Observation Commissions from regions in north-west Russia.

In June 2011 the NHC hosted a delegation of Russian, Belarusian, Azeri and international human rights Inna Sangadzhiyeva, Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal and editor Naum Nim

10 Dzmitry Uss Mikalai Statkevich Andrei Sannikov apologies prisoner. the from in custody, intended confessions to often extract or spring told public the humiliation about and torture Lithuania. during Several released of those the and received country the politicalto flee asylum in conditionallyamong those She managed released. editor of www.charter97.org, Natallia Radzina, was Belarusfrom and with The partial arrest. house inreleased March but sinceexit refused been then Andrei Sannikov, Irina Khalip, wasconditionally wife The their of freedom. presidential candidate released, many with serious of them restraints on criminal During offences. spring the were some were investigated charged of them and most with 2010 in arrested December people than more 60 which lasted throughout year. the several Of hundred arenewed humancaused rights crisis in Belarus presidentialThe elections on 19 2010 December of Ingushetia and his family quota. refugee on the fer victim to Norway Republic of atorture the from NHC The successfullyNHC. applied for trans the to,referred information and testimony the from have on, instance or second based courts been immigration authorities (UNE), and in and first in individual in appeals the of the board cases Caucasus. Anumber of decisions North the from with information related of asylum to cases seekers NHCThe continued asylum to lawyers support Among those are three are three Among those political prisoners. by NHC toered the be of whom are consid down to 29 all persons, sentences were handed Convictions and prison leaders. society leaders and civil other were opposition convictedAmong the presidential elections. candidates for 2010 the seven 10 of out the ­convicted, we find over. Amongthe related trials court were 19the December- By summer of the most imprisoned were months many of the and over few next the prison, from released were and amnestied nine political prisoners Dzmitry Uss. In August, and Statkevich Mikalai Andrei Sannikov, presidential candidates: - - was the carrot put forward towas the Lukashenko. improve practices in its field the of human rights, Belarusian authorities’ proven commitment to put on holdCooperation Agreement, awaiting ­rapprochement through Partnership the and would results. Belarus-EU The lead to better that an opening for dialogue regime with the improvement some cooperation after in belief the officials and regime approached the for closer visasuspended sanctions against Belarusian senior ­representing regime. the EU The had previously quick, reimposing sanctions against officials European the reactionThe from Union (EU) was convicted in 2009. Autukhovich is also apolitical prisoner, already local NGOs. businessman The Mikalai Syramolatou, all considered political prisoners by Yauhen Vaskovich, Prakapenka and Pavel Artsiom hooliganismfor petty in seriously flawed trials: were convicted case same to seven years in prison and Ihar Alinevich. involved more Three in the were Mikalai Dziadok, Aliaksandr Frantskevich Convicted in “anarchists’ the in autumn the case” State in arelated case. to payordered atotal of 56 million roubles to the deputy, Valientsin Stepanovich, wasconvicted and years in prison and confiscation of property.His and inwas arrested November convicted to 4.5 under investigation evasion. for tax In August he of Human Rights Viasna Centre Ales Bialiatski was In June clear it became that founder the and leader Dashkevich. whilesurgery imprisoned, and Zmitser and lawyer, and Bandarenka, who had to undergo place and for kept periods of out reach of his wife of Andrei Sannikov, who wasmoved place from to political of the ­security prisoners, especially that health of the and worryingextremely reports were also all still jailed. From prison we received Lobau, Dashkevich Zmitser and Pavel Seviarynets campaign team (two years). Eduard Activists (six years), Dzmitry Bandarenka Sannikov’s from Sannikov (five-year sentence), Mikalai Statkevich year we found: presidential candidates Andrei amnestied. Remaining in prison by end of the the Dzmitry Bandarenka Andrei Sannikov andIrina Khalip Belarus movement supporting the31 Storting outside the Demonstration 10•11 Annual Report 2011

After the crackdown, the EU increased sanctions by adding more names to the lists of visa bans. It reached a total of around 200 by the end of the year. There was also a trade ban with a few select companies. Norway supported the sanctions.

The year was also marked by a financial crisis, which was keenly felt by the population. The value of salaries dropped sharply as inflation surged to 118 percent over the year, and the prices of ser- vices managed by the authorities were increased by more than 70 percent. A sharp rise in petrol prices sparked protests, also from Belarusians Yuri Dzhibladze, Khadija Ismayilova, Bjørn Engesland, Berit Lindeman and ­normally not engaged in anti-Lukashenko protests. Tom Mayne Lukashenko asked for huge credits from the IMF, Russia, China and others, a call answered by Parliament in Oslo. Supporting the effort were Russia and China, and not enough to secure the several political parties and human rights-oriented stability of the economy. NGOs.

NHC programme managers Inna Sangadzhiyeva The NHC issued or supported several statements and Olga Shamshur were denied entry into Belarus concerning events in Belarus. In February we in June, and Head of Information Berit Lindeman asked the Lithuanian OSCE Presidency to take was denied entry in October when she tried to leadership in efforts to release political prisoners. observe the Bialiatski trial. Democratic setbacks in Belarus, Azerbaijan and Russia were also items for discussion at the NHC Activities annual meeting in March. In May we condemned The massive crackdown against Belarusians, the conviction of a string of central democracy including very many of our friends, contacts and fighters in Belarus, including presidential candidate

Berit Lindeman together with partners dominated much of our activity in 2011. Andrei Sannikov. We protested against the arrest wives and mothers of political In January we convened, together with Viasna, and conviction of Ales Bialiatski in August and prisoners in Belarus Belarusian and international human rights November. We also expressed concern at the new ­organisations to discuss the crisis and plan for legislative amendments imposing further restrictions an emergency strategy for the release of all the on civil society groups in Belarus. political prisoners. The strategy was immediately presented to the international community, inclu­ At the beginning of June three staff from the NHC ding EU ambassadors who, in protest against the travelled to Minsk. Unfortunately only one was inauguration of Lukashenko, spent the day with allowed entry, but the visit proved important to Belarusians and human rights defenders in Vilnius. understand the massive changes that had taken place in Belarus in the last six months, leaving a For several months at the beginning of the year civil society ridden with fear, but also defiance. We we marked the Day of Solidarity by picketing the met with released prisoners of the 19 December

Day of solidarity Solidarity with Belarus

12 punishing culprits. the and case ofinterested the in getting bottom to the indicating that authorities the are not ready or against Kuchma was, however, quickly dismissed, journalist’s in death criminal The 2000. case authority, which lead to an and outspoken critical Kuchma, with abuseof power and exceeding his charged formerUkrainian the president, Leonid in came latecase March, Prosecutor when the development unexpected An of an old murder elections in 2012. team to clear adversaries ahead coming of the highlyas political and by an attempt Yanukovich’s isembezzlement seen and case The abuseof office. Tymoshenko, Yuriy Lutzenko, on charges of former interior minister and political ally of Yulia goal in 2011. year The of the beganarrest with the to haveseems away even drifted further this from humanthe rights citizens. of the However, Ukraine andA strong unbiased judiciary is vital to upholding unsettling. tion, NGOs and civil movement are activists judiciary and pressure against political the opposi detention are widespread. centres Corruption in the Police violence, conditions and poor torture in the rights in country. the nate deterioration situation of the regarding human and international organisations unfortu the noted future of Ukraine-EUthe cooperation. Many experts ship with Russia and continuing over uncertainty Yanukovich and his team, tensions in relation the politicians, cementing the of power by President of resonant criminal implicating cases high profile characterised­independence has been by a number we brought lack up the October of rule of law at for Human Rights jointly NGOs. with other In in Belarus, UN and the then High Commissioner European Parliament human the about rights crisis the his webefore addressed In September arrest. in Brussels, last international the appearance organised meetingsfor Ales Bialiatski with politicians spotlight” washeld following the day. In July we underlying dilemma: Azerbaijan and Belarus in the for action.need Apublic seminar entitled “The who political spoke the about prisoners and the speakersAmong the we invited wasAles Bialiatski, of LegalCommittee and Human Rights Affairs. Councilto the of Europe aseminar to host for the invited by Norwegian the parliamentary delegation active in In mid-June their we support. were events and relatives of prisoners, well as NGOs as The yearThe 20 of the th th anniversary of Ukraine’s - - - school programme in Ukraine, below. described NHCThe carried an out extensive human rights in years the to come. and biggest political the steady strategy challenge and EU to the remain thus seems Ukraine’s most neighbour Balancing in East. the Russia between Ukraine into of its further seeking support the transpire.does agreement Iffails, the this can push could signify agreat geopolitical shift in 2013 if it Ukraine the between and EU’s the 27 countries and ratification association of the agreement Yulia Tymoshenko stays behind bars. signature The will long be delayed ifformerPrime the Minister has also indicated that ratification of atrade treaty parliamentary 2012. elections in October EU The EUthe wasclear –Ukraine must hold and fair free tions EU with the to astandstill. message The from imprisonmentThe of Tymoshenko brought negotia majority of Ukrainians. lation areurgent that more matters concern the Ukraine’s troubled economy and an ageing popu involved in their rivalry. Widespread corruption, opposition and the not wishfrom ornot, do to get politicians, notThey trust do are they whether general weariness among Ukrainian the people. verdict. the However,after a to be seems there and campaigns –while waspending case the and Tymoshenko’s allies have triedto rally big protests was chargedfraud withand tax embezzlement. signing agasdeal with Russia. Additionally she allegedly exceeding constitutional her powers in was later sentenced to seven years in prison for and formerPrime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. She jailingwith the in August opposition of the leader This parade of high profile political culminated cases issues. related at in seminarsmedia the on Belarus- and experts NHCThe wasfrequently asked to provide speakers imprisoned­registers of the and how to reach them. ­political prisoners in Belarus and kept updated on Norwegian civil to to write society letters on Belarus.report Throughout year, the we called with afinalCommittee input Herkel Andres to the Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly Political Affairs NHC wasinvited to Council address the of FIDH convening the as partner. the In December imprisonmentthe of Ales Bialiatski with French Belarusian situation. It wasalso against aprotest meeting. We aside also event co-hosted on the OSCE Humanthe Dimension Implementation - - Karin S. Woldseth Ales BialiatskiandNorwegianMP Y ulia Tymoshenko Ukraine 12•13 13 Annual R ❯ ❯ ❯ rights-related questions and monitoring trials. of religion, well as legal as advice in human police, education for young journalists, freedom victimstorture and citizens in conflict with the in closed institutions, providing ahotline for Their main focus is on monitoring conditions lished human rights organisations in Armenia. anumber of well-estab NHCThe supports P ❯ ❯ ❯ ro Prize 2011 laureate A1plus. regional media like IWPR and Press Fritt Ord obtainthem core ­ internships during year the many of study of year.every Through and concrete tasks young journalists throughout from Armenia Caucasus Institute educates anumber of Armenianpowerful Apostolic Church. for believers of the who are not members to raise awareness effort its and understanding ArmenianThe Helsinki continues Committee officers. due and to intimidation threats by police the complaints are handled in orwithdrawn court at police stations, and to what these extent complaints against abuse of police officers of thispart is project analysis number of the out based is one of afew human rights organisations HelsinkiThe Citizen’s Assembly Vanadzor j s ect eport 2011 ­side capital, the Yerevan. Alarge u pport

