Read on to remain up to date with the latest international human rights news, views and developments!
The public session of the 85th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR, or African Commission) will be held in Banjul, The Gambia, from 21 to 30 October 2025. The public session will be preceded by the NGO Forum, which will also be held in Banjul from 17 to 19 October 2025.
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.
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.
On 18 September 2025, the Réseau Nigérien des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (RNDDH), in partnership with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), organised an advocacy workshop in Niamey on the establishment of a national mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders in Niger.
From 16 to 17 September 2025, the Réseau Nigérien des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (RNDDH), in partnership with the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), organised in Niamey a workshop on the dissemination of the law defining the rights and duties of human rights defenders in Niger.
The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of Mali has developed a manual on the protection of human rights defenders to facilitate implementation of its protection mandate.
From 3 to 4 July 2025, with financial support from the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of Mali organised a training workshop for human rights defenders on the legal framework and the national mechanism for their protection.
Civil society organisations, including ISHR, make a joint statement marking the one year anniversary of the announcement of a legal initiative to hold Afghanistan accountable under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
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.
As world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly, over 270 civil society groups from across the globe issue an open letter urging Member States to safeguard international refugee, human rights, and humanitarian treaties from attacks by the US and other States.
Organisations from around the world condemn US and UK sanctions targeting human rights organisations and stand in solidarity with human rights defenders working to uphold international law in the face of Israel’s genocide and colonial apartheid against the Palestinian people.
