GENEVA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) — The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) on Friday condemned the recent kidnapping of a group of Afghan deminers and called for the immediate release of the six men still being held captive.

    Thirteen men working for the Afghan demining organization MDC –including 11 deminers and two drivers — were abducted by unidentified forces on Aug. 19 in Gardez province of Afghanistan.

    Seven of them have been since released, but the fate of the remaining six remains unknown, according to the Geneva-based organization.

    "Deminers put their lives at risk every day to ensure the safety of their communities. Attacking them is a cowardly act and an assault on the entire civilian population," said ICBL Executive Director Sylvie Brigot in a statement.

    ICBL called on all armed actors to halt attacks on demining personnel and to safeguard their life-saving work.

    It also called for the Afghan government to take urgent measures to ensure the security of deminers and to identify and bring to justice those responsible.     

    BRUSSELS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) — A group of NATO warships have entered the Black Sea to conduct routine port visits and exercises with NATO member states bordering the Black Sea, the military alliance confirmed on Friday.

    "The three week deployment is routine in nature and has been planned for well over a year," said NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) in a statement.

    The exercises involve the Standing NATO Maritime Group One (SNMG1), currently comprising a ship apiece from Spain, Germany and Poland. The U.S. frigate, USS Taylor, is scheduled to join the group later this week, said SHAPE.

    During their time in the Black Sea, the ships will visit ports in Romania and Bulgaria and conduct exercises with their navies, it added.

    SNMG1 is one of NATO’s standing elements, with a group of member nations’ frigates and destroyers, which exercise together year round to promote interoperability. 　

    VIENNA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) — An international conference on human rights will be held next week in Vienna to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Austrian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

    The conference, to be held from Aug. 28-29, will also mark the 15th anniversary of the World Conference on Human Rights, which was held in June 1993 in Vienna.

    Next week’s meeting will focus on issues such as international human rights standards, and strategies and prospects in the development of global human rights, a ministry press release said.

    It will also discuss the role of the United Nations in the promotion and protection of human rights.

    More than 100 delegates will attend the conference, including UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang, president of the International Center For Transitional Justice Juan Mendez, and the UN Special Adviser for Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng.