Read on to remain up to date with the latest international human rights news, views and developments!
ISHR joins 22 human rights organisations in strongly condemning the Hong Kong government’s escalating repression of activists in exile and the targeting of relatives of prominent activist Anna Kwok.
At the 83rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, held in Banjul (The Gambia) from 2 May to 22 May, ISHR delivered an oral statement calling for peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the continuation of the process toward a human rights defenders protection law in Zambia, reparations for Africans and people of African descent, and a binding treaty on environmental rights in Africa.
On 3 May 2025, on the sidelines of the 83rd ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ISHR co-sponsored a side event on the situation of human rights defenders in the Sahel, organised by the International Federation for Human Rights and the World Organisation against Torture.
From 28 to 30 April 2025, participants in the NGO Forum held in Banjul, The Gambia, discussed key human rights and democracy issues affecting the continent, as well as the work of defenders. Participants contributed to the adoption of resolutions and recommendations, with a focus on reparations and transitional justice.
In a report launched today, ISHR examines China’s efforts to restrict access for independent civil society actors and human rights defenders to UN human rights bodies. The report provides an analysis of China’s membership of the UN Committee on NGOs, the growing presence of Chinese Government-Organised NGOs (GONGOs), and patterns of intimidation and reprisals by the Chinese government.
The UN Human Rights Council has extended the mandate of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua for two years, doing so with a larger majority compared to the body’s 2023 renewal, and including a reporting mechanism to the UN General Assembly in New York.
In a joint statement, UJSARIO and ISHR stressed the failure of the international community to uphold its commitments to decolonisation and human rights as the occupation of Western Sahara and systematic oppression of the Saharawi people by Morocco continue. They urged the Council to take action.
At the Human Rights Council, UN experts, civil society and the majority of participating States delivered a key message to the Venezuelan government: stop all repression, enable the work of human rights defenders and respect human rights.
Civil society urges States to ensure a resolution at the upcoming 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council addresses the protection of human rights defenders from emerging risks resulting from technological trends and shifting online spaces.
Stolen Presidential elections, the use of deeply repressive tactics by State agents against real and perceived opponents, and the recent return of OHCHR to Caracas informed today’s dialogue on Venezuela between the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council.
Two years after the publication of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' landmark assessment on the situation in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang), global scrutiny of China's human rights violations remains strong.
At the review of Burkina Faso’s periodic report to the African Commission, ISHR noted a worrying trend of arrests, conscription, and abductions of human rights defenders, some of whom are deployed to the battlefield.