positions in influential Armenia government, than this More has yet to take effect. opposition’s requirements for dialogue with the in May,amnesty but even if this wasone of the with 1March through 2008 were released an and imprisoned arrested people in connection is in notrust electoral the system. last The of the will carried in be out an appropriate way and there populationthe is not confident elections that these day. elections are coming As up in 2012 and 2013, of accountability for deaths that the occurred that and opposition,people the is and there still alack commission also failed demands the of the to meet elections on 19 2008. However, February this 1 March 2008, following disputed the presidential to excessive address the of force use by police on authorities initiated commission asecond in order relevant on the transportation days. Armenian The Yerevan by authorities the to limit despite efforts demonstrations and rallies have taken place in in upcoming to run-up the ity the elections. Many In 2011, Armenia saw an increase in political activ Caucasus South - A1plus CompanyDirector Mesrop Movsesyan - addressing problems in these court. system isin court asignificant the obstacle to continue rife, to be and widespread the corruption Torture and abusein prisons and military institutions economic issues business orthe elite. involved not get too do they regarding in cases are mainly their out towork long carry as left as introduction. Journalists and human rights activists aroundused 30 times against media the since its administrative the whereas provision has been abolished criminal provision wasalready dormant, the as media has experienced opposite effect, the of expression in freedom the Armenia. the In fact, 2010 has not had intended the on positive effect decriminalisation The ­objectors. of libel in May alternative military for service conscientious Rights judgements ordering Armenia to facilitate despitetreason, several of Human European Court 50 Jehovah’s are still Witnesses imprisoned for 14 letter of thanks toin NHC, letter which hewrites: dozen his prisoners. After release, Eynulla wrote a finally inthat released included an amnesty several Chief Eynulla Fatullayev. 26 On May Fatullayev was ­campaign for of release imprisoned the Editor-in- Since 2006, NHC had active the in been the NGO sourcesfor information. denied access and must country to rely the on prisoners in Azerbaijan, Christoph Strässer, is simply Council on political of Europe assigned to report listwere to the added in 2011. the Rapporteur The political prisoners were released, many new names of political prisoners in country. the Although some government unwilling appears to solve problem the March the andafter April events. Azerbaijani The wereactivists convicted to lengthy prison sentences including at 10 least journalists. In all, 15 political violently protesters the several and arrested dozen, central Baku. Riot police were quick to disperse and participated in anti-government the rally in 2AprilOn around 1,000 warnings defied protesters applied for alternative service. against young activist men. Hajiyev had lawfully evasion, an accusation cherished by authorities the convicted years in to two prison for military draft just ahead of aplanned 11 March and protest later Facebook activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev wasarrested a presidential pardon on 26 2011. December The drug possession charges.trumped-up received He convicted to two-and-a-half years in prison for Jabbar Savalan, and on 4February wasarrested year-old and blogger, member opposition party A20even mass meetingshad the before started. information. government The activists arrested regime, systematically using social media to spread in Bakuprotests against oppression the of the andIn March February youth organised activists many and activists equally regime. the scared of expression.dom “Arab The Spring” inspired well as country continued as repression free of the given to old and new political prisoners in the in 2011. Throughout year the much attention was violations. human The rights violations increased by meanssociety of corruption and human rights Ilham Aliyev, continues to hold atight grip on AzerbaijaniThe government, by headed President Jabbar Savalan Bakhtiyar Hajiyev ­ registration and wassubsequently closed, and its In April, Human the Rights in House Baku lost its lost their licences orwere harassed in ways. other harassed. defending Lawyers opposition activists Human rights wereand also defenders persecuted four days earlier. His murderer is still at liberty. injuriesthe hesustained during abrutal knife attack writer, Rafiq Tagi, died in Baku on 23 November from convicted. Prominent Azerbaijani journalist and parliamentarian. faces He up to 12 years in prison if solelybased unsubstantiated on the claim by a charges and bribery, of extortion on trumped-up by year-end hewasstill serving pre-trial detention Khural newspaper, on 28and wasarrested October murder. Avaz Zeynalli, Editor-in-Chief the of the and journalists to threats,violence were exposed and of media persecution The continued representatives Eynulla Fatullayev a fairy tale, Evil the where never wins.” Yes,not free? hecan. can, He if hebelieves in again. in which Canaman free acountry be is You’ve made fairy the tale true. come Thus, prison the and dust. become destroyed be me helped to bring this day nearer, you did not let have again. touched freedom the But you someday,perhaps then many years later, Icould was not for you, for Council the of Europe, but precious Certainly, freedom? pected, if it living in this country, receiving after an unex which one go on is how And does not free? my new life: in Canaman free acountry be looking for answer the new question to of the and artificial Eight freedom. days, since Iam days, since Ifeel imprisoned by mythical the eight“It has been days since Eight Iam freed. - Rafiq Tagi Azerbaijan 14•15 15 Annual Report 2011

Berit Lindeman and Vugar Gojayev

manager Vugar Gojayev, a former NHC employee, We argued that His Royal Highness’ participation has been repeatedly threatened and his relatives could send signals which could be abused for harassed. Our partner Leyla Yunus, on a visit to propaganda by Azerbaijan, and pointed to the Norway, had her office illegally demolished in August. grave human rights situation in the country. The Bulldozers arrived without warning and within little letter caused massive attention and public debate, more than an hour nothing was left of the building and drew support from a record number of four that for years served as the premises for important editorials in the Norwegian press. The NHC also human rights activity in Azerbaijan, including a crisis wrote a five-page description of the human rights centre for women, the only one in Baku. All inven- situation in Azerbaijan with suggestions for a tory, equipment, documents were destroyed or human rights-oriented programme for the Norwegian Leyla Yunus taken away by officials. Among her activities, Yunus official delegation to Baku, which also included had assisted at trials and publicly protested in cases the Norwegian minister of petroleum and energy concerning the vast amount of expropriation cases and State secretary of foreign affairs. In the end, in Baku, increasing as the city was beautified for Crown Prince Haakon did travel to Baku, but the the Eurovision Song Contest to take place in 2012. programme had included a human rights profile, including meetings with human rights activists and In the exclave of Nakhchivan, the most serious a meeting with newly-released Eynulla Fattulayev. repression of ordinary people continued to be This was, at least, covered in the opposition press ­documented. Turac Zeynalov, 31, died in police and abroad. custody a day after being detained, showing clear signs of having been badly beaten. Attempts were In mid- June we were made to prevent journalists from covering the case. invited by the Norwegian parliamentary­ delegation to the Council of Europe Activities to host a seminar for the Throughout the year, the NHC issued a number of Committee of Legal and statements concerning the situation in Azerbaijan, Human Rights Affairs. most notably in connection with the cases of Among the speakers we imprisoned journalists and political activists. Several invited was the of those were issued through the International Azerbaijani journalist Partnership Group for Azerbaijan (IPGA), which Khadija Ismayilova

the NHC joined for advocacy purposes. We also who challenged the Khadija Ismayilova and Aage Borchgrevink Project ­protested and spread information in the media parliamentarians to take support concerning the demolition of Leyla Yunus’ offices in bolder action towards Azerbaijan. The seminar ❯❯ Institute for Peace August, linking the case to the Eurovision Song Contest. “The underlying dilemma: Azerbaijan and Belarus and Democracy: in the spotlight” was held the following day. Monitoring the In an open letter to the HRH Crown Prince judicial system Haakon in May, the NHC – with support from In October we raised the issue of political prison- (Court trials and Rafto Foundation and Human Rights House ers and lack of justice at the OSCE Human rule of law). Foundation – advised the Crown Prince to refrain Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM) in Assistance to civil from travelling to Baku and participating in the Warsaw. In November the NHC gave input to the society and the opening ceremony of the 2011 International preparatory meeting of the EU-Azerbaijan Human mass media. Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference. Rights Sub-Committee.

