Human rights

“Saturday Mothers” of Turkey: in the pursuit of justice

02/04/2019 -  Burcu Karakaş Istanbul

Since 1995, the relatives of numerous "desaparecidos", who disappeared during the Kurdish conflict in Turkey, ask for justice and truth in Galatasaray Square. Last summer sit-ins were banned, but their struggle continues

How gender balanced will the next European Parliament be?

26/03/2019 -  Gina Pavone

Will parties run enough women, and will they be placed in electable positions on electoral lists? Besides electoral systems, determination and concrete action are required to incentivise female representation. Let’s take a look at where we are now, with the numbers in hand

Karadžić, life imprisonment for the "good neighbour"

22/03/2019 -  Alfredo Sasso

On Wednesday, the MICT (Residual Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals) condemned on appeal the former leader of Bosnian Serbs during the war of the 1990s to life imprisonment. While Karadžić will serve the sentence in a state for now unknown, his ideas unfortunately continue to circulate

Chechnya: taxis, Islam and independence

13/03/2019 -  Marat Iliyasov

Soon the Chechen women will be able to take taxis driven by women and only for women. An initiative sponsored by an Arab investment fund that caused very different reactions

Bosnia and Herzegovina, rivers under siege

11/03/2019 -  Marco Ranocchiari

Bosnia Herzegovina and its citizens' initiatives in defense of its natural resources and waterways

Afghan immigrants in Turkey, a challenging life

28/02/2019 -  Burcu Karakaş Istanbul

Afghans represent Turkey's largest community of irregular migrants, still growing despite forced repatriations, denied rights, and difficult living conditions

Serbia: the prime minister's child

01/03/2019 -  Antonela Riha Belgrade

The fact that the Serbian prime minister recently had a child from her partner does not make her legally a parent. In fact, Serbia lacks a law on same-sex marriages. Could this be the chance?

Srebrenica, revisionist siege

01/03/2019 -  Alfredo Sasso

Republika Srpska has appointed two new international commissions tasked with establishing the crimes committed in Srebrenica and those committed against the Serbian population in Sarajevo. A group of academics and various analysts highlight its revisionist intentions

Albania, it had to happen sooner or later

30/01/2019 -  Nicola Pedrazzi

A rush of vitality for Albania's society and future. An interview with Gresa Hasa, an activist of the student movement that is giving the Albanian government a hard time

Dossier: Disinformation

11/01/2019 -  Niccolò Caranti - Fazıla Mat

"Fake news" or disinformation is one of the most pressing issues of our times. Building on the materials of the Resource Centre on Press and Media Freedom in Europe, OBCT devoted its latest special dossier to this topic

Croatia, a thousand lawsuits against journalists

18/01/2019 -  Giovanni Vale Zagreb

There are over a thousand ongoing trials against journalists or Croatian media, and the list is not complete. The complaint of the Association of Croatian Journalists

Azerbaijan, the Huseynov’s case

15/01/2019 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

A blogger’s plea for justice shakes the world, but not official Baku

Arzu Abdullayeva: Peace agent between Azerbaijan and Armenia

02/01/2019 -  Gular MehdizadeSabina AbubekirovaAnonymous

Arzu Abdullayeva has faced threats, insults and even violent demonstrations because of his peace activism between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But she never gave up

The fragility of Syrian refugee women in Turkey

24/12/2018 -  Burcu Karakaş

Violence, exploitation, marginalisation: these are the challenges of a difficult everyday life for many Syrian refugee women in Turkey

Europe has a shortage of doctors

17/12/2018 -  Déborah Berthier

A surge in retirements, lack of new doctors in training, emigration to countries with better working conditions… by 2020, Europe could be facing a shortage of 230,000 doctors.

