Human rights

Following a month-long deadlock, the Kosovo Assembly has finally voted the law establishing a Special Court to judge the KLA alleged war crimes

In Diyarbakır, southeastern Turkey, there are at least 20,000 refugees, including many Yazidis, who dream of reaching Europe. Second part of the report

According to the latest UNHCR estimates, approximately 1.770,000 refugees have reached Turkey since 2011 to date. We devote a report to their situation in Istanbul, Diyarbakir, and Urfa. The first episode

The commemorations of the twentieth anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide will be taking place in a town where hardly anyone lives any more

The stand of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights ahead of the Srebrenica commemoration. Addressing the needs of the victims of the genocide must be the priority

The European Games are not bringing to Azerbaijan the positive media coverage its authorities had expected, investing millions on the event. The best deal was Lady Gaga's

Human rights officials highlight the crackdown on freedom of expression in Azerbaijan ahead of the inauguration of the European Games in Baku

The Sarajevo Women's Court and transitional justice in the former Yugoslavia: preliminary reflections

The European Games in Baku are only a month away, while the list of the country's political prisoners keeps on growing

The first Women's Tribunal in Europe took place in Sarajevo between May 7^th and 10^th. The participants came from all the countries of the former Yugoslavia

Nils Muižnieks, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, made public on 10 March his report on the state of human rights in Armenia. Our interview

A process that began in the eighties is about – perhaps – to come to completion 35 years later. Slovenia's new Family Code puts LGBT couples on the same level as heterosexual ones. But the shadow of a possible referendum looms on the new law

In June 2015, Baku will host the European Games. Human Rights watchdogs believe the international event will serve to whitewash the country’s deteriorating rights reputation

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of a female student in Turkey, women associations come out in anger: "We are not mourning, we are in revolt"

On January 28th, at the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels, OBC hosted a discussion on media freedom in Europe. The welcoming speech of our director, Luisa Chiodi, summarizing the achievements of the project “Safety Net for European Journalists”

The arrest on spurious charges of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova is being met by a disturbing silence of the international community, and shows there are no more boundaries for the Aliyev regime

A tragic event shows the downhill path taken by Slovenian journalism – more and more scandal, less and less ethics

Hundreds of journalists have been killed around the world in the past decade, with nine out of ten cases going unpunished, the UN and independent press freedom groups said in statements marking the first-ever International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on November 2nd

After last September's visit to Crimea, Council of Europe Commissioner for human rights Nils Muižnieks issued a report highlighting several human rights violations, severe intimidations, and attacks against journalists. Our interview

The Caviar diplomacy continues to be successful. The alarm messages arriving form Azerbaijan on systematic violations of human rights in the country are constantly dropping into the void

Since the beginning of its presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organisation, Azerbaijan has been placing more and more people behind bars. A jarring contrast no one seems to notice

In her documentary "Aici... adica acolo", the journalist and director Laura Capatana addresses the issue of children left behind in Romania leading us through the daily lives of two teenagers

Baku currently chairs the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organization, while cracking down on political prisoners at home

It might be one page, one paragraph, or just two lines. But the importance of including child protection in EU’s Association Agreements cannot be overestimated

Thousands of Tatar families have left the Crimea after the annexation by Russia. The community, which has always been in favour of the union with Ukraine, feels now threatened by the new authorities. Many have found hospitality in Lviv

Following last year’s rampage by conservatives targeting LGBT activists intent on marking 17 May as the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), the Georgian Orthodox Church this year instead declared the day as one celebrating family unity. And while civil society did not take the attempt to hijack IDAHOT lying down, some are concerned that this is just the start

Dutch MEP Marije Cornelissen (Greens/EFA) – a member of the Parliamentary Group for the rights of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons—describes the current state of the fight against homophobia and for LGBT rights in the Balkans

Baku is heading to chair the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights organisation, with an embarrassing record of prisoners of conscience

While Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan heralds the advent of a new Turkey, his war on social media and new powers granted to intelligence agencies raise fears about freedom of information and the state of democracy in the country

The small Armenian-populated town Kessab in north-western Syria found itself in the middle of a battle since the end of March. 99 Years after the Genocide the Plight of Syria’s Armenians Stirs Memories of 1915