CIVIL SOCIETY
Human rights, environmental, and cultural issues

Azerbaijan: Baku Mosque Closures Inconvenience Believers
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY JONATHAN MAKIRI
Among the many construction projects that now seem to define downtown Baku, Azerbaijan's capital city, it's notable that one type of building, the mosque, isn't faring so well. This EurasiaNet photo essay documents the impact of mosque closures in Baku.

Central Asia: State Department Report Takes Tashkent to Task
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The US State Department noted some modest improvements in human rights conditions in Central Asia in its annual Human Rights Report, although, overall, the region remained one of the worst in the world in terms of respecting basic freedoms.

Azerbaijan: Living in Oil
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY JONATHAN MAKIRI
Upon arrival at Baku's Heydar Aliyev international airport most foreign visitors make their way to the city center along the modern Heydar Aliyev highway, a thoroughfare lined with newly constructed walls and finely manicured parks. The center of Baku itself now features glitzy buildings and stunning apartments surrounding the UNESCO-listed site of Baku's walled old city.

Mongolia: Government Struggles to Cope with Winter Disaster
A EURASIANET PHOTO STORY BY ANDREW CULLEN
As Mongolia struggles to overcome a devastatingly harsh winter, international development organizations, including United Nations agencies and the World Bank, are urging Ulaanbaatar to take a hard look at reforming the country's nomadic agricultural practices.

Uzbekistan: Grim Times for Public Health Advocacy in Tashkent
The jailing of an Uzbek public health activist, along with the muted response by international organizations to the case, is having a chilling effect on public health advocacy in the Central Asian state, some experts say.

Afghanistan: Women's Rights Movement Slowly Taking Shape in Kabul
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR
Palwasha Hassan had no idea that her impressive resume would be her undoing when her nomination to become Afghanistan's minister of women's affairs came up for confirmation in parliament in January.

Afghanistan: Constitutional Crisis Brews in Kabul over New Government Media Restrictions
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR
Afghan journalists have a mixed reaction to a government ban on live broadcast coverage of Islamic militant terror attacks. Many in Kabul say the ban places Afghan media outlets on the slippery slope of state censorship. Some journalists, however, see the restrictions as a reasonable response to a set of threatening and extraordinary circumstances, while others are remaining silent out of concern that criticism of the government could invite official retaliation.

Kazakhstan: Astana Defends Record During UN Human Rights Review
BY JOANNA LILLIS
As Kazakhstan chairs the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) this year, its human rights record is coming under scrutiny. Kazakhstani officials, in responding to expressions of concern about some aspects of the country's democratization process, insist they are taking steps to make improvements.

Tajikistan: Climate Change Could Devastate Central Asian Nation - Report
Tajikistan, Central Asia's most impoverished country, stands to be the hardest hit by climate change, according to a new report from the British charitable organization Oxfam International.

Kazakhstan: Jailed Rights Activist Takes Dig at OSCE
Yevgeny Zhovtis, a leading human rights activist in Kazakhstan who is currently serving a jail sentence for vehicular manslaughter, thinks the world's leading democracies are turning a blind eye to authoritarianism. In a statement presented February 19 at a gathering of rights activists in Washington, Zhovtis took a swipe at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, asserting that the world is experiencing "a crisis of the very concept of human rights."

Kazakhstan: US Helsinki Commission Holds Astana Love Fest
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The US Helsinki Commission in recent months has been a frequent and vocal critic of Kazakhstan's record on human rights and democratization. But commission members gave an enthusiastic welcome to Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev on February 2 during a Washington, DC, hearing marking the start of Kazakhstan's OSCE chairmanship.

Afghanistan: Makeshift IDP Settlement Highlights Humanitarian Aid Dilemmas
BY ELISSA BOGOS
Kabul's ubiquitous fruit stands and pharmacies begin to thin out around the Charahee Qambar neighborhood, situated a few miles west of the capital's center and home to the city's largest settlement for internally displaced persons (IDPs). UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, estimates that between 800 to 1,000 families, many of whom claim to be from Sangin, a town in northern Helmand province, live in the camp's mud shacks with no electricity, heat or running water.

Afghanistan: Aid Agencies Worry That London Conference Will Damage Humanitarian Mission
BY AUNOHITA MOJUMDAR
As donors and government officials converge on London to discuss ways to support the military surge in Afghanistan, non-governmental organizations are wary. Some NGO representatives who are responsible for implementing humanitarian projects in the strife-torn nation worry that the international conference may undermine their missions.

Armenia: Prison Term for Opposition Activist Revives Democratization Debate
The seven-year prison sentence handed down to opposition activist and journalist Nikol Pashinian on January 19 for his alleged role in Armenia's violent 2008 election protests is stoking fresh debate about civil liberties and rule of law.

