ISHR provides both analytical and practical information to human rights defenders to strengthen their access to and engagement with human rights bodies and mechanisms at the international, regional and national levels.
In this briefing paper, ISHR looks at the powerful role of China over the UN human rights treaty bodies (UNTBs), identifying the ways in which China deploys influence, from an official discourse that consistently focuses on restricting their scope of work to direct threats to independent NGOs who wish to engage with the UN experts.
'Colectivo 46/2' has published an Evaluation Benchmark on the implementation by the Nicaraguan government of Human Rights Council resolution 49/3 on the human rights situation in the country.
This explainer presents action taken by UN experts on the case of detained Chinese anti-discrimination activists Cheng Yuan, Wu Gejianxiong, and Liu Dazhi.
This new ISHR report presents the evolution of China’s public stance on reprisals in dialogues at the UN, and summarises the way in which it has portrayed civil society’s cooperation with the UN as a ‘criminal act’.
Ahead of Hong Kong and Macau's review by the Human Rights Committee in July 2022, ISHR has prepared an explainer summarising the Committee's work to oversee the implementation of civil and political rights, and opportunities for civil society engagement in its review process. Civil society plays a vital role in informing the Committee's assessment, and pointing to key areas of concern.
Ding Jiaxi is a prominent Chinese human rights activist and lawyer. His story exemplifies how Chinese authorities apply the system of 'Residential Surveillance at a Designated Location’ (RSDL) to silence activists. ISHR has worked together with Sophie Luo (Ding Jiaxi's wife) and Uyghur artist Yette Su to illustrate his story. We hope this can help to raise awareness on his case and on the necessity for China to #RepealRSDL.
Over the past four years, United Nations human rights experts have raised serious concerns about the Chinese government’s routine misuse of its national security legislation to jail human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists. In a new bilingual infographic released today, ISHR documents the UN experts’ legal analysis in 23 letters to Beijing authorities.
In August 2018, a group of 10 UN human rights experts wrote a long letter to the Chinese government inquiring about the legal provisions allowing RSDL. This infographics explains and summarises the findings of the UN experts.
ISHR is pleased to launch its new guide to the UN Special Procedures, an essential tool for human rights defenders seeking to engage more strategically with these experts, for greater impact on the ground.
The health crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has led States to take measures to combat the spread of the virus. Despite the state of health emergency, some of these measures were considered inappropriate and have considerably limited the rights of defenders with a considerable impact on their work.
