NEW RESOURCE FOR LAND RIGHTS DEFENDERS

ISHR hails the adoption of a groundbreaking guidance on land rights by the UN Committee on economic, social and cultural rights (CESCR). The General Comment provides welcome guidance on the obligations of States parties in relation to land rights.
 

VENEZUELA: PROPOSED LAW A SERIOUS THREAT TO DEFENDERS - STATES MUST SPEAK UP!

Two days before the arrival of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela, the National Assembly held a first reading of a draft law that, if passed, would criminalise the work of defenders, further shrinking the space they have to operate. States must speak up for human rights defenders and against this initiative!

PERU: EXCESSIVE USE OF FORCE DURING PROTESTS A LIVE ISSUE 


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.

CHINA'S EFFORTS TO INFLUENCE THE TREATY BODY SYSTEM 

ISHR sheds light on the attempts by Chinese diplomats to exert undue influence over the UN expert bodies that oversee compliance with major international human rights treaties and covenants, and makes recommendations for how stakeholders can strengthen the system’s ability to fight back.

GUATEMALA: STATES CALL AGAIN FOR ACTION ON DEFENDERS

During Guatemala’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR), 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.

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL SHOULD RENEW NICARAGUA RESOLUTION

During a Human Rights Council debate with High Commissioner Volker Türk on the human rights impact of recent municipal elections in Nicaragua, ISHR and 33 organisations, including from the Colectivo 46/2 coalition, launched a global call for the two-years renewal of the Council’s resolution on Nicaragua.

BAHRAIN: FREE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER ABDULJALIL AL-SINGACE 
 

ISHR joins letter calling for the release of Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, an academic, award-winning activist and blogger who is serving a life sentence in Bahrain solely for exercising his human rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

#QATARGATE: EU MUST BE LOUDER AND STRONGER ON HUMAN RIGHTS
 

Faced with allegations of authoritarian influence in Parliament's work, the institution needs to be 'louder and stronger' on human rights globally - not reward those same governments with their silence.
 

HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER STORY: ODINAKAONYE 'ODI' LAGI FROM NIGERIA
 

'If we work together to make sure that issues are more visible, that happen in Africa, civil society organisations, I think, will be achieving more.' Meet Odi, the programme director for the Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI), Nigeria, where she works on promoting access to justice and legal aid for Nigerians. 

UN EXPERTS URGE MEXICO TO RETHINK TOURIST TRAIN PROJECT 
 

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.

OPINION: REFLECTIONS ON THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL IN 2022
 

As 2023 kicks off, the Geneva Advocacy team at Human Rights Watch shares reflections on the work of the Human Rights Council over the past year. 

SAFEGUARD CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION AT THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
 

On 9 December 2022, the Human Rights Council’s Organisational Meeting took place. UNOG announced that hybrid modalities during HRC sessions will be provided for the first quarter of 2023. The presidential statement decided that more discussions were required to reinstate general debates in the June session. The latter is considered an encouraging outcome, as it does not completely exclude the return of these important debates in the June session.