The 2025 Martin Ennals Award recognises three outstanding human rights defenders who have spearheaded justice initiatives in Brazil, Uganda and Tunisia against racism and corruption in public institutions. The UN High Commissioner for human rights will award the selected laureate during the ceremony to take place on 26 November 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland.
'I would like to see mining projects, small scale mining for example and hydro power projects or water works that are led by the community and are not proposed by big companies and foreign entities that enter our ancestral lands,' says Casselle Ton in an interview with ISHR.
Last Thursday, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor presented her final annual thematic report during an interactive dialogue at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee.
Our new case study shows how human rights defenders, mobilising to demand accountability for Africans and people of African descent and confronting systemic racism and police violence in the US and worldwide, have achieved tangible impact at the UN. Discover how their coordinated efforts raised awareness and generated significant recognition within the UN.
‘Water is to protected. Water is not for sale. Water is to be defended.’
ISHR spoke with Gladys Mbuya, a lawyer by profession, a passionate human rights defender, and a peace crusader. Discover her story below!
Sixteen activists completed the Human Rights Defender Advocacy Programme in Geneva to strengthen their advocacy skills. During the programme, they called for reforms to the UN human rights system, and helped secure the renewal of the expert mandate on sexual orientation and gender identity.
'As Syrians, we have an opportunity for a democratic transition.'
The highest human rights court in Latin America delivered its landmark 300-page Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights, reaffirming the right to defend the environment and the obligation to protect those who defend it.
The Human Rights Council has renewed the mandate of the only human rights expert within the United Nations system that is specifically dedicated to addressing violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans (LGBT) and gender diverse persons.
