On 20 December the Legal Initiative Homel office hosted the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Contest award ceremony.
According to head of the office Leanid Sudalenka, the panel members received numerous essays reflecting various aspects of human rights and freedoms, including their protection and promotion. Preference was given to the works that presented authentic viewpoints on the human rights movement.
Belarusian high police officials say they will have to fingerprint each and every male citizen of Belarus unless the 4 July, 2008 explosion is solved by the investigation. Since www.odsgomel.org keeps receiving evidence of Homel residents being forced to take their fingerprints, the city human rights experts decided to comment on the lawfulness of the action.
We would like to call your attention to the following material:
On the 28 September 2008, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the extradition of Nikolay Ivanovich Soldatenko to Turkmenistan would constitute a violation of Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) as well as a breach of Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and of Article 5 §1 (f) and §4 (right to liberty and security). Continue reading »
On 16 December Aliaksei Lapitski, human rights activists from Zhodzina, finally received a reply to his claim to the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus #04-04/307 of 11 November, 2008, signed by M.Samaseika. (see attached materials)
Zhodzina party bosses of the pro-Lukashenka Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM) seem to oppose Belarusian as such. They do not understand why a schoolchild may choose to dance to Belarusian-language music at a Christmas party.
Anyway, the fact is that the schoolmasters of Gymnasium #1, steered by the BRSM town office ideologists, impose ban on organizing a Belarusian-language Christmas school dancing party. Will this be followed by any reaction by the Ministry of Education?
On December 10, the International Human Rights Day, Belarusian Helsinki Committee released its latest report on the situation in the field of human rights in Belarus in 2007-2008. The Russian version can be found at the BHC web-site , or downloaded here. Continue reading »
On 10 December a number of festive actions dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were held in Zhodzina. Human rights defenders and civil society activists distributed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the streets, at the procuracy, at the executive committee, at the youth center, at a number of secondary schools, at the check-point of the Belarusian Automobile Plant. In some cases other informational materials were distributed as well. Color posters with description of all articles of the Declaration were presented to officers of the abovementioned state institutions. Continue reading »
Celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration in Belarus was marked with mass (and in some cases, quite rude) detentions of human rights defenders and civil activists. Continue reading »
The hearings on the criminal case against Alexander Barazenka at Tsentralny district court came to an end. Procurator Tsikhavets demanded that the accused was sentenced to 18 months of personal restraint without direction to an open prison. Alexander Barazenka did not take the blame. Continue reading »
December 10 marks the anniversary of the UN Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Continue reading »
