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ISHR has published ‘scorecards’ for States seeking election to the UN Human Rights Council for 2026-2028 to help inform voting States’ decisions in the upcoming election.

40 countries, led by Chile, 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.

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)!

As the genocide in Gaza exposes deep corporate complicity, experts and human rights defenders convened in Geneva to discuss urgent paths toward accountability. This discussion unpacked how businesses, investors, and States must act now to end profiteering from atrocity crimes.

14 NGOs that closely follow and engage with the General Assembly Third Committee have published a joint statement on outcomes of this 80th session.

UN experts report at least 150 defenders, dissidents, members of marginalised groups, and family members targeted by violence, refoulement, legal harassment, and intimidation in cases linked to China and several Southeast Asian States.

During the 38th Human Rights Council special session on the human rights situation in and around El Fasher, in the context of the ongoing conflict in Sudan, ISHR delivered a joint statement with Sudanese Women’s Rights Action, and the Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa.

Throughout its 85th session, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) saw the periodic reviews of Egypt, Tunisia, and Botswana, a report by the fact-finding mission on Sudan, and panels on the elimination of racial discrimination, the externalisation of migration management, and the right to a healthy environment.

In line with its mandate to advocate for the protection of human rights defenders before international and regional mechanisms, ISHR presented the situation of defenders' protection on the continent.