“Protection of human rights can only be achieved if the victims of human rights violations have access to an effective remedy.” Yet this fundamental human right, enshrined in so many instruments, including the European Convention on Human Rights, is being breached on a continuous basis in many member states. This fact underscores a serious enforcement gap that urgently needs to be addressed.

Serious human rights violations in Azerbaijan, China, Cuba, Russia, and Saudi Arabia undermine their candidacies for the May 12, 2009 election to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a global coalition of international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) said in a letter released today.

The Azerbaijani government should immediately withdraw its libel case against the human rights activist Leyla Yunus, Human Rights Watch said today.

Three Azerbaijani writers have been recognized for persevering in their work despite political persecution and imprisonment, Human Rights Watch said today.

The eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence handed down to Eynulla Fatullayev, editor of Azerbaijan’s two largest independent newspapers, for terrorism and other charges, reflects the growing government hostility toward freedom of expression and the press, Human Rights Watch said today.

The conviction of Eynulla Fatullayev, the editor of Azerbaijan's largest independent newspaper, for “criminal libel” and “insult,” underscores deteriorating press freedoms in that country, Human Rights Watch said today.

U.S. President George W. Bush must press for concrete progress in Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record when he hosts Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev at the White House on Friday, Human Rights Watch said in a letter sent last week to President Bush.

The Azerbaijani government must ensure a fair trial for three opposition youth leaders whose trial begins today in Baku, Human Rights Watch said today.