The Human Rights Council President has proposed that States select Bolaños Vargas as the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders by the end of the body’s ongoing 61st session.
A cross-regional coalition of 90 States have issued a joint declaration at the UN Human Rights Council emphasising the critical need to defend multilateralism amidst escalating global conflicts and eroding respect for international law and human rights.
ISHR is pleased to launch its new guide to the UN Special Procedures, an essential tool for human rights defenders seeking to engage more strategically with these experts, for greater impact on the ground.
Ahead of his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council, 26 civil society organisations, including ISHR, are calling on High Commissioner Volker Türk to detail investigations into China’s alleged atrocity crimes.
ISHR is pleased to launch a Special Procedures Explainer in five languages, an essential tool for human rights defenders seeking to engage more strategically with Special Procedures, for greater impact on the ground.
As the Human Rights Council marks its 20th anniversary, 26 civil society organisations have outlined key expectations for the incoming Council President and Bureau.
Ahead of the Human Rights Council’s 61st session, ISHR and partners review Guatemala’s human rights situation, including the 2026 judicial renewal process, Indigenous rights, and access to land.
Fifty organisations urge the UN Human Rights Council to urgently convene a special session to address an unprecedented escalation in mass unlawful killings of protesters in Iran.
At a time of financial strife and ongoing reform for the organisation, States have adopted a 2026 budget cutting 117 jobs at the UN’s Human Rights Office. The final budget endorses proposed cuts that disproportionately target human rights, imperilling the UN’s ability to investigate grave abuses, and advance human rights globally.
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.