16 rights and military to reducethe in presence the Erdogan pledged linguistic to extend and cultural governmentthe ledby Prime Minister Recep Tayyip of anew “Kurdish part As initiative” launched in 2009, economic position, and face human rights violations. their to destroy and identity efforts from suffer they population.the Kurds The have long complained that By estimates some Kurds of constitute up to afifth journalists, and Kurdish the conflict remains unsolved. undermined by prosecutions against and threats media of andexpression freedom freedom are rights not go do far enough; police abusecontinues; rights problems. Reforms women’s that strengthen However, Turkey still arange from suffers of human that combines and democracy Islamic strong values. and Middle commentators and Eastern politicians, one Western by country both amodel as was portrayed In wake the “Arab so-called of the Spring”, Turkey tion and broadcasting. of Kurdishand in support culture, language, educa were also introduced in of women's areas the rights and penal Reforms the wasreformed. torture code abolished, tougher were initiated measures against and economic reforms. penalty death The was to introduce substantialand started human rights Turkey an EU became candidate in country 1999 focus during year the lack wasthe of an effective Caucasia Conflict Resolution Centre. main The in country, the Human the Rights and Centre NHCThe continued to work with our main partners A Centre. Rights organssecurity of our colleagues in Human the defenders, including apparent the surveillance by of journalistsof persecution and human rights ­influenced by state, the were and instances there main media and judiciary the remain heavily parliamentary elections in Georgia in 2012. The standingfrom for possibly office, in view of the law at excluding targeted seem individuals certain problems remain: election to the New amendments neighboursits Russia and Azerbaijan, significant events. Although than Georgia society is afreer 26 on the for werethey reporting targeted May manner process, ledto of the speculations that on charges of espionage. non-transparent The In Julyarrested. four photojournalists were arrested dead, several injured and many were people May. government The crackdown people two left and violent turned on 26 during protests street polarisation continued to simmer throughout 2011 In Georgia, tensions stemming political the from c tiviti e s - during Anfal so-called the campaigns in 1980s. the against Kurdish the city of Halabja Iraq in Northern It in focused particular poison on the gasattack in recognition of crimes against Kurdish populations. orga inJune 2011, in which It was NHC part. took the A seminar washeld in Norwegian the Parliament journalists. against verdicts controversial political Islam. During 2011, were arange there of of sensitive issues, such military, the as Kurds and NHCThe criticised on restrictions media coverage license.casting rorism, demands butto rejected revoke broad its $445,000 each for programmes it said incited ter parent and Roj fined company its court The TV and of being financed and by directed PKK. the Danish with advocating prosecutors PKK terrorism wascharged Roj case. Roj by so-called on TV the TV and Kurdish the conflict. It gave media comments that in particular related of expression to freedom Turkey in 2011. However, it followed developments NHCThe did not have any related projects to ­official to refusal statements. “terrorist” to respond inA PKK truceoffer July 2010 with an wasmet Kurdish areas. Nonetheless fighting has continued. scrutiny by ICC. the GeorgianThe situation remains under one of those advocacy out on thiscarry topic. inin to order collect October information and ­government of Georgia. NHC The visited Georgia various international other institutions and the Criminal (ICC), Court European to the Parliament, International Assembly of the and State Party Prosecutor’s to were the presented Office reports 2011). (December 2008 August of conflict The Caucasus:the The Situation Georgian-Russian the of 2008 during war Russo-Georgian August of the and after Georgia’s faulty investigation crimes of committed research in 2010 and 2011, Unable Unwilling? or NHC ­ 2008 war. The August during the committed humanity against crimes crimes and into war investigation ­nised by Socialist the (SV), and was party Left (May 2011) and The Impunity Syndrome in

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- Georgia 16•17 Annual Report 2011

Central Asia

Central Asia holds strategic, economic and political interest to many outside the region itself. While geographically remote from Europe, ties with these republics are getting stronger. Even if the human rights situation in Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are worse than in other parts of Central Asia, human rights are regularly violated by the authorities in all five countries. Sometimes human rights issues are overlooked by their partners abroad. The NHC has sought to promote respect for human rights and democratic values in Central Asia for several years.

While several republics in Central Asia have estab- lished legal frameworks for protection of human rights, these rights are often not observed in Polling station in Osakarovka, Kazakhstan ­practice. Torture and ill-treatment are widespread. On a systemic level, administrative resources are often used to ensure that a single leader is kept in power. While large-scale construction is evident across the region, hospitals and schools often suffer from a lack of funding, raising questions around the transparency of the more grandiose projects taking place in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in particular. In addition to police abuse and torture, freedom of expression, assem- bly and religion or beliefs are but a few of the NHC’s Parvina Abduvakhobova issues which concern the entire region.

Kazakhstan chaired the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 2011 whilst still being a member of the OSCE Troika. Early presidential elections took place in April, immediately following the OSCE Chairmanship and summit. The elections were found to have several shortcomings, in particular with regards to the use of administrative resources, political pressure and the lack of genuine choice. Two restrictive laws on religious groups passed Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev through parliament without any open discussion, Artur Artemyev, Meirgul Kudabayeva and Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal as well as a law on national security. Human rights activist Evgeny Zhovtis remained imprisoned under

Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal, Kjell Magne Bondevik and Kazakhstani Ombudsman Askar Shakirov Askar Shakirov, Alf-Åge Hansen and Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal. Oslo

18 18•19

gone wrong in the media in neighbouring countries, Kyrgyzstan is considered a leader in the region among local civil society activists and abroad. However, torture is widespread and many trials in the wake of the June 2010 events have been characterised by ethnic bias. The rise of aggressive nationalism among ethnic Kyrgyz in the south of the country remains a great concern and may turn into a source of future violence. The report of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission was met with strong criticism and led to the head of the commission, Finnish Parliamentarian Kimmo Kiljunen, being declared persona non grata by certain groups in Zhogorku Kenesh, the Kyrgyzstani parliament. However, overall political processes are democratic on a level previously not seen in the region. President Roza Otunbaeva stepped down as previously agreed in November 2011 leaving the post of

Striking workers in Aktau ­president to Almazbek Atambaev after elections. conditions harsher than those of his fellow inmates. In Tajikistan, the stand-off between radical groups Working conditions for independent civil society and the authorities has intensified, and this has and the media worsened. Government-sponsored worsened the situation for non-radical religious NGOs take up an ever increasing part of the space, minorities and believers. More restrictions have attention and funding, complicating the work of been introduced for believers who visit independent genuine NGOs. The ongoing strikes among oil places of worship, and believers wanting to go on workers in western Kazakhstan ended the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca are subject to needing in tragedy on 16 December. According to official approval from local authorities as well as an figures 17 people were killed in clashes with gov- ­obligation to wear a particular uniform for Tajik ernment forces that opened fire on demonstrators. ­citizens. Drug trafficking across the borders adds to the insecure situation in the regions and in While still plagued by the horrors of the June 2010 border areas. The media situation is characterised mass killings in the southern cities of Osh and by self-censorship and ongoing lawsuits against Jalalabad, Kyrgyzstan made the most far-reaching independent newspapers and journalists, particularly democratic reforms of any Central Asian country. in relation to so-called “slander” against government While sometimes used as an example of revolution officials. Constructive public debate on issues such as corruption is often curbed by claims that those Azimzhan Askarov Photo: Nurbek Toktakunov seeking change wish to destabilise the situation in the country, often with reference to the tragic years of civil war in the 1990s. Restrictive legislation continues to regulate the private life of citizens. Life in Tajikistan is particularly characterised by the large numbers of migrant workers travelling regularly to Russia, and whose families are depen­ dent on this income, as work opportunities are scarce in Tajikistan itself.

