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Bulgaria Letter to Mayor of Sofia Regarding the Possible Eviction of Roma Inhabitants We are writing to express our profound concern about the possible eviction of Roma inhabitants in the Batalova Vodenitsa neighborhood of Sofia. We have learned from a colleague organization that approximately 180 inhabitants from this area risk imminent eviction, and the demolition of their homes. We understand that eviction orders issued by your office in 2005 were upheld by the Supreme Administrative Court in 2006. July 10, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version Bulgaria: Do Not Extradite Turkmen Dissident Bulgaria must deny Turkmenistan’s extradition request for Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen dissident, and release him from detention immediately, Human Rights Watch said today. April 12, 2007 Press Release Printer friendly version Letter From a Coalition of Human Rights Organizations to Chancellor Merkel on behalf of Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen refugee We are writing today to ask for your support on behalf of Annadurdy Khajiev, a Turkmen refugee who was granted humanitarian status in Bulgaria in 2004 and who is currently at risk of extradition to Turkmenistan. We strongly believe that this case needs your urgent attention and intervention and that because of Germany’s presidency of the European Union you are well-positioned to raise this case with the Bulgarian government. March 28, 2007 Letter Printer friendly version Turkmenistan: Letter From a Coalition of Human Rights Organizations We are writing to you as a matter of urgency to ask that Bulgaria decline a request made by the government of Turkmenistan for the extradition of Annadurdy Khajiev, a dual citizen of Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation, who was granted humanitarian status in Bulgaria on March 10, 2004. We are convinced that upon return to Turkmenistan Mr. Khajiev would face persecution due to his political affiliations and activities and would face an almost certain risk of torture or other ill-treatment in custody. We also urge you to release Mr. Khajiev from detention immediately. February 28, 2007 Letter Also available in 
Printer friendly version EU: Keep Up Pressure for Arms Trade Reforms in Candidate Countries The European Union (EU) should continue to press candidate countries in Central and Eastern Europe to improve arms trade controls, Human Rights Watch said today. Tomorrow, the EU is expected to release the latest annual reports assessing the progress of individual candidates toward accession. These will help pave the way for final decisions, expected later this year, on the next round of EU enlargement. October 8, 2002 Press Release Printer friendly version Arms Trade, Human Rights, and European Union Enlargement: The Record of Candidate Countries The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including several that are candidates for European Union (E.U.) membership, have long been a major source of weapons flows to human rights abusers, conflict regions, and clients suspected of diverting weapons to unauthorized destinations. There has been some recent progress to tighten controls, but serious problems remain. October 8, 2002 Background Briefing Purchase online Bulgaria Approves Long Awaited Arms Trade Reforms On July 18, the Bulgarian parliament approved important changes to the country's law on the foreign trade in weapons. Since issuing a 1999 report on Bulgaria's role as a key weapons supplier to governments and armed groups that abuse human rights, Human Rights Watch has called for reform to tighten arms trade controls. HRW encouraged NATO and European Union officials to use their leverage to press for needed changes in Bulgaria, which is seeking membership in both organizations. September 1, 2002 Advocacy Impact Bulgaria: Weapons Trade To Be Restrained Joint Human Rights Watch and Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Statement (New York, July 16, 2002) -- Anticipated legal reforms in Bulgaria mark an important step toward improved control over the arms trade, Human Rights Watch and the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee said today. The Bulgarian parliament is expected to vote shortly to adopt changes to the country's law on the foreign trade in weapons. July 16, 2002 Press Release Printer friendly version Reforming Bulgaria's Arms Trade: An Update In the next few weeks, the Bulgarian parliament is due to enact important changes to the country's arms trade law. The legislation would amend the Law on the Control of Foreign Trade Activity in Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, which was adopted in 1995. July 3, 2002 Background Briefing Purchase online Open Letter to Members of the Bulgarian Parliament Pending Arms Trade Reforms As you know, the government has introduced legislation to amend the 1995 Law on the Control of Foreign Trade Activity in Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies. We understand that this legislation has passed first reading and is expected to be approved by the parliamentary foreign policy commission as early as this week. We are told that the second reading and possible adoption of the legislation may take place in mid-July. July 3, 2002 Letter Types and Manufacture rs of Remotely Delivered Antivehicle Mines Human Rights Watch Fact Sheet, December 2001 (Prepared for the CCW Review Conference, December 2001, Geneva, Switzerland) Twelve countries are reported to have manufactured at least twenty-seven different types of remotely delivered antivehicle mines: Bulgaria , China, the former Czechoslovakia, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Italy, Poland, Russia, United States, and Yugoslavia. Except Iran, all of these countries are party to the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). December 1, 2001 Campaign Document Security Concerns Raised by Arms Transfers from Candidate Countries Open Letter to European Union (E.U.) Foreign Ministers, Commissioners Prodi, It is deeply troubling that arms trade controls in a number E.U. aspirant countries are inadequate, poorly implemented, and rarely enforced. There has been some momentum toward reform, in part the result of international pressure; however, the problem remains a serious one. October 19, 2001 Letter Governments Responsible for Violence Against Children Violence against children is a bigger problem than governments acknowledge, and in fact is often carried out by officials of the state, Human Rights Watch charged in a new study released today. September 28, 2001 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Bulgaria: Child Soldier Global Report 2001 From the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers According to information provided by Bulgaria to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, all Bulgarian men are subject to military service after turning 18 and the law does not provide for the possibility of accepting volunteers in the army at a lower age. June 12, 2001 Multi Country Report Bulgaria Bans Arms Sales to Human Rights Abusers Since the end of the cold war, as they've begun modernizing their militaries in the hope of joining NATO, former Warsaw Pact countries have sold vast quantities of unwanted Soviet-standard weapons to conflict regions around the world. This is especially true in Africa where central and eastern European countries, Bulgaria in particular, have sold arms to abusive forces in violation of international and regional arms embargoes. May 1, 2001 Advocacy Impact Bulgaria: Landmine Monitor Report 2000 Key developments since March 1999: From April to October 1999, Bulgaria completed demining of its territory, including the borders with Turkey, Greece, and Macedonia, destroying 17,197 mines from 76 minefields. In 1999 Bulgaria revealed the size of its AP mine stockpile for the first time (885,872), and began the destruction program, eliminating 107,417 mines between September 1999 and April 2000. It intends to complete destruction in 2000. August 1, 2000 Multi Country Report Clinton Visits Bulgaria Need to Reform Notorious Arms Trade The upcoming state visit to Bulgaria by U.S. President Bill Clinton, scheduled for November 21-23, presents an important opportunity to press Bulgarian officials on the urgent need for arms trade reforms. Human Rights Watch pointed out that it would be negligent for Clinton to visit Bulgaria without addressing the country's long history of supplying weapons to human rights abusers. November 15, 1999 Press Release Printer friendly version Letter to President Clinton Bulgaria's Troubling Arms Trade Record In light of your upcoming official visit to Bulgaria, we would like to draw your attention to Bulgaria's troubling arms trade record and the need to encourage substantive reforms. November 11, 1999 Letter Printer friendly version Reforming Bulgaria's Arms Trade A Human Rights Watch Backgrounder, November 1999 The Bulgarian government has made attempts to reform its arms export practices, for example by joining the Wassenaar Arrangement encouraging transparency and restraint in the international weapons trade. Yet they continue to approve export of weapons that violate Wassenaar principles as well as the EU Code of Conduct. November 1, 1999 Background Briefing Printer friendly version Bulgaria: Money Talks -- Arms Dealing with Human Rights Abusers Bulgaria has earned a reputation as an anything-goes weapons bazaar where Kalashnikov assault rifles, mortars, antitank mines, ammunition,explosives and other items are available for a price — no matter who the buyers are or how they might use the deadly wares. In the 1990s Bulgaria has been a weapons source for armed forces in Iraq, the former Yugoslavia, Angola, and Rwanda, among other countries. HRW Index No.: D1104 April 1, 1999 Report Purchase online |
 
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