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Revision as of 22:52, 29 November 2005 by XYaAsehShalomX (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)UCSJ, or the Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, is a collection of Jewish human rights organisations working in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. They are based in Washington DC, but are linked to other organisations such as the Moscow Helsinki Group and have offices in the countries in which they conduct their activities.
The UCSJ was formed in 1970 as a response to the situation at that time regarding Jews in the USSR and Eastern Europe. Today, most of its offices are based within the United States where it has 8 member councils, although there are seven offices in various locations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Moscow, Almaty, Bishkek, Lviv, Riga, Tbilsi and Minsk (although this was closed in 2005).
Their activities include reporting on the human rights situations of countries in the FSU, as well as assisting communities in need, exposing human rights violations and hate crimes, whether these are targetted against Jews, or other minorities in the region, such as the Roma, or Muslims.
Controversies
The UCSJ was one of the organisations included in the letter signed by members of the Russian Duma, which called for criminal investigations of Jewish organisations and the Jewish religion itself. It was accused of fomenting racial hatred by Jews against other religions, a charge it denies.
A branch of the UCSJ was closed by the government of Belarus as part of what many observers saw as a wider crackdown on political dissent in the region. (main article - Human rights in Belarus)