Our Collective Conscience •
creation of a positive environment for the compilation of good practices in the area of
co-operation between governments and defenders.
The Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia provided further
information in relation to the case cited in footnote 34. He drew attention to the
difficulties faced by journalists in Armenia and condemned violence and harassment
against them.
16 October 2007
The Government of Canada stated that the report fell within the mandate of the
ODIHR, and commended it for being balanced and capable of assisting participating
States in implementing their commitments. It also urged that the work of the OSCE
focus more on the issue of human rights defenders.
17 October 2007
The Government of Azerbaijan commented on a number of individual cases
mentioned in the report (see footnotes 74, 87, 107, 108).
26 October 2007
The Government of Turkey welcomed the opportunity given to participating States
to respond to the report, provided factual information in relation to particular cases
in the report (see footnotes 16, 60), and reported on positive developments in Turkey
relating to the situation affecting human rights defenders, including the nationwide
establishment of human rights complaints procedures.
30 October 2007
The National Ombudsman of the Netherlands commended the thoroughness of the
report and proposed no revisions.
The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman of the United Kingdom noted
with concern the reported cases and proposed no revisions.
The Ombudsman of Croatia welcomed the report, noting that it outlined a number
of disturbing trends, and pointed out that the situation of defenders in Croatia
had improved greatly in recent years, although monitoring of the situation would
continue.
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