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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.

In advance of the Human Rights Council elections that will take place this autumn for the membership term 2026-2028, Amnesty International and the International Service for Human Rights will hold an online pledging event for candidate States on 4 September 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.

A panel focusing on the crackdown on civic space in East Africa, more specifically the suppression of human rights organisations and the crisis in Cameroon was held on 29 April 2025 during the NGO Forum, ahead of the 83rd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR).

At the intersessional consultations for the legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and human rights, discussions focused on victims’ rights, protection measures, and access to remedy. ISHR called on States to center defender protections in the treaty, urging strong safeguards against reprisals and recognition of the right to defend rights.

From 7-10 April, the Latin American and Caribbean Forum on Environmental Human Rights Defenders brought together environmental defenders, Indigenous Peoples, civil society, and government representatives in Basseterre, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

ISHR and Haitian Bridge Alliance delivered a joint statement at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council condemning the violations of international law committed against Haitians.

In recent years, ‘Foreign agent’ laws have been introduced in various countries, violating international human rights law and threatening to silence human rights defenders. This pattern is particularly evident in Central and Eastern Europe, where NGOs courageously resist and need the support of the international community.

The 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council (24 February to 4 April 2025) will discuss the protection of human rights defenders, freedom of religion, human rights while countering terrorism, and rights to food and housing. It will also address grave human rights issues in countries like Nicaragua, Venezuela, China, Syria, South Sudan, Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Eritrea, and the occupied Palestinian territory/Israel, amongst others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.

The UN Human Rights Council is crucial for rights holders, victims, and human rights defenders, offering a platform to pressure for national change, expose violations, seek accountability, and gain support for their work towards a fair, equal, and sustainable world.