Women human rights defenders (WHRD) working on environment and climate justice from around the world gathered in Geneva to participate in the Women Human Rights Advocacy Week (WHRD-AW) between 16 and 21 September. Discover their experience below!
Led by a group of Latin American States and Canada, the United Nations Human Rights Council today extended the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission (the Mission, or FFM) for Venezuela for two years, the mechanism’s third renewal since its creation in 2019.
The European Parliament adopted today an urgent resolution condemning Beijing’s persecution against Uyghurs, demanding the release of prominent figures Gulshan Abbas and Ilham Tohti. Following this landmark call, Abbas’ daughter, Ziba Murat, and ISHR urge EU leaders to step up EU action on the fate of Uyghurs at the United Nations.
Human Rights Council Member States discussed four reports on systemic racism, including the mission reports of UN Experts on law enforcement and racial justice recommending wide-ranging, systemic changes to policing in Brazil and Italy.
The 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council (9 September - 11 October) will consider issues including intimidation and reprisals for cooperating with the UN, arbitrary detention, systemic racism, enforced disappearances, climate change, water and sanitation, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent, among others.
A spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued today a rare public statement on his Office’s work on China, marking two years since the release of its groundbreaking report on the grave human rights situation in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang).
This briefing paper summarises the position of UN experts that RSDL constitutes enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and could amount to torture, and includes a repository of all UN documents referring to RSDL since August 2018.
The United Nations Human Rights Council extended the mandate of the Expert Mechanism to Advance Racial Justice and Equality in Law Enforcement (EMLER) for a second period of three years.
At the adoption of the report of its fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), China ignored calls to implement UN findings and dismissed all serious criticism of its human rights record, refusing to budge on the documented plight of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers, human rights activists, lawyers, and more. We urged China to genuinely engage with the UN to enact meaningful reforms.
Human rights defenders and journalists face increasing threats and attacks due to acts of transnational repression, according to a new report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. Host States must increase protection and support for victims of transnational repression, as well as investigate and pursue accountability where such acts occur.
