Egypt: Reform unjust vice laws, guarantee open civic space
During Egypt's UPR adoption at HRC59, Nora Noralla delivered a joint statement on behalf of ISHR, Cairo 52 and Middle East Democracy Center. Watch and read the full statement below.
Photo: Screenshot UNWebTV. Mirtha Colon delivers her statement on behalf of ISHR, ONECA, and Race & Equality.
HRC52: The Garifuna call on the Council to urge Honduras to guarantee their rights
During the General Debate 9 at the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, held on 30 March, the Organización Negra Centroamericana (ONECA), ISHR, and Race & Equality presented a joint statement regarding the current situation of the Garifuna community of Honduras.
Mirtha Colón, president of ONECA, stated that migration is the only hope for the Garifuna’s population, once they face accentuated rates of police violence and racial profiling and are victims of arbitrary detentions, threats, and assassinations. Alongside this situation, institutionalised racism and social exclusion deepen this population’s access to quality education, housing, health, and social security.
Demanding recognition, justice, and development, Mirtha Colon requests that the Human Rights Council (HRC) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) call on the Honduran State to stop criminalising human rights defenders from the Garifuna’s community, as a matter of urgency.
Read the ISHR, ONECA, and Race & Equality statement here or watch it below:
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Over 60 States across regions pay tribute to women human rights defenders
At the Human Rights Council, Belgium delivered a statement on behalf of over 60 States that 'pays tribute to the numerous achievements and meaningful progress made by women and girls human rights defenders, and emphasises the continued need for their voices to be heard and supported'.
HRC59: Key issues at the Human Rights Council in June 2025
The 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council (16 June to 9 July 2025) will consider issues including civil society space, climate change, sexual orientation and gender identity, violence and discrimination against women and girls, poverty, peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of expression, among others. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations including in Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Eritrea, Israel and oPt, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.