Every year on December 10 the International Community observes Human Rights Day, commemorating the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly.

Ending as it did without major decisions, the December 4-5 Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels highlighted the diverging visions pursued by some of the major countries within the organization.

According to a survey by women's issues organizations, 46 out 100 married women in Armenia are subjected to domestic violence, and 67 working women experience sexual harassment on the job.

The authorities in Azerbaijan have shut down the country's biggest independent broadcaster TV, ANS. They said ANS's licence was not renewed because it had violated the broadcasting law and disregarded official warnings and fines.