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ISHR delivered a statement during the organisational meeting of the UN Human Rights Council on 8 December 2025. Read the full statement below.

The UN Committee against Torture reviewed Bahrain’s fourth periodic report during its 83rd session in Geneva in November 2025. The dialogue focused heavily on the situation of human rights defenders, torture, accountability, and conditions of detention.

Insecurity and violent extremism, particularly in Africa's Sahel region, are prompting States to adopt counter-terrorism measures. However, in many cases, these measures are also used to restrict rights and criminalise the the work of defenders.

Concerned about the increasing numbers of unresolved cases, the NGO Forum held ahead of the 85th session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights looked at ways to address impunity for human rights violations in Africa.

Earlier this month, Belgium, on behalf of the BENELUX States, raised a number of cases of reprisals during an interactive dialogue at the Third Committee before the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris.

Sharing the documentation of the situation of human rights on the continent, the NGO Forum of the African Commission gave the opportunity to sub-regional focal points to provide a brief description of the situation of human rights defenders in Africa.

On 3 October 2025, Ireland and Uruguay delivered a cross-regional statement on reprisals on behalf of 70 States and the European Union during a General Debate at the Third Committee of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.

The UN General Assembly’s principal human rights committee—the Third Committee—has kicked off its deliberations. This year’s session will run for 7 weeks from 3 October to 21 November 2025. The Committee will be chaired by the Permanent Representative of Thailand. We present some key issues on the agenda below.

Three years after the UN Human Rights Office found that human rights violations in the Uyghur region (Xinjiang) may amount to crimes against humanity, the High Commissioner admits little progress while civil society warns the Council’s credibility is at stake.

The UN Secretary-General’s annual report on reprisals shows that ‘targeted repression across borders appears to grow in scale and sophistication’ against defenders who cooperated with the United Nations'. Notably, 10 of the 32 States reported to have retaliated against individuals or groups who sought to engage with the United Nations are sitting members of the Human Rights Council.