Russia: Bleak Year for Human Rights Activists Coming to a Close
BY A EURASIANET COMMENTARY BY MASHA CHARNAY
In Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's Russia, human rights activists are the new dissidents.

Tajikistan: Is the West Showing Signs of Democratization Fatigue?
BY ANDREI BOLGAR
The Organization for Security and Co-operation of Europe (OSCE) is expected to face a democratization test in February, when Tajikistan holds parliamentary elections. It's already a safe bet that the governing People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan will retain its hammerlock on the legislature. The election will nevertheless be interesting to follow as a gauge of the West's commitment to promoting democratization.

Turkmenistan: Washington Finesses Study-Abroad Controversy
BY DEIRDRE TYNAN
Prominent human rights advocates want the United States to consider invoking the Jackson-Vanik amendment against Turkmenistan over Ashgabat's refusal to let hundreds of young scholars leave the country to pursue their studies.

Kyrgyzstan: A Bleak Future Awaits Children with Disabilities
BY HAMID TURSUNOV
Radik Kutluev is now a pale and lean 31-year-old man living in Kyrgyzstan's southern capital of Osh. Before his body failed him, he aimed for a career as an accountant. Muscular dystrophy derailed that dream.

Central Asia Remains a Corruption Problem Area, While the Caucasus Registers Mixed Gains
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan all showed significant decreases in corruption over the past year, according to a recently published worldwide survey by a Berlin-based watchdog group. The survey also showed that Armenia's rating declined, and the rest of the Central Asian states remained near the bottom of the rankings.

Turkmenistan: Students Slapped with Five-Year Travel Ban
Students prevented from studying at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and later prohibited from traveling to the American University of Bulgaria, reportedly have been placed on a five-year travel blacklist, an opposition news site is reporting.

Kazakhstan: Astana Hires DC Lobbyists to Work on Softening Aid Requirements
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The government of Kazakhstan has hired a Washington lobbying firm to try to change regulations that require countries to make progress on human rights in order to receive US aid. Kazakhstani officials have indicated that they would prefer to not get the money at all, rather than be subjected to the "insulting" standards.

Azerbaijan: Court Convicts Youth Activists and Bloggers
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN
Youth activists Adnan Hajizade and Emin Milli were convicted on hooliganism and violence charges in a Baku court on November 11. International observers and youth activists immediately expressed outrage at the verdict. Twenty-six-year-old Adnan Hajizade, a co-founder of the OL (To Be) youth movement, and 30-year-old Emin Milli, a co-founder of the online Alumni Network, were arrested on July 8 for hooliganism after they allegedly started a brawl in a Baku cafe. The prosecution has drawn criticism from international human rights' organizations as well as local youth activists.

Azerbaijan: Supporters of Youth Activists Cast Court Delays as a Rights Violation
BY JESSICA POWLEY HAYDEN
After a two-week delay, the high-profile trial of two Azerbaijani youth activists resumed briefly on October 27 before the judge ordered a 10-day adjournment. Supporters of the jailed duo contend that the repeated and lengthy delays constitute a human rights violation. Some experts, meanwhile, assume the verdict will be dependent on a political decision and suggest that authorities have yet to settle on a way to wrap up the proceeding

Uzbekistan: Officials Forcing Entertainers to Sing Praises to the Government -- or Else
As it struggles to keep a lid on political dissent while also trying to keep the wheels from coming off the economy, the government of Uzbekistan is co-opting the country’s entertainment industry. Local show-biz personalities are being forced to conform to the state’s wishes, and those who don’t get with the program are having the plugs pulled on their careers.

Uzbekistan: Cash Shortage Tosses Monkey Wrench into Debit-Card Program
Convenience is becoming a dirty word these days in Uzbekistan. The Uzbek government is paying a growing number of public-sector employees electronically, with salaries automatically deposited in state-run accounts and accessed via debit cards. In theory, it is a practice that has benefits for employees. But in practice, it has caused financial havoc for thousands upon thousands of Uzbeks.

Tajikistan: Solar Power Mitigates Energy, Environmental Woes for Tajikistan’s Nomads
A EURASIANET PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID TRILLING
The power lines strung above the dusty lanes of Alichur are nothing more than a painful reminder of simpler times. In the 18 years since the Soviet Union collapsed, the town has not seen one watt of state-supplied electricity.

Armenia: Parliament Debates Diplomatic Normalization with Turkey
BY GAYANE ABRAHAMYAN
Parliamentary debate in Armenia on diplomatic normalization with Turkey opened on October 1 with an emotional opposition attack on the government for supposedly selling out Yerevan’s interests. Despite the political maneuvering, the Armenian legislature is widely expected to ratify protocols that open the way for a rapprochement.