Human Rights Center

Zeynalov's home address:
82-45, Inqilab Street
Baku 370110

The Human Rights Center of Azerbaijan is non-governmental, non-political, non-registered, non-profit organization created on 29 April 1993 by free-lance journalist and human rights activist Eldar Zeynalov. Zeynalov's motive was his disagreement with the restored political censorship in Azerbaijan, which blocked the publications about the human rights violations in the country, and the necessity of the permanent information of local and global organizations on the human rights situation in country.

The main form of the work of HRCA is the monitoring of the human rights situation with the publication of the information bulletin, thematic reports, lists of prisoners, etc. Other direction of its work is the re-printing the human rights reports of other organization with translation to the local languages. HRCA propagates also the electronic mail in the information exchange in the human rights field. It provides some local NGO's by the e-mail link with Western colleagues.

The programs carrying out by HRCA, are the following ones:

• monitoring the human rights situation in Azerbaijan
• monitoring the forced migration in Azerbaijan
• monitoring of prison conditions
• monitoring of women's rights
• free translation office for local e-mail network of NGOs

The weekly bulletin of HRCA covers the current human rights situation in Azerbaijan. Since December 1996, it is divided into two parts: Part #1 contents the information on struggle for the power; problems of press and telecommunications; arrests and trials; meetings; strikes; social problems. Part #2 includes ethnic problems; religion; war and peace issues; refugees and humanitarian aid; Environmental problems; other information which was not included into Part #1. Since May 1993, more than 200 weekly bulletins were issued.

In October 1996, HRCA began to monitor the situation in the Lezgin populated region, and in January 1997 the situation of women's rights. The results are published in two different monthly bulletins.

Among 60 subscribers of the bulletins are such famous organizations as Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, Amnesty International, International Red Cross Society, Open Society Institute, etc.

Some publications of HRCA are available in the "Azerbaijan Resource Page" of Open Society Institute. It has a section "Human Rights in Azerbaijan" for HRCA mailings. The URL address is: www.soros.org/azerbjan/azerrigh.html

For the present HRCA has a small membership, including 5 staff members and 6 volunteers.

Last updated:    October 1997

A print version of much of the information contained in this NIS Third Sector Organizations section can be found in the The Post-Soviet Handbook (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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