|
BREAKING NEWS: 20th May, the Oslo Coalition and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee will host a viewing of two documentary films by Michael Andersen on the situation in Central Asia and especially Kyrgyzstan, followed by an interview and discussion with Michael Andersen. Click here |
The Central Asia Project
Project group: Dag Nygaard - The Council of Religious and Life Stance Communities in Norway, Tore Lindholm - UiO og Babs Sivertsen, Oslo Coalition.
The Oslo Coalition projects in the former Soviet Union republics in Central Asia have the following aims:
- To strengthen networks of NGOs and academia working for a healthy pluralistic society through the dissemination of knowledge, and through network building activities.
- To challenge religious leaders from various religious communities to develop an internal acceptance in justifying the universal human rights in general, freedom of religion or belief specifically, with reference to their own religious traditions.
- To hold discussions on the constitution of the country and the laws concerning religious faith with reference to existing International Conventions. The proper implementation of these laws on a national and local level is of special concern.
- In recognition that the answers are not entirely legal-security driven, to support actors on the ground in their efforts to develop in their constituencies a mind set that embraces pluralism.
In 2010:
A new forum following up on the Bishkek forum of 2009 will take place in Bishkek in 2010, which will address the implementation of the recommendations from the 2009 Bishkek forum, examining the progress, and hindrances to progress.For book launching of the Russian edition of the Oslo Coalition deskbook in Almaty, together with a university seminar on the legal commitments to FORB for academics from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, see the Oslo Coalition project: Facilitating FORB.
In 2009:
CASS 2 Instead of the planned Central Asian Strategy Session 2, Oslo Coalition cosponsored and took part in the Forum: "Freedom of Religion or Belief as a Provision of National Security". The Forum was organised by Foundation for Tolerance International, the Institute for Political Research and Analysis Under the President, and the Security Council. The Forum took place in Bishkek June the 10th and 11th, and was attended by religious leaders, including minority religions, NGO's, and government officials including the assistant director of the Security Council and the head of the State Agency for Religious Affairs, altogether 80 participants. The forum led to concrete resolutions to strengthen ties between the various religious groups, to increase knowledge of religions in general and to increase the quality of communication between the government and religious bodies. If you would like a copy of the report, please apply to the secretariat.
The Central Asian FORB Partnership Programme: Oslo Coalition has joined the partnership between Forum 18, Helsinki Committee, Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights and Mission to the East to examine the situation for FORB in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan through a research project culminating in a report and discussion points to be used as a basis for a series of high level meetings in Astana in December.
In 2008:
Budget cuts in the Oslo Coalition and the situation on the ground in Kirgizstan caused a postponment of the planned CASS 2 until 2009.
In 2007:
At the Central Asian Regional Conference on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue in Almaty June 2007, a conference organised by UNESCO with Oslo Coalition's support and participation of the OC Teaching for Tolerance working group, a clear need emerged for further discussion between the Central Asian academic institutes and NGOs on the specific problems relating to FORB. The conference was seen to be so central in the UNESCO regional cooperation that it now has it's own conference website. See also the Oslo Coalition presentations at and report on the conference here, and the final UNESCO publication (in Russian and English) here.
To ensure their participation, the Oslo Coalition then sponsored the participation of the Central Asian delagates at the corresponding Conference for the whole Russian Federation and CIS region in Moscow, “Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for Peace and Sustainable Development”, organised by UNESCO and the Russian Academy for Public Administration in September. The large publication from this conference can be obtained through the Oslo Coalition. However, this conference did not meet the needs of the Central Asian participants for further regional consultation.
In response, the Oslo Coalition together with Foundation for Tolerance International, invited NGO leaders, academics and religious leaders, ensuring representation from all five Central Asian Countries, together with a few key "Westerners", to a 2 day strategy session in Oslo in December: CASS (Central Asian Stratgy Session). See report here.
Earlier projects:
By participating and supporting several conferences on "Religion, tolerance and Human Rights" at Russian Academy of State Service, Moscow, The Oslo Coalition has built a network of contacts and co-operating partners in the former Soviet Union. The most important is the Euro-Asian Chapter of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA).
