On January 15-20 the second international meeting of the newly formed FLARE (Freedom, Legality and Rights in Europe) network was organized in Krakow (Poland). International Youth Human Rights Movement representatives took part in the meeting.

FLARE unites NGOs from such countries as Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Italy, Romania, France, the Netherlands, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, etc. It was initiated last year by two Italian NGOs: "Libera" (Liberty) and "Terra del Focca" (Land of Flames) which deal with the organized crime problems in their country. It is supposed that the new network will act
on all the Western part of Eurasia and deal with the issues of freedom of information, eco-crimes, arms trade, drugs and human trafficking.

The peculiarity of FLARE is that it was initiated by the Italians who are traditionally oriented on combating the organized crime and have great experience in this field. The main motivation to form a network was that mafia all over the world is operating across borders and its force is multiplied as a result. Not a single national government is able to
confront it, moreover, many of them are themselves corrupted. That is why the only way of resistance is a cross-border association of citizens and mutual support.

During the meeting in Krakow the participants planned their future activities in thematic groups. Thus, in the "freedom of information" direction it was decided to launch a program of solidarity and urgent support of journalists and bloggers suffering from the pressure of authorities. FLARE already received support from a number of EU structures. The next meeting will be organized in Turin (Italy) in March.

For more information on the results of the meeting and opportunities to join FLARE please visit the network site: http://www.flareprogramme.org