© OHCHR
New UN brief paves the way for States and UN bodies to develop norms and recommendations to better respond to transnational repression and protect victims.
On 30 June 2025, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched its first–ever brief on transnational repression (TNR) at a side event during the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). The event brought together UN experts – including UN Special Rapporteurs and a member of the Human Rights Committee – alongside human rights defenders and victims to discuss the scope and impact of TNR, and the need for prompt coordinated action by States.
TNR refers to acts taken by a State or its proxy, within its territory or extraterritorially, to deter, prevent, silence or punish individuals engaged in dissent or human rights advocacy in relation to that State from abroad. Acts can target them directly or indirectly via their families, representatives and associates, and often aim to instil a broader chilling effect on advocacy and dissent.
In its brief, the OHCHR lists the most prevalent forms of TNR, including violent acts and intimidation outside the country – ranging in some cases to kidnappings and killings – along with harassment through extradition requests, unlawful arrests and deportations, abuses of security laws with extraterritorial provisions, restrictions on freedom of movement, digital threats and attacks, and targeting of victims’ relatives or associates within their own countries.
Importantly, the OHCHR urges all States to refrain from committing, enabling, or condoning acts of TNR, and calls on all relevant actors to take prompt action in four areas:
The event featured the compelling testimony of Basma Mostafa, an Egyptian woman human rights defender and journalist, who faced TNR while in exile in Kenya, Lebanon and Switzerland. Her case was raised in a letter by UN experts to Egypt in December 2024, and a recent statement by the German government. Two weeks ago, ISHR joined 25 rights groups to call on Egyptian authorities to end TNR against her.
I am part of a global community of exiled journalists, writers, activists, and entire communities — including Tibetans, Uyghurs, and others — who are harassed and threatened, often simply because of who they are or what they represent. Many are left alone, suffering in silence because Member States fail to act, to uphold the rule of law, and to respect their international obligations.Basma Mostafa, Egyptian journalist and human rights defender in exile
The event also showcased video testimonies of four victims of TNR: Claudia Vargas from Nicaragua, Carmen Lau from Hong Kong, Armel Niyongere from Burundi and Sitanun Satsaksit from Thailand.
Chile, Australia, France, Lithuania, Germany and the Netherlands took the floor during the event to raise concerns and condemn TNR, share challenges and best practices at the national level, and express support for the OHCHR’s work. A few weeks prior, G7 Summit Leaders released an important joint statement stressing their shared commitment to ‘foster a common understanding of TNR, raise awareness, and promote accountability to increase the costs for those who engage in acts of TNR.’
TNR against those holding the Chinese government accountable
The Chinese government is one of the most well-documented perpetrators of TNR globally. This includes acts ranging from physical violence against Uyghur, Tibetan, Chinese and Hong Kong protesters during Xi Jinping’s 2023 visit to San Francisco, digital transnational repression, to the prosecution of relatives of activists abroad, such as Hong Kong pro-democracy advocate Anna Kwok.
On 2 June 2025, ISHR partnered with Campaign for Uyghurs to convene an event on the margins of the HRC session that brought together Uyghur, Hong Kong and Tibetan activists to discuss the scope of China’s acts of TNR and measures States should take to respond and protect victims. Uyghur advocate Rushan Abbas, Hong Kong activist Amy Siu, and Tibetan activist Topjor Tsultrim, shared their own experiences of TNR, urging States to step up coordination, strengthen accountability mechanisms, train law enforcement agencies, and adapt national legislation to allow for the prosecution of acts of TNR.
Acts of TNR may also constitute reprisals when they target individuals or groups cooperating, or seeking to cooperate, with the UN, its bodies and representatives. In late April, ISHR released a landmark report exposing tactics to restrict access to the UN for independent civil society, delving into patterns of reprisals committed by the Chinese government – the fourth largest perpetrator of reprisals according to annual reporting by the UN Secretary-General.
HRC steps to condemn TNR against human rights defenders and journalists
Efforts by civil society groups to raise global attention to TNR have started to pay off, as States have condemned TNR in a range of resolutions adopted by the HRC since March, despite opposition from China, Russia, Egypt, India, Algeria and Indonesia.
This week, the 47 Member States of the HRC adopted by consensus two resolutions on civil society space and on the safety of journalists, both ‘expressing grave concern about repressive activities conducted by States’ or actors under their effective control to ‘harm, silence and intimidate’ civil society actors, journalists and media workers abroad ‘through digital, physical and other means, including through the misuse of spyware and other intrusive surveillance software, and the targeting of their family members, representatives or associates.’ The latter resolution further ‘condemns unequivocally the extraterritorial targeting of journalists and media workers.’
These key normative developments build upon similar language in a resolution on human rights defenders and emerging technologies, adopted by consensus at the HRC earlier in March.
States also raised concerns at acts of TNR in resolutions adopted by vote by the HRC on the human rights situations in Nicaragua and North Korea in March, and in Eritrea this week.
These efforts were strongly supported by a range of Western and Latin American governments, including Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica, themselves host States of exiled communities facing TNR.
The tables are turning, UN experts and States are rapidly waking up to the threat of transnational repression. Now, we need to see stronger efforts and coordination to adequately revise laws, enhance training and awareness, protect victims, and prosecute perpetrators. States’ long arm and tactics to export repression across the globe cannot go unchecked anymore.ISHR
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