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July 2001
CONTENTS
NEWS
1. Rights Campaigner and Former Member of Uzbek Parliament Dies in Jail
2. Congolese Human Rights Activist Arrested and Released
3. Actions for Peace in Macedonian Conflict
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
4. Access Initiative on Environmental Decision Making Launched
5. World Movement Participant Seeks Assistance
6. Report on Belarus Released
7. "Cap Novosti" Bulletin on Building Democratic Processes
8. Amnesty International Report on Human Rights Released
9. OAS Welcomes Suggestions on Future Inter-American Democratic Charter
10. Report on Meeting of Democracy Assistance Foundations
11. Women Parliamentarians from Southern Africa to meet in Mauritius, July 27-28
12. Freedom Forum's International Journalists-in-Residence Program
13. Negotiation and Mediation Skills Workshops in Boston Area, USA
14. International Essay Contest for Young People
15. Article on Economic Reform in Emerging Democracies
16. Help Us Translate DemocracyNews
NEWS
1. Human Rights Campaigner and Former Member of Uzbek Parliament Dies in Jail
The Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan (HRSU) reports that on July 7, 2001, local authorities informed the family of Shovriq Ruzimorodov, head of the HRSU branch in Kashkadaryo province, that he had died in jail. The human rights community suspects that his death was the result of torture while in captivity. The local police arrested Shovriq Ruzimorodov on June 15 this year, claiming to have found 9 leaflets of a religious party and 28 gun cartridges in his possession. His relatives claim that the police planted the items, which is common in Uzbekistan.
Shovriq Ruzimorodov was elected to the Uzbek Parliament in 1990 as an independent candidate despite the opposition of local authorities. Soon after, he joined the Birlik (Unity) party, and later became a head of the Kashkadaryo provincial branch. He was previously arrested several times on similar charges and released, once on a request by Bronislav Geremek, Foreign Minister of Poland, who was then Chairman-in-Office of the OSCE. The human rights community believes that there are now about 7,000 political prisoners in Uzbekistan, most of them innocent Muslims, like Ruzimorodov, who are suspected by the government to be members of the independent Islamic movement.
Contact:
Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, Tashkent
Tel: 998-712-46-54-47,
support@hrsu.uz
2. Congolese Human Rights Activist Arrested and Released
Human Rights Watch has announced that Robert Ilunga Numbi, head of "Friends of Nelson Mandela for Human Rights," was arrested on June 15 in Kinshasa and released on June 20. This arrest highlights a trend in cracking down on human rights activism in Congo, which is in direct contradiction to President Kabila's pledge to uphold basic rights and the rule of law. Further information and the Human Rights Watch letter to President Kabila are available at: www.hrw.org/press/2001/06/drc0622-ltr.htm
3. Actions for Peace in Macedonian Conflict
In the midst of the growing conflict in Macedonia, a number of nongovernmental organizations are working collaboratively to reduce tension and build conditions for peace. The following are but three of those efforts:
The Association for Democratic Initiatives was established in Gostivar, Macedonia, in 1994 and works to strengthen civil society in the country by bringing people together from different ethnic and religious groups.
Contact:
Association for Democratic Initiatives (ADI - Macedonia)
B. Jovanoski St.61
1230 Gostivar
Macedonia
Tel: 389-4222-1100, Fax: 389-4222-1102
E-mail: adi@adi.org.mk
http://www.adi.org.mk
AYTI Millennium is a nongovernmental, non-partisan, and not-for-profit organization established in 1999. It publishes a monthly scientific-cultural bulletin in Turkish, organizes discussions and town meetings to improve inter-ethnic relations, and monitors human rights.
Contact:
AYTI Millennium
Stara Xhamija St. bb
1238 Vrapcishte
Macedonia
Tel: 389-4233-2326
Romani intellectuals living in Gostivar formed the Humanitarian and Charitable Roma Association (MESECINA) in 1993 to improve the socio-economic conditions of marginalized groups and to increase inter-ethnic tolerance.
Contact:
Humanitarian and Charitable Roma Association (MESECINA)
Zivko Brajkovski St. b.b.
1230 Gostivar
Macedonia
Tel/fax: 389-4222-2272
E-mail: mesecina@mt.net.mk
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
4. Access Initiative on Environmental Decision Making Launched
The Access Initiative, designed to facilitate access to information, participation, and justice in environmental decision-making, was recently launched by the World Resources Institute, an independent environmental think tank based in Washington; the Environmental Management and Law Association, an association of lawyers, professors, scientific researchers, environmental economists and journalists based in Hungary; the Chilean non-profit organization Corporación Participa; and the Thailand Environment Institute.
Go to: http://www.wri.org/governance/accessinit.html.
You can also join the e-mail list by sending a message to Access_Initiative-subscribe@topica.com (with your name and organization in the message field).
5. World Movement Participant Seeks Assistance
As you may know from a previous World Movement message, World Movement participants Mrs. Keiko Nishigaki of Japan and Mr. Narad Adhikari of Bhutan (in exile) are collaborating to promote democracy in the Asia region by launching the Association for Democracy of Asian Countries (ADAC). Mrs. Nishigaki is working to develop a Web site for ADAC, especially on Bhutanese issues. She is seeking technical advice on establishing the Web site and information on challenges to, and activities on, promoting democracy in Bhutan. If you would like to help, please contact her directly at mki3p-ng@cb3.so-net.ne.jp.
6. Report on Belarus Released
A new report on Belarus, "The Mechanics of Repression: Obstacles to Free and Fair Elections," documents the deterioration of freedom of expression in Belarus and examines prospects for establishing a level playing field for the presidential election on September 9, 2001. The report, published by Article 19, is available online at www.article19.org.