Uzbekistan is considered one of the most repressive regimes in the world. President Karimov continues to exert pressure on religious groups under the pretext of anti-terrorism policy, and routinely imprisons human rights activists, opposition figures and believers. Two journalists started a hunger strike to protest about the media situation. The use of torture is widespread, and civil society organisations have all but ceased to exist. The office of Human Rights Watch in Tashkent was completely closed last summer. Despite the release of the famous poet Yusuf Juma and an imprisoned HIV/AIDS activist, there are still at least 12 human rights defenders in prison or prison camps along Annual Report 2011

Under President Berdymuhammedov, the situation in Turkmenistan deteriorated further. Information exchange is still a challenge as there are serious restrictions on Internet use and censorship is wide- spread. The explosion at a military base in the remote area of Abadan is one example where several people died and authorities withheld ­information about the incident from the general public. Preparing for the presidential elections in February 2012, President Berdymuhammedov ­officially invited exiled opposition politicians to return to the country in order to participate in the elections. But despite concrete efforts to return by potential candidates in exile, no such arrangements were made. Gulgeldy Annaniyazov, a dissident with asylum in Norway, was arrested, convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison upon returning to Turkmenistan in 2007. He is still kept incommu- nicado and the state of his health and wellbeing are unknown. Blacklists for students and activists still exist; no international human rights activists or organisations are allowed entry or existence in the country. Despite increased contact with multina- tional oil and gas companies, this is not leading to improvement for the country’s citizens.

Uzbekistan: Samarkand Activities The NHC representative office in Central Asia was with probably several thousand other political registered in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in May 2010 and ­prisoners. Western governments continued to an opening ceremony took place in late March develop relations with the country in spite of its 2011. It was the second opening of an office in the dismal human rights record. Asylum seekers have region, the first having been located in Bishkek, been deported from Kazakhstan back to Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan, until 2008. The NHC office is staffed The daughter of the president sued a French by Regional Representative Ivar Dale and ­newspaper for calling her father a dictator, but Administrative Officer Meirgul Kudabayeva. lost – effectively giving an unprecedented legal backing to the claim that Uzbekistan is indeed a One year after the violence in the south of dictatorship. Kyrgyzstan in June, the NHC returned to Osh in order

Project support Small grants fund law that would criminalise HIV/AIDS among this group. building processes, carry out The Central Asia small grants such acts. The role of women ❯❯ In Kyrgyzstan, our project monitoring of the media fund has continued its success is worsening in the poor focus throughout the year ­situation and promote the with increased interaction country where frustration was on the aftermath of the rights of children. with our Almaty office. over bad governance and June 2010 violence. Local ❯❯ In Kazakhstan, one project Through the small grants fund, unemployment is leading to organisations are determined has focused on the country’s NGOs all over the region are a tense domestic situation. In to address the distrust between implementation of the invited to carry out their addition, many men spend peoples of Kyrgyzstan and national human rights action ­activities with support from most of the year away from the potential for more vio- plan, another looks at the the NHC. Some examples are: their families, leaving their lence, and aim at fostering legislation in terms of electoral ❯❯ In Tajikistan, two projects wives in a difficult social mutual understanding and rights and the access to focus on the rights of women. and economic situation. consolidation. Organisations ­information. The situation for The first focuses on the rights Another project focuses supported by the NHC refugees and asylum-seekers of the “second wives” who on the rights of the LGBT ­monitor trials and try to has changed in recent years, do not have any documents community in Tajikistan, ensure justice for defendants being the topic of legal to secure their status. The ­providing information and of all ethnic groups. Other review under another NHC- second disseminates know­ assistance to young people, organisations use modern supported project. ledge to prevent domestic as well as doing important technology and social media violence and advocates a work to prevent the spread of to involve youth in tolerance-

20 20•21

to follow up on certain elements in connection the year. The NHC visited the region in September with an upcoming detailed report about the 2010 and also made several statements in connection events. The NHC has petitioned for the release of with the arrest and sentence of the oil strikers’ legal human rights activist Azimzhan Askarov, who was representative, Natalia Sokolova. The NHC con- sentenced to life imprisonment after a flawed trial demned the use of violence against strikers on 16 following the violence in Bazar-Korgan in Jalalabad December, where officially up to 17 people were Province in 2010. killed by government forces and expressed concern at the reports of mass arrests and mistreatment of The NHC covered the presidential elections in prisoners during the following state of emergency. October, worked with local human rights groups and closely followed developments in the country. The issue of prison conditions in Turkmenistan was addressed through the release of a report on the The NHC also followed the case of Kazakhstani prison conditions in the women’s colony in the human rights activist Evgeniy Zhovtis throughout northern Dashoguz region of Turkmenistan. The the year, and issued a statement for his early release report was submitted for the review of Turkmenistan Evgeny Zhovtis in January. Secretary General Bjørn Engesland under the UN Committee Against Torture, was visited Zhovtis in prison in eastern Kazakhstan for presented and discussed in New York and the second time in April in order to support him and Washington D.C. as well as in Brussels and keep attention on his situation. Zhovtis and the Norway. It was also covered widely in Central organisation he heads, the Kazakhstan Inter­national Asian independent media. The report is one of a Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, had been very few that describes the situation inside the

granted the NHC Sakharov Freedom Award in 2010. dreaded Turkmen prisons. Action for the release

2010 2011 2011

• • 1 2 REPORT The NHC continued to raise issues of restrictive of Turkmen dissident Gulgeldy Annaniyazov along

TURKMENISTAN: legislation on religion with the government of with campaigns for other political prisoners in Dashoguz women’s prison colony Kazakhstan as well as in international fora and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan continued through- regional press. It also maintained good relations and out the year. The NHC has raised the issue in exchange of information with religious groups and several meetings with Norwegian and international experts in the country. As a result of the high-level decision makers and representatives of international meetings, Ombudsman Shakirov spent three days on organisations. a study visit to Norway in June, followed by a seminar. The NHC often commented on events in Central Kazakhstan was also the scene for a long-running Asia in local and international media. In some labour conflict, where oil workers in western cases, the NHC supported refugees and asylum Kazakhstan were on strike for the last six months of seekers from the region.

Western Balkans In 2011 international attention in the Western Balkans Grafitti on a wall in Staro Gradsko/Grackë was focused on the trouble spots of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo. There were increased concerns for negative trends, especially in Albania and Macedonia. EU enlargement fatigue and the impact of the global economic downturn continue to cast shadows over the prospects for the region.

Bosnia and Herzegovina lived through its most serious political crisis since 1996. Wrangling ­continued throughout the year over the formation of the state government following the November 2010 election. Only at the end of December 2011 was there an agreement to form a six-party govern- ment. The year 2011 was marked by a series of ­setbacks, and Bosnia’s fundamental problems remained unresolved. The need to change consti- tutional provisions on the ineligibility of minorities to certain positions which are in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and Funda­ mental Freedoms continues to be unaddressed. Annual Report 2011

Bjørn Engesland meeting the Prosecutor General of Albania Local elections in Albania

The leadership of Republika Srpska continued to ­shortcomings in the rule of law. In the north of challenge the only state level court in the country Kosovo, freedom of expression is severely curtailed and even called for an entity referendum on the by threats and violence against individuals. competence of the court, which heightened political­ tensions and intensified the crisis. The ­referendum Albania’s political crisis intensified over the year. was called off, but the political pressure had severe On 21 January three demonstrators were killed and implications for the ability of the court to deal with 55 injured during major demonstrations near the politically sensitive war crimes and corruption cases. Prime Minister’s office in Tirana. The NHC called for an impartial investigation against those members Serbia continued to pursue the goal of EU accession of the National Guard allegedly responsible for the but it became increasingly clear that the EU required shooting, but have noted with dismay the reported an adjustment to Serbia’s policy towards Kosovo. political obstruction of the investigations as well as A major step forward was the overdue apprehen- pressures against judicial authorities. The local sion and extradition of the two remaining ICTY elections held in May were fiercely contested, fugitives. especially for the position of mayor of Tirana, with significant shortcomings especially in counting of On the eve of the gay pride parade scheduled for votes and resolution of electoral disputes. The 2 October 2011, the government introduced a ban result for the Tirana mayoral race was tipped in claiming that the police would not be able to protect favour of the candidate preferred by the government against violence. The ban was criticised as ceding following controversial decisions of the Central to extremism and lack of political will to protect Election Commission, undermining further inde- freedom of assembly. Hate-speech and threats pendence of and trust in institutions in the country. directed towards the LGBT community from political and religious leaders was widespread and concern- Macedonia’s name dispute with Greece continued ing as were threats and violence from extremists. to hamper the prospects of its euro-Atlantic inte- NHC’s Ole Benny Lilleås gration while government of the country took an In 2011, Kosovo saw violent conflict over the control negative turn with respect to freedom of the press over border crossings to Serbia. Two Kosovar border and various attempts at undermining civil society guards were killed in riots and road blocks were organisations. An on-going renewal of Skopje has set up in northern Kosovo in July. EU-brokered had the use of Macedonian symbols as a centre- Belgrade-Prishtina talks helped diffuse tension and piece, which does not resonate well in a multi-eth- find workable compromises, but the road blocks nic state. remained in place. The NHC took positive note of improvements in the security and freedom of Transitional justice remained a key concern and movement of minorities in recent years and priority area for the NHC. In a major development, ­welcomed the establishment of new municipalities indictees Ratko Mladic´ and Goran Hadži´c were enabling the political participation and influence apprehended and extradited by Serbia to the Inter­ of Serbs south of Ibar. On the other hand the NHC national Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. regretted the continued marginalisation of the Roma, Ashkaeli and Egyptian minorities (RAE), In Bosnia and Herzegovina the implementation of the taboos regarding war crimes and severe the War Crimes Processing Strategy adopted by the

