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At the 62nd Human Rights Council session, civil society organisations shared reflections on key outcomes and highlighted gaps in addressing crucial issues and situations.

A landmark decision by the General Assembly has overturned an archaic rule that forced the UN to return cash to States that paid their dues so late each year that the organisation was unable to spend it, despite being starved of funds for the majority of the year.

On 3 July 2026, the Human Rights Council held an urgent debate to discuss the situation in and around El Obeid, North Kordofan in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Sudan. Sudanese activist Noon Kashkoush delivered a joint statement on behalf of ISHR and other groups.

On the sidelines of the 62nd session of the Human Rights Council, defenders and activists examined how systemic discrimination and democratic backsliding are deeply intertwined. Drawing on lived experience, speakers argued that marginalised communities are often the first to detect authoritarian practices, and offered concrete recommendations for building more inclusive, resilient democracies.

ISHR and Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND) delivered a joint statement during a dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, calling for investigations, accountability, reparations to victims' families and non-recurrence in cases of extrajudicial killings in the Philippines.

Organisations denounce the rise in trafficking along the Dominican-Haitian border, affecting particularly migrant women and children in vulnerable situations.

Despite Nepal’s international commitments, human rights violations against Indigenous Peoples continue. The new government has an opportunity to align its laws with international standards, ensure consent for projects affecting Indigenous communities, and protect the right to peaceful protest and the right to defend rights.

As transnational repression grows more sophisticated and pervasive, ISHR convened a strategic retreat with UN Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies experts to strengthen UN capabilities to advance human rights-based responses, protect those affected, and hold perpetrators accountable.

We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Gustavo Gallón, a staunch ally of human rights and a former board member for ISHR.

At the 13th World Urban Forum, the first Indigenous Peoples Caucus called for recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ rights, including self-determination, meaningful participation, protection of Indigenous defenders and culturally appropriate housing.

In a statement at a panel on climate change and human rights, ISHR and the Institute for Political Economy Sri Lanka highlighted the ‘trap’ in which States could enter if not looking at climate financing with a human rights perspective.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has released a draft general recommendation on dismantling gender stereotypes. ISHR's comments call for explicit recognition of the heightened risks facing women human rights defenders.