Contact:
Article 19
Global Campaign for Free Expression
Lancaster House, 33 Islington High Street
London N1 9LH
United Kingdom
Tel: 44-20-7278-9292
Fax: 44-20-7713-1356
E-mail: info@article19.org
www.article19.org
7. "Cap Novosti" Bulletin on Building Democratic Processes
Counterpart publishes the bi-monthly bulletin, "Cap Novosti," on building frameworks for the democratic process. These bulletins are available online in Russian and English at http://www.counterpart.org.ua/CAP.htm.
8. Amnesty International Report on Human Rights Released
The Amnesty International Annual Report 2001 on current human rights situations worldwide is now available online at www.amnesty.org.
9. OAS Welcomes Suggestions on Future Inter-American Democratic Charter
The Organization of American States (OAS) welcomes suggestions on the text of the future Inter-American Democratic Charter. A Web site has been set up to encourage participation by NGOs, research institutes, universities, and other sectors of civil society in the preparation of the new Charter. Suggestions can be submitted from July 9 to August 10, 2001, at http://www.oas.org/charter/eng/charter_en.htm. It is also be possible to submit views to the official OAS Web page at http://www.oas.org.
10. Report on Meeting of Democracy Assistance Foundations
The international network of democracy assistance foundations met in Berlin, June 24-26, 2001. Organized by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and co-sponsored by the four other German party-affiliated foundations, the conference (entitled "Making Democracy Sustainable") marked the fifth time the network has met since it was originally convened in 1993 at the request of the U.S. Congress. There were approximately 75 participants and observers from 20 countries, including nine-Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States-that have publicly-supported, nongovernmental assistance foundations. The opening panel featured representatives of political parties and nongovernmental organizations in Hungary, Russia, Kenya, Mongolia, and the Philippines that have been the recipients of assistance. Following the panel discussions, participants met with German President Johannes Rau and Deputy Bundestag Speaker Anke Fuchs, both of whom paid tribute to the important work that the foundations are doing to promote democracy. The World Movement for Democracy has established on its Web site a democracy assistance network (http://www.wmd.org/asstfound/asst.html) to facilitate the sharing of information among the assistance foundations. A copy of President Rau's speech is available on the Web site.
11. Women Parliamentarians from Southern Africa to meet in Mauritius, July 27-28
More than 300 African women Parliamentarians from 16 nations will meet in Mauritius, July 27-28, to establish a Southern African Regional Women's Caucus for Members of Parliament. The event is being organized by the Parliamentary Forum of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the SADC Gender Unit. The invited speaker is Lesley Abdela, founder of the All-Party 300 Group for Women in Politics and Chief Executive of Project Parity, an international NGO that trains women leaders.
Contact:
Rumbidzai Nhundu
Gender Programme Officer
SADC Parliamentary Forum
E-mail: sadc@mweb.com.na
12. Freedom Forum's International Journalists-in-Residence Program
Applications for the 2002 Freedom Forum International Journalists-in-Residence Program are due August 31, 2001. The 3-4-month program features journalism courses held at a major university in a large U.S. city. Participants also visit local media outlets and participate in lectures and seminars. The program is open to journalists from Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and Central and South America. All applicants must be working journalists in the early to middle stages of their careers and proficient in written and spoken English. Preference will be given to applicants with little or no experience in the United States.
Contact:
Freedom Forum, International Journalists-in-Residence Program
1101 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22209, USA
Fax: 1-703-528-3520
E-mail: intl@freedomforum.org
13. Negotiation and Mediation Skills Workshops in Boston Area, USA
The Conflict Management Group is offering two kinds of conflict resolution workshops led by well-known conflict management specialist, Roger Fisher. Participants from non-profit organizations receive a discount on the registration fee. Negotiation workshop: helps participants explore current negotiation theory and practice their newly acquired skills (August 20-22, 2001 and November 12-14, 2001); Mediation workshop: designed for interested professionals who want to complement their management, leadership, and negotiation skills with those of a mediator (October 2-5, 2001).
Contact:
Michael Dekoster
Conflict Management Group/Executive Education
The Roger Fisher House
9 Waterhouse Street
Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Tel: 1-617-354-5444 (ext.187)
Fax: 1-617-354-8467
dekoster@cmgroup.org
www.cmgroup.org
14. International Essay Contest for Young People
Win 100,000 Yen and a trip to Japan! The United Nations designated 2001-2010 as the "International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence for the Children of the World," emphasizing the role of peace education at all levels of society to benefit every child. The Japan-based Goi Foundation is sponsoring an International Essay Contest for Young People on the theme, "respect for life," which is the most important foundation in building a world of peace and harmony. The essay deadline is July 31, 2001. For more information, including guidelines, go to: www.goipeace.or.jp/english/essay1.html or send an e-mail message to wpps@worldpeace-jp.org.
15. Article on "Tapping Hidden Fortunes" in Emerging Democracies
This article, written by World Movement participant and São Paulo Assembly workshop organizer Catherine Kuchta-Helbling, explores how billions of dollars in potential profits are lost each year in emerging democracies as a result of ill-designed laws and regulations that exclude millions of citizens from political and economic systems and unnecessarily raise the cost of doing business. The article provides strategies for the private sector to work with public policy makers to reduce the cost of doing business. Kuchta-Helbling is Program Officer for Latin America, Research and Advocacy, at the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).
Go to: http://www.cipe.org/fs/articles/tapping.php3
16. Translation of DemocracyNews
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1025 F Street, NW, Suite 800,
Washington, DC 20004 USA
Tel: (202) 378-9700
Fax: (202) 378-9889
http://www.wmd.org
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