In a landmark ruling against Burundi, the UN Committee against Torture has set a precedent on the protection of lawyers and human rights defenders engaging with UN mechanisms, affirming that reprisals for cooperating with the UN violate the Convention Against Torture.
As States race to agree on the UN’s reformed 2026 budget, draft proposals threaten to gut the UN’s capacity to respond to escalating human rights crises. With negotiations entering a decisive final stretch, disproportionate cuts to the human rights pillar risk turning reform into retreat.
UN human rights mechanisms examined the situation in Guatemala regarding the right to adequate housing and racial discrimination, calling for an end to forced evictions against Indigenous communities and for the protection of land defenders, including Indigenous Peoples.
'A revolution where you can’t dance is not my revolution,' Ecuadorian environmentalist Nathalia Bonilla told ISHR, arguing for an ‘environmentalism for the people'.
Led by Chile, 41 countries warned that proposed budget cuts under the UN80 initiative would severely weaken an already underfunded UN human rights pillar. As negotiations kick off in New York, ISHR urges States to prevent disproportionate cuts to human rights and ensure the international human rights system remains credible, effective and responsive.
From 24-26 November, the 14th Forum on Business and Human Rights took place in Geneva. ISHR participated in various activities together with human rights defenders working on corporate accountability.
The Committee on NGOs – which determines which NGOs can or cannot participate in UN meetings – will face elections in April 2026. Join ISHR’s campaign to ensure States nominate and vote for candidates who will defend civil society’s access to and participation in the UN!
Are you a human rights defender working on democratic backsliding and/or racial justice, keen to use the UN to push for change at home? If so, apply for the 2026 edition of ISHR’s flagship training, the Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme (HRDAP)!
ISHR delivered a statement during the organisational meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on 8 December 2025. Read the full statement below.
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