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ISHR stands in solidarity with Egyptian poet Galal El Behairy on the 5th anniversary of his arbitrary arrest and his announcement of a hunger strike.

The 52nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, from 27 February – 4 April 2023, will consider issues including the protection of human rights defenders, freedom of religion or belief, protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism, the right to food and adequate housing, among others. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations in States including Nicaragua, Venezuela, China, Syria, South Sudan, Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Eritrea, among many others. Here’s an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.

As protests continue across Peru and at least 50 lie dead, States have called on Peru to stop the use of excessive force to quell unrest and to respect the rights of those exercising fundamental freedoms.

During Guatemala’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) this week, States repeatedly called on Guatemala to take steps to deal with three ongoing crises: attacks against human rights defenders, endemic corruption and a lack of judicial independence.

As 2023 kicks off, the Geneva Advocacy team at Human Rights Watch shares reflections on the work of the Human Rights Council (HRC) over the past year. Despite alleged ‘polarisation’ and ‘inefficiency’, the HRC is an important space for human rights dialogue and protection and a multi-lateral body that can effectively respond to human rights crises across the world, even when the perpetrators are powerful States, writes Lucy McKernan, Deputy Director of Geneva Advocacy with Human Rights Watch.

UN experts are calling on Mexico to rethink the ‘Tren Maya’ trainline project to ensure that rigorous environmental checks and meaningful consultations are carried out and human rights defenders protected.

As the world celebrates the international anti-corruption day and the 24th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders on this day, 9 December 2022, ISHR and 81 other organisations and individuals co-signed this public statement.

Mexican environmental journalist Raquel Zapien Osuna, Director of 'Son Playas' on the vital work done by local journalists to defend rights and the grave risks they face.

On Wednesday 7 December, ECOSOC Member States will be asked to vote on the accreditation of 9 NGOs that have been arbitrarily blocked from UN participation, including one that has been blocked for 15 years - the longest in the history of the institution.

The Escazú Agreement is the first legally binding instrument in the world to include provisions on environmental human rights defenders. Environmental defenders of Latin America and the Caribbean have just concluded the first official meeting to define how to move from the promise to the practical application of the Agreement.