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A Nnual Report Annual Report 2016 Content Norwegian Helsinki Committee 2 Norwegian Helsinki Committee Established in 1977 3 Perspectives The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) is a non-governmental organisation that strives to 4 Activities in 2016 promote respect for human rights both nationally and internationally. Its work is based on 5 The Russian Federation the conviction that civil society must document and actively promote human rights in order for states to secure human rights, both at home and abroad. 8 Belarus 10 Ukraine The basis of the NHC’s work is the international human rights instruments adopted by the 11 South Caucasus United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the latter including the 1975 Helsinki Final Act. 16 The International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB) The NHC focuses mainly on the countries of Europe and Central Asia. The NHC pursues 18 Central Asia its goals irrespective of ideology or political system in these countries and maintains 20 Turkey its political neutrality. 22 Romania 23 Natalya Estemirova documentation centre How we work 24 Human rights education 27 Human Rights in Norway Human rights monitoring and reporting By monitoring and reporting on problematic human rights situations in specific countries, the 29 NHC Geneva representative NHC is able to shed light on violations of human rights. The NHC places particular emphasis on 30 Co-operation and International Processes civil and political rights, including the fundamental freedoms of expression, belief, association 32 EEA Grants and assembly. On-site research and close co-operation with key civil society actors are our 34 LGBTI: A year filled with rainbow actions main working methods. The NHC has expertise in election observation and has sent numerous observer missions to monitor elections over the last two decades. 37 Communication 37 Finances Support for democratic processes 38 The NHC Secretariat By sharing knowledge and providing financial assistance, the NHC supports local initiatives for the promotion of an independent civil society and public institutions as well as free media. 39 Organisation A well-functioning civil society is a precondition for the development of democracy. Education and information Through education and information about democracy and human rights, international law and multicultural understanding, we work to increase the focus on human rights. Our aim is to influence both public opinion and governments in human rights matters. International processes Editor of the Annual Report: Berit Nising Lindeman, Head of communication As in our educational work, the NHC seeks, by way of participation in international processes, meetings and conferences, to induce governments and international organisations to make Cover: NHC’s Inna Sangadzhieva during campaign to free journalist human rights a priority. Khadija Ismayilova from Azerbaijan. Photo by Craig Jackson, Human Rights House Foundation. 2 Norwegian Helsinki Committee Perspectives Crime, Corruption and Complicity When you drive from the airport to downtown Baku, you see For ordinary Azerbaijanis, the international community must many signs of Azerbaijan’s oil wealth. A number of new seem a bit two-faced. On the one hand, there is condemnation signature buildings such as the three Flame Towers light up of human rights abuses. On the other hand, Western compa- the evening skyline. The difference from 15 years ago is nies, especially in the oil and gas sector, are doing business immense. In the nineties, Baku was a drab post-Soviet town with the Azeri government. Indeed, up until recently, one of reeling from the combined effects of war, economic break- the new buildings in Baku, a cone-shaped tower 33 stories down and the environmental side-effects of oil production. high, was crowned with the letters T – R – U – M – P. The improvements are striking, but the economic boom has Investigative journalists in the US and Azerbaijan have made a benefited some more than others. Although most people are convincing case that the Trump organisation’s Baku deal is an better off than in the nineties, the oil wealth has fortified the example of corruption involving both a dubious Azeri family ruling Aliyev family’s grip on power and made the Azeri elite and front companies for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. incredibly rich. The human rights situation has gone from bad The Baku Trump Tower appears to be a money-laundering to worse. The political opposition is marginalised and many of operation in which the Trump organisation benefited from my old colleagues from Azerbaijan’s civil society have been the use of its logo. imprisoned or have fled the country. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard supports terrorism in many The government of Azerbaijan is carrying out a multi-pronged places in the world. The US condemns corruption, human attack on freedom of expression. It is introducing harsh rights abuse and terrorism, yet in Baku the American penalties for critical speech online, imprisoning young president, a corrupt Azeri oligarch and an Iranian terrorist activists for nothing more than graffiti, blocking access to organisation appear to be in business together. the websites of independent media and harassing and violating the rights of journalists. Hopefully, Trump’s Baku deal will be investigated by US prosecutors; the allegations of complicity in money laundering A case in point is the recent imprisonment of Mehman are too serious to be ignored. One way to fight the unholy Huseynov, Azerbaijan’s top political blogger and chairman of trinity of human rights abuse, corruption and terrorism would the country’s leading press freedom group. Huseynov was be to impose targeted sanctions against the perpetrators, detained, maltreated in custody, and convicted of libel and including government officials. sentenced to two years in prison on 3 March 2017 after daring to go public about the torture he had suffered at The Magnitsky sanctions (named after a Russian whistle- the hands of police officers. We will fight for his release. blower who was killed) provide an important model in the fight for accountability. Magnitsky sanction regimes have been The ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders may be adopted by the USA, UK and Estonia; other states should linked to the dire economic outlook for Azerbaijan. Oil follow suit. revenues are going down as major fields are gradually depleted, and the oil price is low. If the regime cannot pay its backers, the system may unravel. >> Annual Report 2016 3 Activities in 2016 >> Maintaining checks and balances in political leadership is as important as ever. The NHC is very happy to have become the Norwegian member of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in 2016. In order for our human rights work to be more effective we must co-operate, as well as unite forces across borders. The Paris-based FIDH Statoil CEO Eldar Sætre and President Ilham Aliyev in Davos in January 2017 were featured prominently in Azerbaijan, where the government is keen to is a powerful worldwide network of human portray the president as being popular among international business leaders (Photo: official site of the president of Azerbaijan). rights organisations. Membership in the FIDH While many foreign businesses in Azerbaijan are not them- will make the NHC’s efforts more visible and selves corrupt, they benefit from a corrupt system. This fact more forceful, while the NHC can offer its should make them reflect harder on how they can support the establishment of rule of law and freedom of expression in experience and resources to the FIDH. Azerbaijan. Together with our partners we need to remind Together, we will be able to defend human Western businesses of their responsibilities according to the UN guidelines on business and human rights. rights even better than before. Although our Wouldn’t it be a great idea for Statoil and other major main focus is on the human rights challenges in Norwegian companies involved in Azerbaijan to contribute to Eastern Europe, we are also actively defending a fund to support human rights defenders and freedom of expression? human rights in our own country, Norway. Thanks to our expertise and the wide-ranging networks of our staff, we are able to follow developments closely, take action on urgent matters and have an extensive range of project activities. The Russian Federation Despite the difficult relationship between Russia and the West, the NHC maintains the importance of a two-fold approach. Although we will criticise President Putin’s regime and support sanctions against those responsible for violations of international law, at the same time we will co-operate with forces at the grass roots level and in civil society as well as with those state servants and politicians who want to make a difference within their framework of possibilities. An increasingly restrictive legal framework complicates both our colleagues’ and our own work in the Russian Federation. Even though this situation has an effect on our activities, it does not alter our goal, which is: to support civil society to the greatest extent possible, to disseminate information about violations and to advocate for holding those who vio- late the law accountable for their actions. To this end, we also challenge the Norwegian authorities. Since late 2015 we have participated actively in the ongoing public debate about asylum seekers in order to ensure their the right to apply for asylum in Norway. We argue that Russia cannot be consid- ered as a safe third country for refugees. Left: Head of the Liberal Party The NHC has produced several statements, op-eds, presen- Trine Skei Grande hosted our delegation of Russian election tations and interviews, either on its own or together with experts and observers on a NGOs in Russia, in order to draw attention to the general tour of and lunch at the Duma human rights situation and to the working conditions of the Right: Pskov opposition NGOs, lawyers and journalists that address these challenges.
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