Several Roma families have recently been evicted and denied alternative accommodation, according to our partner Albanian Helsinki Committee. Civil Rights Defenders has sent a letter to the Albanian authorities demanding them to protect families from forced eviction and to respect the right to housing of Roma families.
The legislative assembly of St. Petersburg has decided to postpone the hearing of the anti-gay bill for the second time. “Protesters all over the world have shown that this is not a bill that belongs in a European country in 2011″, said Ninke Liebert, at Civil Rights Defenders.
A court in Chisinau has convicted a website for hate speech against LGBT people. The case is an important step forward in the work for equal rights in Moldova, and demonstrates that incitement to discrimination and violence will not be tolerated.
A new anti-gay bill was accepted at a first reading in the regional parliament of Saint Petersburg. We protest against the bill since it severely limits the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. You can do that too, by signing a petition.
We conduct systematic work against discrimination. Among other, this has lead to the adoption of anti-discrimination legislation in several countries in the Western Balkans.
Personal characteristics such as national or ethnic origin, religious or political beliefs, medical condition, sexual orientation, sex and age are bases for daily discrimination in Serbia. Together with Centre for Advanced Legal Studies we address these issues in a systematic way.
The Arkhangelsk Oblast Council of Deputies has passed amendments and additions to the regional law, stating that public actions aimed at promotion of homosexuality among minors are not allowed. We consider the law to be discriminatory and violating the fundamental principle of equality of rights of all people.
On September 13 Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat is visiting Sweden. Civil Rights Defenders urges the Swedish Government to bring up the proposed Law against discrimination to discussion.
Human Rights Defenders and LGBT activists from all over the world gather in Stockholm during Pride. We have invited ten activists from six countries with the aim to support their struggle against discrimination and their quest for the rights that some of us take for granted.
In Russia, LGBT persons are being discriminated in daily life and in law. Together with the russian organisation Coming Out we are organising an annual Queer Culture Festival in St. Petersburg. The festival gives us an opportunity to mobilize and empower the LGBT community.
LGBT issues are generally silenced in Albania, and the lives of LGBT persons are marked by isolation and lack of support. In order to terminate their isolation we work actively to promote and empower the LGBT community in cooperation with the organisation Aleanca.
A major problem in Kosovo today is the lack of lawyers who can represent victims of human rights violations in court. In collaboration with our partner we are establishing a pool of lawyers and preparing them for the task.
In collaboration with the organisation LABRIS we address discrimination of LGBT people in institutional settings through education. In a long term perspective we hope to contribute to a better environment for the LGBT community.
On May 27-29 we co-organise a conference on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons in the Western Balkans. We hope to achieve a better understanding of the relation between human rights protection and equal rights of all people, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In 2010 Macedonia passed the long expected law on prevention and protection against discrimination. However, to this date there is not a single decision reached by the domestic courts related to discrimination. Together with our partner Macedonian Young Lawyers Association’s we work to improve anti-discrimination policies, practices and standards in the judicial system in Macedonia. [...]
The trial against the Roma minor in the village Jabuka in Serbia has started, We were again denied access to the court. We request that the boy is held in detention with other minors, and not with adults
Four Roma families were left without a roof over their heads at temperatures below zero when their barracks were demolished.Together with our partners in the coalition against discrimination we condemn in the strongest terms the authorities´ treatment of these people.
Between 2001 and 2007 Zivota Milanovic from Jagodina, Seriba, member of Hindu Vaishnava religious community, was attacked five times because of his religious beliefs. We have been working actively on the case together with our partner.
Our cooperation with the Albanian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights (AHC) in this specific project aims at improving the situation regarding protection against discrimination in Albania. We do this by raising capacities of our legal aid partners and the Institution of the Commissioner against Discrimination in handling cases of discrimination as well as increase the capacities of lawyers, people from public structures and civil society to understand and follow cases of discrimination.
Human Rights Watch appeals to European states to stop sending Roma back to Kosovo. In a report they point out that Roma who left for Western Europe but were sent back face serious human rights problems. We recently wrote an Op-Ed with the exact same message.
Sweden and other EU countries are deporting Roma to Kosovo in full knowledge that these people face abject poverty and systematic discrimination. We are calling for an immediate halt to the deportation and we urge the government to make every effort to get other EU Member States to follow suit.
LGBT persons face daily discrimination in Russia, both in daily life as well as by legislation. We cooperate with the St Petersburg based organisation Coming Out to increase the understanding for LGBT persons. One activity this year is to organise an an international Queer Culture Festival in St Petersburg in September.
In mid September the second international queer culture festival takes place in St Petersburg. The aim is to put focus on the right to be who you are, and to encourage people to think outside the box. Our support to the LGBT movement in Russia is showing results.
Civil Rights Defenders cooperation with Veliki Mali aims at making education more accessible to children with disabilities, by enhancing parents’ participation in the decision-making processes concerning their children and the quality of education that they receive.
Serbian authorities are still not doing enough toward ensuring implementation of recently enacted laws and enabling unobstructed operation of independent institutions, according to findings in a report by Youth Initiative for Human Rights and Civil Rights Defenders.
Within the Russian society people with mental disabilities are marginalised and excluded from almost every aspect of life. In cooperation with Mental Disability Advocacy Centre we lobby towards the Russian authorities to prompt them to comply with national and international legislation.
From April 29th until May 2nd Gay Pride is arranged in Moldova. A demonstration on Sunday May 2nd has been forbidden with reference to protests from religious and other groups. The event will be an important test for the new coalition government Alliance for European Integration.
The main objective of our cooperation with the organisation ARKA is to register, and provide identification documents, to around 300 Roma individuals in Skopje, Kumanovo, Kratovo, and Kriva Palanka regions. The registration will give them access to basic human rights; such as the right to education, health care, social allowances, as well as the possibility to get a legal employment and the right to vote in general elections.
Since 2006 Civil Rights Defenders has cooperated with Tirana Legal Aid Society, TLAS, in assisting Roma families to register their children, but also other members of the families, in order to help them get access to some of the most fundamental human rights; such as the right to education, health care, social allowances, as well as the possibility to get a legal employment and the right to vote in general elections. Hundreds of families have been assisted through our joint efforts so far.
In cooperation with Albanian Disability Rights Foundation we provide legal aid to persons with disabilities, and to their families. Our efforts include raising awareness and recognition of human rights by spreading information to stakeholders that are one way or the other involved in disability issues, but also to the general public.
In cooperation with the Russian LGBT Network we support LGBT groups and organisations all over Russia with capacity building, legal counselling and organisational development. Although Russia has taken some very important steps in the right direction, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is widely spread in the society.
The European Court for Human Rights has ruled that Bosnia and Herzegovina discriminated against Jews and Roma by forbidding them to stand for key elected posts, including parliament and the presidency.
In Macedonia, Roma children are placed in special classes and the segregation is widespread in many areas, Macedonian Helsinki Committee says in its latest monthly report on the human rights situation in the country.
Systemic violations do not exist in the area of human rights in Montenegro, according to the report by Youth Initiative for Human Rights in cooperation with Civil Rights Defenders. However, there are problematic aspects related to freedom of expression and discrimination, among other.
The LGBT organisation Coming Out, partner of the Swedish Helsinki Committee, has been officially registered by the government. This is the first case in Russian history when an organisation openly announcing as its goal advocacy for the interests of the LGBT community is registered by the government on the first try without any court intervention. [...]
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