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From the seminar Bosnia at the Breaking Point? From the seminar Albania – Domestic and International Challenges

Council of Ministers in 2008 to address the huge Bosnia and Herzegovina. In both countries there backlog of war crimes cases seems to have fallen were calls for such cases to be more effectively further behind schedule. The political attacks investigated and prosecuted. In Serbia, concerns against the Court of BiH have undermined both were expressed over lenient sentencing in such the output of the court as well as the reconciliatory cases. The media structures of Serbia and Bosnia effects of its findings – as facts established by remained in place, mostly unreformed, with private courts that could provide the basis of establishing and public owners meddling in editorial policies. truths shared by all communities are brought into In Macedonia, media freedom deteriorated over the question and disrepute. year. Following a tax evasion case a major TV station and three newspapers were shut down. Changes in Denial of war crimes committed by one’s own ethnic public broadcasting management and the broad- kin and a rejection of the findings of international casting oversight body opened the door for direct and domestic courts remain regional problems governmental influence, according to observers. along with relativisation and politicisation of the NHC’s Enver Djuliman findings. These are problems found not just in Serbia, Activities in 2011 Bosnia, Herzegovina and Kosovo. In an affront to We carried out advocacy towards the development international justice in 2011, the HDZ government of Norwegian policy on the Western Balkans that of Croatia pledged state support for the appeal was defined in the White Paper (Meld.St. 17 2010- cases of two Croatian generals found guilty of war 2011) adopted by the Storting in 2011. We also crimes by the ICTY in the first instance. Against addressed a preliminary hearing organised by the this background, many people dedicated to justice Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in January and an in the Balkans expressed great shock when the open hearing organised by the Standing Committee Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK, aired a clearly for Defence and Foreign Affairs of the Storting on biased documentary that left an impression that 8 June, as well as other advocacy efforts. effectively denied the major findings of the ICTY and

ICJ on the crime of genocide at Srebrenica in June In the autumn, we issued letters expressing human Kai Eide, Norwegian MFA Special Adviser 1995, without clearly stating what those findings rights concerns in Albania and Kosovo respectively to Western Balkans were. to Norwegian MFA and relevant MPs before the official visits to Norway of Sali Berisha, Prime On a positive note, the government of Norway Minister of Albania, and Hashim Thaci, Prime officially recognised the fact that genocide was Minister of Kosovo. committed in Srebernica in the a White Paper, submitted to the Storting (Parliament) which The NHC closely followed the case of the ban gave its formal acceptance. The NHC had taken on the Belgrade Pride Parade 2011, scheduled for a leading role in advocating recognition in the 2 October. We protested against the decision and ­preceding year with reference to a similar demanded that the authorities ensure freedom of ­resolution already passed by the European assembly and expression, and especially that the Parliament and other assemblies. event could take place in 2012.

Freedom of the media. Violence and threats against In March we went on a fact-finding mission to journalists were reported from both Serbia and Albania to inquire about accountability for the Annual Report 2011

We also hosted a successful seminar in Oslo on 23 May “Bosnia på bristepunktet?” (Bosnia at Breaking Point?) held at the height of the crisis in the country with speakers including the President of the Court of BiH, the President of the Helsinki Committee of BiH and other leading experts.

A delegation from the NHC visited the Sandzak region in May 2011 and discussed the problems of the predominantly Bosnian population with local politicians and other community representatives. Issues in focus included the administrative chal- lenges for institutions such as an Islamic university to become registered, and the functioning of the elected Bosnian Council.

By coincidence, the NHC was present in Belgrade on the occasion of the arrest of Ratko Mladic´, and was able to monitor the subsequent riots, the polit- ical response and the media coverage. A delegation visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in September and took part in human rights monitoring and the development, planning and execution of projects. Blocked bridge in Mitrovica The NHC met with representatives of civil society, handling of violence related to a demonstration in the media, international organisations and decision- which three demonstrators were shot dead and makers in the justice and education sectors. many were injured. A number were arrested in January. We also wanted to examine and express In November the NHC led and co-organised a concerns for the rule of law in the country. region-based fact-finding and advocacy mission to Kosovo, including representatives from the On 8 May we observed local elections in Albania Helsinki Committees for Human Rights in Serbia in co-operation with the Albanian Helsinki and Albania. The mission focused on the situation Committee for Human Rights. for minorities and the rule of law in light of the heightened political tensions. The NHC submitted a complaint to the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission against the A delegation from the Albanian Helsinki Committee Norwegian Broadcasting Service which aired the for Human Rights visited Norway in December. documentary “A Town Betrayed” at the end of The delegation met with a number of Norwegian April 2011. The documentary was biased and in bodies dealing with Norwegian policy and invest- effect contradicted key findings of the ICTY on the ment in Albania, including the PACE delegation crime of genocide in Srebrenica in July 1995. The and the Standing Committee on Defence and Commission concluded that NRK had violated the Foreign Affairs at the Storting, as well as the MFA ethical code for journalists. and others. A seminar “Albania – Domestic and International Challenges” was organised.

Project support Project co-operation with in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ­sciences, and ­journalism. ­transitional justice and partner committees in the and Serbia. ❯❯ Helsinki Committee for information to counter war Western Balkans continues human rights in Serbia: crimes denial. but has become a less impor- ❯❯ Helsinki Committee for The magazine Helsinki ❯❯ A regional human rights tant part of the NHC’s work human rights in Republika Povelja has been ­published education project ­provided as donor support for the Srpska, Bosnia and bimonthly and public education in human rights, Western Balkans is decreasing Herzegovina: Cooperation ­meetings have been held intercultural understanding and becoming more focused between five universities in around the country to and conflict resolution to on support for state struc- Bosnia to develop curricu- present citizens with more than 400 young tures. NHC projects have lae and approaches to alterna­tive ideas and to people from Serbia, Bosnia involved monitoring, reporting ­transitional justice issues promote human rights and and Herzegovina, and consciousness-raising in and values. Target groups liberal perspectives based Montenegro, Croatia, the field of human rights, include students of law, on the rule of law. In partic- Macedonia and Kosovo. especially transitional justice, political and social ular the project focuses on

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Human Rights Education II Human rights education is an important pillar of the work of the NHC. Our primary goal is development of democratic societies where people actively participate in the advancement of human rights culture, where the achievement of individual rights goes hand in hand with international standards, and where conflicts are resolved through open dialogue, securing a peaceful coexistence.

Our human rights education programme focuses on four main areas: 1. Monitoring human rights education, with the aim of influencing the commitment of the individual states in this area. 2. Human rights education as a means of developing strong civil society and free media. 3. Human rights education as a prerequisite for attaining individual rights and active participation in social life. 4. Work to rebuild trust and reconciliation after conflicts, in order to secure lasting peace and peaceful coexistence.

In 2011 our department for human rights education ­contributing to the systematic and long-term continued its work to promote cooperation between improvement of human rights education in Norway. its programmes and programme partners, i.e. Barents, the Western Balkans, Belarus, Ukraine, North Caucasus and Norway. The second NHC Forum for The Barents Region Cooperating Partners in Human Rights Education was The Barents project is a collaboration between Sør- held in April in Sarajevo. It gathered 25 representa- Varanger municipality in Norway, the Severomorsk tives from all our programmes. Since the previous city administration, the City of Murmansk and the Forum in 2009, they had already started to work Murmansk region, City of Arkhangelsk and City of as a network to build and exchange competencies, Petrozavodsk (all in Russia), and the NHC. The Enver Djuliman interviewed during experiences and develop educational materials. project includes partners from civil society in Russia a partner meeting in Sarajevo such as Barents Press, Memorial, Uteshenie and Also in 2011, the Faculty of Pedagogics at Sarajevo Rassvet. The aim of the project is dissemination of University joined our programme of establishing knowledge on human rights, intercultural under- studies in intercultural understanding and human standing and peaceful conflict resolution by rights, in which the Faculty of Humanities at the ­imple­mentation of different educational programmes Dˆzemal Bijedi´c University in Mostar had already been directed at particular groups. They include young participating. The positive experiences of this formed people, teachers, journalists, prison employees, law the basis for developing a new and extensive inter- enforcement officials and people working with national programme entitled “The Role of the ­dis­abled people. The main idea is to promote the Universities in Peacebuilding”. The programme educational programmes within the different layers started in December 2010 and involves universities of society in order to contribute to developing the and non-governmental organisations in Bosnia and democratisation process and formation of civil Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Norway. society.