Cowboy Makedonski

18/12/2018 -  Francesca Rolandi

A documentary tells the story of a young Macedonian who arrived in Italy in the 1990s, looking for a job. We talked with the authors of this Italian-Macedonian production

Armenia: sexual minorities, the alternative to violence is silence

12/11/2018 -  Armine Avetisyan

The situation of members of the LGBT community in Armenia is dramatic. And many of them, not to suffer the social stigma and sometimes even physical violence, choose not to reveal their sexual identity

Croatia, criminalisation of solidarity

08/11/2018 -  Francesca Rolandi

With 700 cases of reports of violence and theft against migrants at the border, Croatia holds the negative record among the countries of the area. Meanwhile, intimidation against solidarity increases and the first convictions pour down

"Let's go all the way". In David Square, Banja Luka

05/10/2018 -  Alfredo Sasso Banja Luka

Parents, grandparents, children – hundreds of people have been guarding Banja Luka's main square for over six months, demanding justice for David. Regardless of who wins Sunday's elections, they are determined to go all the way

Bjelave children: the story of Amer and Alen

16/10/2018 -  Nicole Corritore

Kenan and Haris Hasanagić searched for years for traces of Amer and Alen Ljuša, their two cousins who left Sarajevo in 1992, together with other children from the Bjelave orphanage, to be sheltered in Italy. Instead of being returned to Bosnia at the end of the war, they were given up for adoption. They finally met last summer, with the help of OBCT. An interview with Kenan Hasanagić

Bjelave's children: looking for Sedina

25/09/2018 -  Nicole Corritore

Our investigation continues on the dramatic case of the 46 children from the Bjelave orphanage in Sarajevo. The second part of the interview with human rights activist Jagoda Savić, who has been dealing with the case since 2000

Tirana: a street not to forget Alessandro Leogrande

26/09/2018 -  Erion Gjatolli Tirana

Less than a year after his untimely death, Albania celebrates Alessandro Leogrande. The Municipality of Tirana dedicates him a street and his Albanian publisher celebrates his work. Here, we remember him through a conversation he had with his friend Nicola Lagioa

Cyprus: words matter

02/10/2018 -  Valentina Vivona

Death threats, a petition, protests. Last July, in Cyprus, a glossary for journalism published by the OSCE sparked a furious debate

The Bjelave children: the case is still open

21/09/2018 -  Nicole Corritore

During the siege, 46 children from the Sarajevo orphanage were sheltered in Italy. Although not all of them were orphans, they were not repatriated, but given up for adoption. Some of the biological parents have been looking for them for years. An interview with human rights activist Jagoda Savić, who has been dealing with the case since 2000

Bjelave children: the search continues

20/09/2018 -  Nicole Corritore

On July 18th, 1992, a convoy of children, picked up from the Bjelave orphanage, left Sarajevo under siege. 46 never returned to Bosnia: they were given up for adoption, despite living biological parents. A tragic story, re-emerged from the dark

Turkey, the plight of women refugees

18/09/2018 -  Fazıla Mat

Women make up almost half of the Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey. In addition to the difficulties arising from their condition of refugees, they often face sexual violence and patriarchal norms

Azerbaijan: white gold, black labour

28/08/2018 -  Arzu Geybullayeva

After the global decline in oil prices, Azerbaijan is trying to differentiate its economy betting on cotton industry. In Soviet times the “white gold” was one of the biggest exports of Azerbaijan, today is caracterized by huge violations of workers' rights

Pakistani Journalist Among Migrants in Bosnia: A Refugee from Oppression

27/08/2018 -  Adis Nadarević Sarajevo

The story of Muhammad Yasir, Pakistano journalist who fled from his country and who now lives in the nylon tents of the migrant camp in Velika Kladusa

Armenia: there is no workplace in the village

08/08/2018 -  Armine Avetisyan Yerevan

According to the State Employment Agency, more than 82,000 people are currently looking for jobs in Armenia. The number of unemployed in rural areas is 18.3% of the total, which increased by 26.6% compared to the same period last year

Albania: ‘If I were a boy’

03/08/2018 -  Gentiola Madhi

‘If I were a boy’ is the title of a novel by a male author published in 1936, which explores the inner world of a young girl living in Tirana, and her revolutionary thoughts on women’s emancipation and empowerment in Albania’s patriarchal society