Latest updates

Today, the UN Human Rights Council held the 36th Special Session on the human rights impact of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Sudanese women human rights defenders and women’s groups, supported by ISHR, urged the international community to effectively respond to the devastating humanitarian crisis and the impacts on women and girls including women human rights defenders (WHRDs), and urged the Council to establish an international investigation mechanism with sufficient resources including to investigate the threats and reprisals against WHRDs for their work, and to document sexual and gender-based violence.

On 3 May, ISHR delivered a statement on the situation of human rights in Africa, with a particular focus on the necessity to implement adopted defenders’ protection laws, the violations faced by women defenders in Sudan as well as the rejected applications for observer status of NGOs working on LGBTIQ rights in Africa.

The Egyptian authorities should immediately release Salah Soltan, the arbitrarily detained father of a prominent US human rights defender, 51 human rights organisations said today. The authorities should ensure his immediate and urgent access to life-saving health care, and conduct effective and transparent investigations into reports that he has been tortured and otherwise ill-treated.

ISHR and other organisations have released a joint statement calling on Saudi Arabia to release human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani and other arbitrarily detained ACPRA members.

ISHR joins SANID petition calling on the UAE to open up civic space and release human rights defenders from arbitrary detention.

During the Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria under agenda item 4, ISHR and the Truth and Justice Charter Group delivered a joint statement addressing the continued suffering of families of forcibly disappeared Syrians at the hand of all parties to the conflict in Syria.

During the General Debate on item 7, ISHR, the Community Action Center – Al-Quds University, Al-Haq, and Women Centre for Legal Aid and Counselling addressed the escalation of Israeli laws and policies of forcible transfer targeting Palestinians on both sides of the Green Line.

During the adoption of the Algeria Universal Periodic Review outcomes, organisations addressed the ongoing crackdown on human rights defenders and civil society organisations.

During the Interactive Dialogue with the Fact-Finding Mission on Libya under agenda item 10, ISHR and Refugees in Libya delivered a joint statement highlighting the human rights violations faced by refugees and migrants in the country.

On 22 and 23 March 2023, the Human Rights Council held a general debate on human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention. States and NGOs spoke, and the High Commissioner spoke on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They drew the Council’s attention to a number of country situations of concern. ISHR delivered a statement, highlighting the human rights situation in four countries: Burkina Faso, Colombia, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia.

On 3 March 2023, the High Commissioner for Human Rights delivered an oral update on the situation of human rights in Sudan to the Human Rights Council. During the interactive dialogue that followed, ISHR delivered a joint statement highlighting the grave situation faced by women and women human rights defenders in Sudan.

On 15 March 2023, together with ISHR, Hossam Bahgat of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) delivered a joint statement on the situation of human rights defenders in Egypt. The statement was supported by over a dozen organisations from across the world.