Belarus Picture
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Belarus
On June 9, a district court in Minsk sentenced Oksana Novikova, a prominent anti Lukashenko protester, to 2 years and 6 months under house arrest for slandering the President. Prosecutors accused Novikova of passing out leaflets at the main railway station in Minsk which contained slanderous information and that accused the President of serious crimes. These leaflets, which Novikova herself typed and copied, included a picture of Lukashenko and specifically accused him of causing the disappearance of various citizens, causing natural gas to be shut off in February, smuggling, cheating the Government out of customs revenue by exempting his companies from paying customs fees, and retaining power illegally. ... [Read More]
"For the Record" Alumni Newsletter – Office of Academic Exchange Programs, European Programs Branch
Session presenters included Raffi Gregorian, Deputy Director for Bosnia at the Office of South Central European Affairs; Ambassador William Taylor, Coordinator of US Assistance to Europe and Eurasia; and Kurt Basseuner from the Democratization Policy Institute. BUDP participant Damir Mezet said, "In learning about the way US society functions, I learned more about my own country I think I have a better picture about the position of Bosnia and Bosnians in the world I intend to use all my abilities in my country, because I believe that there is the possibility of good life back home." ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Mixed Picture Emerges on Global Human Rights Practices
But there are some hopeful signs in the overall picture for human rights. Early this year, the Chinese government took steps to provide relief to those still serving sentences for political activities that have been removed from China's Criminal Code. For many years, China apparently interpreted its law to provide few if any opportunities for sentence reduction or parole to such security prisoners. In a significant systemic shift, China now is committed to applying the same criteria for sentence reduction and parole to such prisoners as apply to common criminals. In early February, China granted sentence reduction or parole for a total of 58 individuals, including Tibetans and Uighurs who had been jailed for these so-called security crimes, and other cases are under review. According to the Tibet Information Network, two Tibetan nuns---one of them still a teenager when she was jailed-were released in July 2004. Many more prisoners of conscience remain in detention and we will con ... [Read More]
IV. Country Narratives: Europe and Eurasia
The Government of Azerbaijan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. A more complete picture of trafficking in Azerbaijan warrants its inclusion in this report for the first time. In the absence of government identification, local and international experts catalogued a significant number of victims trafficked from or through Azerbaijan during the reporting period. The government merits the designation of Tier 2 Watch List because its efforts are in initial stages and progress is expected in the near future. Law enforcement officers were neither trained nor instructed on victim identification and did not adequately investigate trafficking, nor the extent to which government corruption facilitates it. The government should promptly adopt and fully implement its national action plan and undertake and implement necessary legal reform. ... [Read More]
Introduction
Reports from North Korea continue to paint a bleak picture of one of the worlds most inhumane regimes. Rigid controls over information, which limit the extent of our report, reflect the totalitarian repression of North Korean society. Basic freedoms are unheard of, and the regime committed widespread abuses of human rights. This years report details among other abuses killings, persecution of forcibly repatriated North Koreans, and harsh conditions in the extensive prison camp system including torture, forced abortions and infanticide. ... [Read More]
2004 Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award Winners
This third annual edition of Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2004-2005 presents a picture of how the United States is engaged worldwide with people and institutions dedicated to building freer societies. Fostering democracy and human rights is a strategic decision founded on the understanding that given the opportunity, people will choose governments that are accountable to the governed, exercise rule of law, and respect human rights. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Transcript: State Department Noon Briefing, March 19
MR. ERELI: Before going to sort of the details of the meeting between Deputy Secretary Armitage and Serbian Foreign Minister Svilanovich, let's look at the big picture. ... QUESTION: Yes. Adam, there are two pictures from Baghdad, actually, some journalists, international and Arab, walked out on Secretary Powell in protest of our two colleagues are being died in Iraq, this is number one. ... [Read More]
Briefing En Route to Moscow, Russia
SECRETARY RICE: I can't answer that. It is certainly -- it has come a long way from where it was. There have been some setbacks but I do still think that there is a considerable amount of individual freedom in Russia, which is important. That is indeed one of the things that we watch very carefully, what is happening to the rights of individuals to challenge. We've been very clear with the Russians that the ability of individuals to coalesce into political groupings is also a test of democracy, and so one of the things that we talked about is treatment of nongovernmental organizations that are trying to promote that path. So it's a mixed picture but it's not the Soviet Union. ... [Read More]
U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs
Mr. Chairman and other distinguished Committee members, I am pleased to participate in your examination of U.S. foreign assistance programs. U.S. assistance is key to achieving our foreign policy goals in Europe and Eurasia, and we greatly appreciate your current and past support in providing us with this important diplomatic tool. I am pleased to have with me today Dr. Kent Hill, my counterpart from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Also, sitting behind me is Ambassador Carlos Pascual, the Coordinator of Assistance to Europe and Eurasia. We are fortunate to have in our Bureau a Coordinator with statutory authority over assistance in our region; we think this helps maintain a strong link between foreign policy objectives and assistance programs. A ... [Read More]
|