In Norway, the cooperation with Buskerud The main experiences from the project implemen- University College and Drammen municipality has tation in 2011 are as follows: the target groups been continued. Thus, in February an educational have accomplished knowledge and gained insight course for refugees in human rights and intercul- into human rights and democratic processes, rights tural understanding was organised in cooperation protection and support mechanisms, multicultural with the Introduction Centre for Refugees in the understanding and peaceful conflict management. municipality. The department also undertook a They also became better prepared to implement series of meetings in 2011 with relevant Norwegian human rights standards in their work and activities. institutions aimed at exploring possibilities for The project is based on an implementation plan to Annual Report 2011

provide our partners affected the general state of mind and atmosphere with as much knowledge in the country. Nevertheless, the planned activities as possible in order to have been carried out – albeit with great care and help them with future attention to information and personal security issues. human rights education activities, and to provide Great efforts have been undertaken in order to them with all possible consolidate an educational module designed for tools, mechanisms, journalists and these efforts have resulted in a methods, documenta- series of highly topical seminars and discussions tion and educational for the Belarusian target group in addition to a literature to organise spin-off project targeting freelance journalists. the educational process independently. Last year’s success in establishing support for Barents project ­educational activities focused on gender equality The project implementation process has shown and domestic violence in the context of women’s good achievements with strict follow-up of the rights as human rights has continued. Important steps working plan and evaluation of the fulfilled have been taken in order to ensure that a bill on ­activities. Our partners underline the importance domestic violence be included in the National Plan of the fact that a variety of projects associated with of Action to Provide Gender Equality for 2011-2015. human rights are now available and that communi- cation between cooperating partners – irrespective of the different regions they work in – has been Ukraine significantly improved. Evaluation questionnaires The NHC’s role in Ukraine is central for the “Let submitted by representatives of the target groups Us Understand Human Rights – All Ukrainian show that an overwhelming majority consider Educational Programme” aimed at raising the level human rights education as one of their priorities of human rights culture in Ukraine and promotion now. The project will continue in 2012. of democratisation of Ukrainian society. This national programme is the largest in the country and it represents a joint effort by over 50 civil Belarus society organisations. They are dedicated to Since its start in 2006, the Belarusian human rights strength­ening the level of human rights and respect education programme has increased in value and for them in the country. There is real dedication to outreach despite numerous challenges and negative providing access to human rights education to as developments in the country. The programme runs much of the population as possible. The programme in cooperation between the NHC and a number of is coordinated by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human very dedicated and professional partner organisations Rights Union, which also runs websites for the in Belarus. Together with their support we have ­programme www.edu.helsinki.org.ua and been able to reach out with educational projects www.hr-activists.net. to young people, journalists, teachers and human rights activists. In 2011 the programme for formal and informal human rights education was strengthened through In 2011 the political, economic and social problems cooperation with state institutions in an attempt to in the country continued their slow regress, marked introduce long-term and goal-oriented educational so strongly by the scandalous presidential elections modules in human rights for teachers, students, law of 2010. Organisations that are not registered and enforcement and prison officials. These are important are susceptible to prosecution, as well as a new strategic steps that have been taken in order to law criminalising the receipt of financial aid from achieve the developmental goal of the programme. foreign organisations, have together undoubtedly

LEFT: Human Rights school under the Belarusian human rights education program

RIGHT: Human rights school in Ukraine

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Reports from our partners have pointed to a ­worsening of the general situation in the country, including human rights-related aspects. They underline the fact that, if left unmonitored, the trends of the current leadership will move the country towards greater centralisation and consolidation of power, i.e. towards authoritarianism. Under these conditions the aims of the educational programme stand out as the prerequisite for the development of a strong civil society that can effectively contribute to the state authorities complying with their com- mitments to international human rights standards.

Western Balkans The NHC’s human rights work in the Western Balkans dates as far back as the 1990s, and human rights education has become one of our core ­activities since 2000. More than 10,000 young Network forum for cooperation in human rights education in Sarajevo people and teachers have been trained in human rights, intercultural understanding, non-violent communication and conflict resolution. Thousands of young people have been involved in activities to improve the human rights situation regionally and in their local communities, educational materials have been published in local languages, and we have succeeded in introducing an elective course in teaching methodology for intercultural under­ standing and human rights at two universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We work with a broad Tatevik Gukasyan, Mina Skouen and Csilla Czimbalmos Partner meeting in Sarajevo network of partners in the region, which includes civil society organisations, educational institutions, regional structures and experts. and Mostar that will enable quality education of students, especially in pedagogy, journalism and Young people’s participation in processes of philosophy. Thus, at the above-mentioned univer- ­transitional justice, minority rights and providing sities two semesters were implemented on the in-depth knowledge on specific local challenges basis of prepared educational materials from our at a regional level were specific priorities in 2011. department while in the lectures representatives of Unrest in Kosovo, the post-election development in NGOs from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia Macedonia, the tense situation in the predominantly were involved. Muslim Sandzak-area of Serbia and the countries’ different status in the EU-accession procedures are all matters that can influence and shed light on the North Caucasus regional development. The NHC and our partner organisation Civic Assistance Committee continued in 2011 the The NHC and our regional partners have had development of a training ­programme in ­continuous consultations, roundtables and public Chechnya, Ingushetia and North Ossetia. presentations with representatives from institutions, We provide training and ­competence enhance- civil society organisations and youth networks to ment in intercultural understanding, ­conflict present best practice on human rights education, ­resolution and human rights. Young people, discuss options for cooperation between the state ­teachers, trainers and journalists are taking part and civil sector. As a result we are now counselling in the various processes that are intended to on curricula development and providing extracur- enable them to contribute to positive and peaceful ricular training for teachers. School representatives development in their communities. Highlighting are actively partaking in our activities. alternative ways of contributing to peace rather than enter in to an escalating conflict situation has The establishment of the study in intercultural resulted in the development of concrete peace-­ under­standing and human rights in Bosnia and promoting activities, interethnic dialogue, and Herzegovina was also part of the project in 2011. important discussions and dissemination of The aim was to work on building the programme ­information about the content and value system and competencies at the universities in Sarajevo of the international human rights framework. Building bridges, not walls Annual Report 2011

III Human Rights in Norway In 2011, the NHC was active in a range of human rights issues in Norway, including human rights in prisons, obligations under the UN Convention against Torture, re-organisation of a strengthened National Institution for Human Rights, minority and refugee issues, the human rights situation of illegal residents, etc.

Refugee protection “paperless” – immigrants with rejected asylum claims issues and the campaign who for various reasons have stayed in Norway for the ‘paperless’ without documents and legal rights. By the end of Given our knowledge about the human rights the year, the campaign was supported by close to ­situation in the countries in which we are active, 40 organisations. as a human rights organisation we have a responsi­ bility to give some assistance to asylum seekers In January a Russian “paperless” citizen, who had from some of these countries who are in need of published a book about her experiences as a non- protection in Norway. We agree to intervene in a registered immigrant under the name of Maria limited number of cases where intervention may Amelie, was detained for deportation by immigration be valuable and necessary to receive protection by police at the Nansen school in Lillehammer just Norwegian immigration decision-making bodies. We after a lecture about the situation for paperless. provide information to asylum lawyers, the immi- Her deportation order caused a public outrage and gration services and other authorities, both generally thousands of protesters gathered several times all and in specific cases. In 2011 the NHC continued over the country. The NHC was involved in the to support asylum lawyers with information related campaign for her, amongst other things through to cases of asylum seekers from the North Caucasus. our expertise on Russia. The “Marie Amelie case” A number of decisions in individual cases in the became the most debated immigration case in appeals board of the immigration authorities (UNE), Norway in 2011. Marie Amelie was eventually first and second instance courts, have been based forcefully deported, but by this time she had on or referred to information and testimony from the already won a battle: The Parliament approved NHC. We also supported a limited number of cases “Lex Amelie”, allowing asylum seekers who have from Azerbaijan and Central Asia. Although we do been expelled because of illegal residence, to not have regular consultations for asylum seekers, return on certain conditions without a quarantine we experience a constant stream of applicants to period of several years. The main conditions are our office, which shows there is an unmet need for that the person must have undergone approved assistance. vocational training in Norway, and have a job offer that is relevant to education. Although Marie In August 2010 we joined a campaign supported by Amelie was indeed allowed to return to Norway, Norwegian organisations to promote a mechanism the rule change hardly did anything to solve the to ensure a permanent solution for the so-called challenges of the “paperless” in Norway. Demonstration in support of Maria Amelie

28 28•29

The NHC was also active in media debates on CAT and CPT reporting refugee protection. The NHC was member of a group of NGOs that submitted comments to the Ministry of Justice on In our efforts related to refugees in Norway we enjoy the draft Norwegian periodic report to the UN good relations with other organisations in Norway, Committee against Torture (CAT), pointing out several most notably NOAS, The Norwegian Centre shortcomings in the draft. This engagement formed against Racism and Amnesty International Norway. a basis for a follow-up of the final Norwegian report in 2012.

