THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL MUST URGENTLY ESTABLISH AN INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATION IN SUDAN

Today, the UN Human Rights Council held the 36th Special Session on the human rights impact of the ongoing conflict in Sudan. Sudanese women human rights defenders and women’s groups, supported by ISHR, urged the international community to effectively respond to the devastating humanitarian crisis and the impacts on women and girls including women human rights defenders (WHRDs), and urged the Council to establish an international investigation mechanism with sufficient resources including to investigate the threats and reprisals against WHRDs for their work, and to document sexual and gender-based violence.

OVER 50 ORGANISATIONS URGE EGYPT TO IMMEDIATELY RELEASE DETAINED ACADEMIC AT RISK OF DEATH

The  Egyptian authorities should immediately release Salah Soltan, the arbitrarily detained father of a prominent US human rights defender, 51 human rights organisations said. The authorities should ensure his immediate and urgent access to life-saving health care, and conduct effective and transparent investigations into reports that he has been tortured and otherwise ill-treated.

ISHR CALLS ON SAUDI ARABIA TO RELEASE DEFENDER MOHAMMED AL-QAHTANI AND COLLEAGUES

ISHR and other organisations have released a joint statement calling on Saudi Arabia to release human rights defender Mohammed al-Qahtani and other arbitrarily detained ACPRA members.

DEFENDER STORY: PIERRE-CLAVER AKOLLY AMEGNIKPO DEKPOH FROM TOGO

‘Witnessing the realisation of human rights in our countries would be a great joy because that is what we work towards,’ said Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo Dekpoh in a conversation with ISHR. A member of the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN) in Lome, Togo, he spoke to ISHR about what drove him to become a human rights defender and about the challenges that he and his colleagues in Togo and West Africa face in working towards the realisation of human rights.

UAE MUST OPEN UP CIVIC SPACE AND RELEASE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS AHEAD OF COP28

ISHR joins SANID petition calling on the UAE to open up civic space and release human rights defenders from arbitrary detention.

CIVIL SOCIETY MOBILISES, CALLS FOR SUPPORT TO AT-RISK DEFENDERS IN CHINA

A series of harsh convictions and new detentions, coming on the heels of high-level EU visits, demonstrate that despite its rhetoric, rule of law and universal rights remain anathema to the Chinese Communist Party. The international community needs to back words with action to prevent further violations.
 

IT'S TIME TO END REPRISALS 

Human rights defenders are essential voices from our communities. Sometimes, they face intimidation and reprisals when engaging with the United Nations. Join our campaign to #EndReprisals!

To achieve our goals, we will be gradually raising the profile of 6 cases or situations that illustrate how human rights defenders are prevented from or punished for engaging with the UN. Today, we'd like to introduce you to the case of Anexa Alfred: watch her story and act now to put an end to her forced exile! 

SONG FOR BERTA 

Artists Damien Rice, JFDR, and Sandrayati joined forces to bring “Song for Berta” to Geneva. We are proud to have interviewed these gifted artists and to shine a light on the importance of defenders who protect our planet – take a look!

UPDATED SIMPLE GUIDE TO THE UN TREATY BODIES

ISHR's Simple Guide to the UN Treaty Bodies has been updated. The revised edition is now available in English and Turkish. Updates to other language versions will follow.
 

GUIDE ON THIRD PARTY INTERVENTIONS NOW AVAILABLE IN FRENCH AND SPANISH

ISHR’s guide on Third Party Interventions (or Amicus) to UN Treaty Bodies is now available in Spanish and French! Speaking about the Guide, UN Human Rights' Mahamane Cissé Gouro said: “I welcome this first manual for users of Treaty Bodies on the submission of Third Party Interventions. This new resource comes at a welcome moment with the emergence of dedicated procedures by the Treaty Bodies on Third Party Interventions in recent years. I trust that this guidance will facilitate the process for petitioners, especially if these procedures will ultimately be harmonised.”

We are grateful to Idheas for support with the Spanish translation, and Anna Devine for the French translation.