Read on to remain up to date with the latest international human rights news, views and developments!
Despite significant pressure, the UN human rights office has published its findings on the Chinese government's persecution of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. This first-ever UN human rights report on a major power and permanent member of the Security Council demands global condemnation and action at the upcoming UN Human Rights Council session.
In 2019, a group of largely Latin American states led a successful bid for the United Nations to establish an independent investigative mechanism on Venezuela in response to the human rights crisis in the country. During these years, the Mission has been a key mechanism in a system of complementary international bodies providing a vision of the change needed to eradicate impunity and prevent further systemic human rights violations. Now, a few weeks off the expiration of the Mission’s mandate, States in the region must again take leadership of a process to ensure its preventative work continues in particular with the uncertainty of a Presidential electoral period looming.
Over 150 organisations from all world regions demand that the international community condemns and takes action to protect seven Palestinian civil society organisations that have been subject to illegal threats, raids and closure by Israeli authorities
Over 125 Venezuelean and international organisations expressed their concern about the continuing human rights violations in Venezuela and called on the UN Human Rights Council to renew the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) on Venezuela at its upcoming September session.
National and international organisations sent a letter to the new Colombian government with three recommendations to prevent crimes and improve the security of human rights defenders.
Check out our updated world map on legislative protection, which collates developments in national legal instruments related to defenders and compares existing and draft instruments with the standards set by the Model Law.
ISHR, along with multiple other NGOs, released a joint statement condemning the criminalisation of women human rights defender Milena Quiroz and calling for her right to a fair trial and her right to defend human rights to be guaranteed.
In two open letters to the UN Secretary-General and UN member States, NGOs insist that the post of High Commissioner should be filled by someone of high moral standing and personal integrity, and who is independent and impartial and possesses competency and expertise in the field of human rights.
Hong Kong should repeal the National Security Law and release detained activists, say UN experts.
In a rare and unwelcome move, Nicaragua has escaped scrutiny from four UN human rights bodies, most recently with the Committee against Torture (CAT) and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Adding insult to injury, the Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Affairs wrote an offensive letter to the Committee.
ISHR welcomes the adoption of predictable cycles of reviews by all Treaty Bodies with full reviews every eight years, followed by focused reviews after four. It remains to be seen if and how implementation will work out in practice though.
On the third anniversary of the arrest of Cheng Yuan, Wu Gejianxiong and Liu Dazhi (the 'Changsha Three'), ISHR and eight rights groups urge Beijing to ensure Wu is effectively released, and Cheng is able to meet with his family, and not subjected to ill-treatment. Cheng Yuan's wife, Shi Minglei, has reported that Cheng still faces strict limitations in access to his relatives, and is subjected to forced labour in Chishan Prison.