National minorities: We joined a group of NGOs and institutions to meet Romani/Travellers: informally with the Council of Europe Committee The NHC met with a delegation of the Council of for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) delegation, Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework which visited Norway in June 2011. Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in May 2011, raising issues on the current situation Optional Protocol to of the Romani people in Norway. In particular, the the Convention against delegation was presented with information on the Torture (OPCAT) National lack of a national scheme of compensation for Preventive Mechanism Romani persons who were subject to abuse due to (NPM) government policies in the past. In its Third Opinion The NHC took part in meetings with an inter-­ on Norway (section 80) of 30 June 2011, the ministerial working group, mandated to propose Advisory Committee included a recommendation organisation of a Norwegian National Preventive the setting up of such a national scheme. Mechanism (NPM). Norway signed the NPM Protocol in 2003, but has so far not ratified. The The NHC also took part in lobbying efforts targeting working group was mandated to propose a model Norwegian parliamentarians on similar issues. It involving the Parliamentary Ombudsman as the main also met with the National Commission on Romani/ institution for conducting the tasks of a NPM. The Travellers, which is mandated to conduct research NHC argued that Norway’s National Human Rights on Norwegian Romani policies and provide rec- Institution should be involved in the NPM, and that ommendations on how to deal with past abuses the mandate of the NPM should require strong civil and strengthen current policies. The National society consultation. Commission was set up by the government in the wake of a NHC report and lobbying efforts in 2009. Human Rights Human Wrongs documentary Prison monitoring Film Festival The NHC started to monitor prisons systematically The Human Rights Human Wrongs Film Festival is in Norway. During the year, NHC staff visited Scandinavia’s only film festival dedicated to human Skien high-security prison and Bredtvet women’s rights, and it was arranged for the third time in prison, and developed plans for further visits. 2011. The 2011 event took place at Parkteatret As the legal basis for prison visits was questi­oned from 2 to 6 February 2011. The NHC co-organised From debates during HRHW by a prison that NHC asked to visit, the NHC the festival together with Oslo Dokumentarkino film festival: secured a formal approval from the Ministry of and the Human Rights House Oslo. The themes LEFT: Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, Justice to conduct prison monitoring. During visits, we of the festival were built around the following four ILPI, Øystein Rolandsen, Prio, and discussed a number of sensitive issues with inmates, themes: Transitional Justice, Without Protection, Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal managers, prison officers and health ­personnel. Freedom of Expression, and Resource Conflicts. MIDDLE: Erling Borgen, Vugar Gojayev, Mitra Nasreen Forouhar, The aim of the festival is to generate debate on Zoya Svetova and Vadim Kleiner

RIGHT: Audience Annual Report 2011

Conference – ”living together in diversity” In November the NHC arranged a well-attended conference, “Living Together in Diversity”, in ­conjunction with NOAS and Amnesty International Norway. It addressed multiculturalism in Europe and the challenges arising from the resurgence of intolerance and discrimination. The idea of a con- ference came up in the aftermath of the 22 July terror attack in Norway. An important focus of the conference was to present and to discuss the report “Living together: combining diversity and freedom in 21st Century Europe. Report of the Emmanuel Jal Group of Eminent Persons of the Council of Europe”. This is a report commissioned by Council known and less-known human rights issues, raise of Europe’s Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland awareness on human rights violations, demonstrate and written by, among several others, Joschka the importance of human rights documentary film Fischer, Russian Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin and making, and provide a platform for activism and Javier Solana. The event brought together further engagement. This goal was achieved in 2011, Norwegian and international experts, with when 21 films from 11 countries were screened. ­presentations from Thorbjørn Jagland, Alexander Eight of the showings were Norwegian premieres. Verkhovskiy, head of the Russian SOVA Centre for Nine major panel debates also took place. Additional Information and Analysis, Hungarian scientist and longer comments, introductions and Q&As meant 1989 Rafto laureate Peter Mólnar, Susanne Nour that all the films had discussion opportunities from the Danish Institute for Human Rights as well ­associated with them. The festival hosted 10 inter- as Lars Østby of Statistics Norway, and our own national guests who participated in the thematic Secretary General Bjørn Engesland. Norwegian discussions. Among them were big names such as parliamentarians and local activists participated in filmmaker Frank Piasecki Paulson, director of Blood a panel debate after the presentations. in the Mobile, Vadim Kleiner, a lawyer working for Hermitage Capital Management and who is At the conference, Jagland said: “The European running a worldwide campaign demanding justice reality is a multicultural reality. All Europeans need for Sergei Magnitsky, and Emmanuel Jal, the former to understand and accept this fact. Europe is child soldier and now a star on the international hip dependent on the 40-50 million extra immigrants hop music scene from South Sudan. Additionally, to sustain our standard of living. This reality stands 19 international and national experts in Norway in sharp contrast to a ­perception that is beginning introduced and discussed the topics raised by the to spread, especially among the radical right in films. An audience of 2,500 people attended the Europe, namely that we are facing a threat from films and discussions. The media coverage was mass immigration. This myth should be put down also considerable. and the efforts to get everyone to understand that we live in a multicultural reality in Europe must be strengthened.”

”Living Together”: From left: Lars Østby, Alexander Verkhovskiy, Susanne Nour, Bjørn Engesland and Peter Mólnar

LEFT: Peter Mólnar RIGHT: Thorbjørn Jagland

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Co-operation and IV International ­processes

The NHC is a member of several national and international networks of human rights organisations. Each year, our representatives participate in a range of international meetings and conferences. We strive to be a key player among organisations and forums dealing with human rights issues, our goal being to influence international organisations and states to protect human rights and promote human rights issues.

Organisation for Security Norwegian NGO Forum and Co-operation in for Human Rights and Europe (OSCE) focus on the United In 2011, the NHC continued its focus on advocacy Nations through the OSCE and ODIHR, using all possible The NHC served as the secretariat of the NGO opportunities to address the participating States. Forum in 2011. The NHC presided over meetings Most effort is targeted at the annual Human in the Forum, organised the activities of the Forum Dimension Implementation Meeting, held in and organised the participation of Norwegian NGOs Warsaw in September/October. The NHC actively in the work of the UN Human Rights Council in organised side-events last year, targeting ­impunity Geneva. after grave human rights violations in the OSCE area. We used the Russia-Georgia conflict, Our activities included following up on a written Andijan, South Kyrgyzstan and Chechnya as case alternative report to the UN Human Rights studies. In the second meeting the NHC turned Committee on Norway’s compliance with the UN the focus on freedom of assembly and association International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Kazakhstan, using the conflict of oil strikers in with extensive comments on Norway’s official western Kazakhstan as an example. The NHC also sixth periodic report. In October the report came co-hosted a side-events on Belarus and was up for consideration and the NHC spoke to the actively involved in other joint initiatives on Committee on behalf a group of NGOs, lobbied Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Furthermore, the and observed the hearing of Norway. NHC made several statements and interventions: on freedom of religion in Central Asia, freedom of The NGO Forum also issued 10 recommendations expression in the Balkans, rule of law in Bosnia to the Norwegian government regarding the and Herzegovina, and rule of law in Azerbaijan Norwegian membership of the UN Human Rights and Belarus. Discussions around an emerging Council and broader human rights promotion at network of human rights activists in the OSCE area the UN. The NHC participated in a conference in took place and continued on the fringes of the 18th Brussels on 28-29 March organised by the regional Ministerial meeting in Vilnius in December. office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), to The NHC sees the participation of civil society as argue that the UPR should be used to put political crucial in the OSCE and ODIHR’s work for human weight behind human rights and in favour of the rights and democratisation, and is engaged in need for being specific in UPR recommendations. defending this possibility. Some participating States This would especially strengthen implementation and voices in the Secretariat have recently launched of treaty body recommendations. initiatives that would limit the influence of civil society in the organisation, and others seem to follow suit. The NHC remains vigilant to ensure that so-called administrative reforms and political negotiations do not undermine the results the civil society and the participating States of the OSCE have jointly achieved since the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in 1975.

31 Annual Report 2011

International justice The NHC remained active in international justice issues, providing comments and viewpoints to the media and taking part in seminars and discussions on issues related to the operation and set-up of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the two UN ad hoc courts for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as well as other international legal bodies, and ­universal jurisdiction issues under Norwegian law.

The NHC was represented at the 10th ICC Assembly of State Parties, held in New York from 12-21 December 2011. At the meeting, elections of new Prosecutor and six of the 18 ICC judges took place. The current Deputy Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, was elected Prosecutor, to succeed Luis Moreno Ocampo whose mandate ends in June 2012.

Demonstration in support of Azimzhan Askarov at HDIM in Warszaw The NHC is a member of both the international NGO coalition for the ICC (CICC) and the Forum for Human Rights Dialogue International Criminal and Humanitarian Law (FICHL), The NHC, represented by Secretary General Bjørn and takes an active part in some of its activities. Engesland, has since 1999 participated in the official human rights dialogues held by the Norwegian During the year, the NHC cooperated with Georgian government with China, Indonesia and Vietnam. human rights organisations to collect and present The dialogue with China is currently suspended, material to the ICC on investigations into war crimes due to strong Chinese reactions to the granting of during the 2008 war between Georgia and Russia. the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 to the Chinese The NHC was involved in monitoring Norway’s ­dissident Liu Xiaobo. In 2011, Bjørn Engesland took domestic efforts on prioritising and prosecuting part in dialogue with Indonesia, while Gunnar M. international criminal cases in the Norwegian courts. Ekeløve-Slydal, Deputy Secretary General, took The NHC also started a major project together part in dialogue with Vietnam; both organised in with eight Russian and international human rights Gunnar Ekeløve-Slydal and Ivar Oslo. The NHC holds that the dialogues remain organisations to establish a centre for documenting Dale at HDIM in Warszaw important channels to address human rights issues international crimes in the North Caucasus. and develop contacts. There are, however, limited possibilities in the dialogue set-ups with Vietnam and China to assess any impact of the dialogue on Oslo Freedom Forum the countries’ human rights policies. The NHC remained a partner in organising the Oslo Freedom Forum; an international conference first organised in 2009 to gather activists from across Norwegian Centre for the world to speak about fundamental freedoms Human Rights and democracy issues. The main organiser is the The NHC has close ties with the Norwegian Centre New York-based Human Rights Foundation, led

Ivar Dale and Lene Wetteland at for Human Rights (NCHR). We regularly provide by Thor Halvorss en. The third Oslo Freedom HDIM in Warszaw briefing lectures for election observers headed to Forum took place from 9-11 May 2011. In addition missions in areas where the NHC has key compe- to NHC, partners included Amnesty International tence. Secretary General Bjørn Engesland is also a Norway, Civita and Plan Norway. member of the board of the Centre for Human Rights. The NHC was also engaged in the Centre’s role as national institution for human rights. The Human Rights House in NHC appealed to the government and members Oslo/Human Rights of parliament to re-organise Norway’s NHRI. We House Network argued that recommendations of a Ministry of The NHC is a member of the Human Rights House Foreign Affairs review team on Norway’s NHRI in Oslo and occupies approximately half of the should be followed up swiftly. The team concluded space of the offices shared with eight other NGOs. that the current organisation of NHRI as part of the The Oslo Human Rights House is member of the NCHR at the University of Oslo was not in line Human Rights House Network. Demonstration in support of Ales Bialiatski at HDIM in Warszaw with international standards (the so-called Paris Principles). NHRI should be re-organised as a human rights commission with a mandate based in law to protect and promote human rights.

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Eea grants V The NHC has since 2005 been responsible for coordination and information to the Norwegian civil society under the EEA and Norway Financial Mechanisms and NGO funds, with a particular focus on bilateral partnerships.

Through grants from the EEA and Norway, Iceland, in March and Hungarian NGOs in April. During these Liechtenstein and Norway contribute to reducing meetings, the NGOs had a wide range of meetings social and economic disparities in EU countries in with potential partners. The NHC attended a work­ central and southern Europe. They also help shop in Bulgaria and organised a meeting with the strengthen bilateral relations. For the period 2009-14, Latvian Programme Operator in December. grants from the EEA and Norway amount to €1.79 billion. They will benefit NGOs, research and A stakeholder meeting was held in Oslo in June 2011, ­academic institutions, and the public and private organised in cooperation with the Ministry of sectors within 15 EU countries. Key areas of support Foreign Affairs of Norway and the Financial are environmental protection and climate change, Mechanism Office. Participants included repre- research and scholarships, civil society, health and sentatives of intermediaries from the beneficiary NHC’s Anders Nielsen children, gender equality, justice and cultural heritage. countries, National Focal Points and Norwegian civil society, as well as the ministry itself, the In the course of 2011, Memorandums of Under­ Financial Mechanism Office and the NHC. During standings regarding the priorities and allocation of the meeting, lessons learnt were discussed and funds were agreed upon by the donor countries and achievements and challenges of the previous grant the beneficiary states. In 2012, the NGO funds, which period (2004-2009) were reviewed. Consideration represent around €135 million in funding, will be was also given on how to plan for the future. launched. An information meeting about the EEA grants and The NHC is responsible for keeping Norwegian civil Norwegian support for civil society in the benefici­ary society well informed about the EEA and Norwegian countries was arranged in Oslo in September. The grants and NGO funds in the beneficiary countries, meeting, which was organised in cooperation with assisting in establishing contact and cooperation the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together between NGOs in the beneficiary countries and approximately 120 representatives from different Norway, and giving advice to the Ministry of Foreign sectors of Norwegian civil society.

Affairs in matters related to Norwegian civil society. Study visit from Estonia Through this project the NHC cooperates closely An important task for the NHC is also to have with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ongoing and direct contact with Norwegian organi­ Norwegian embassies in the beneficiary countries sations seeking information about the EEA and as well as the Financial Mechanism Office. Norwegian grants, on how to apply for funds and other relevant questions. A new website was also In 2011, the NHC facilitated and organised visits, developed to facilitate the development of partner- meetings and events in order to strengthen civil ships. The portal will be an important tool for society engagement and foster partnerships. We also ­continuously disseminating information about the LEFT: Stakeholder meeting in Oslo facilitated study visits to Norway by Estonian NGOs EEA and Norwegian grants. RIGHT: Study visit from Hungary

33 Annual Report 2011

VI Information

NHC. In the course of 2011, the NHC published Media Contact 157 relevant news articles on the website www. As an independent human rights organisation, we nhc.no, in addition to other postings. On average, consider it imperative to maintain high visibility the NHC website had 230 unique visits per day in and communicate our points of view to the general 2011. The NHC also became more active on social public, the media and directly to the Norwegian media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. authorities. A significant aspect of the activities of our information department is therefore to commu- nicate the work of the NHC and its views to the Publications

20102011

• 21 REPORT media and the general public. The NHC published two printed reports in 2011: ❯❯ Turkmenistan: Dashoguz women’s prison colony. TURKMENISTAN: Dashoguz women’s prison colony The NHC subscribes to a service from Meltwater The report was prepared by Turkmen civil news that tracks media appearances. In 2011 the society activists, and co-edited with the Human NHC or its advisors were registered with 735 hits Rights Center Memorial. in Norwegian electronic media. Here it should be ❯❯ Unable or unwilling? Georgia’s faulty investiga- noted that this figure refers only to electronically tion of crimes committed during and after the published articles and reports. Material in printed Russo-Georgian war of August 2008. The report 20102011

• 2 REPORT Unable or publications is not taken into account, but these was co-authored with the Georgian human georgia’s faultyUnwilling? investigation of crimes committed during and after the represent a substantial additional source of visibil- rights groups Article 42, Georgian Young r war of a usso-g ugust 2008 eorgian ity. Additionally, NHC representatives are fre- Lawyers’ Association and Georgia’s Human quently used as commentators and experts, and in Rights Center. debates on radio and TV programmes. We have also been mentioned on numerous occasions in Additionally, the NHC published the following Russian-language and other international media. report electronically in 2011: ❯❯

20102011 The impunity syndrome in the Caucasus: The sit-

• 23 REPORT The impuni The NHC has set the agenda in several important uation of the Georgian-Russian conflict of August T in The Cau y syndrome Casus The situation of the Georgian- russian conflict human rights questions in 2011, and we are contin- 2008. The report was co-authored with the of august 2008 uing to be one of the most visible human rights Georgian human rights groups Article 42, organisations in Norway. Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and Georgia’s Human Rights Center.

Web pages All three publications can be downloaded from the The information department communicates the web page www.nhc.no, or ordered from the NHC work of the NHC through its own website and information department on request. publications. In March 2011, the NHC launched a new website. The upgrade was necessary and the new web solution has proven to be user-friendly Membership for visitors, and a useful tool for the information As of the end of 2011, the NHC had 574 individual department in communicating the work of the members.

VII Finances

The total spending in 2011 was 45,0 million NOK The Norwegian Helsinki Committees donors are out of which project support for partners constituted primarily the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 32,7 million NOK. Total income balance was the Freedom of Expression Foundation (Fritt Ord), 45,3 million NOK. Open Society Institute and National Endowment for Democracy. Gifts, members contribution etc. provided an income of 347 736 NOK.

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xx Demonstration in St.Petersburg after the Duma election in December

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