On 14 November 2025, Al Jazeera (Mariamne Everett) and other media reported that international NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have decried a sharp decline in civil liberties and a pervading “injustice” in Tunisia since President Kais Saied came to power in 2019, as authorities escalate their crackdown on the opposition, activists and foreign nongovernmental organisations.
“Tunisian authorities have increasingly escalated their crackdown on human rights defenders and independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) through arbitrary arrests, detention, asset freezes, bank restrictions and court-ordered suspensions, all under the pretext of fighting ‘suspicious’ foreign funding and shielding ‘national interests’,” Amnesty International said in a statement on Friday.
Tunisia’s crackdown on civil society has reached an unprecedented level, according to Amnesty, as six NGO workers and human rights defenders from the Tunisian Council for Refugees are “being criminally prosecuted on charges solely related to their legitimate work supporting refugees and asylum seekers”. The trial’s opening session, initially scheduled for October 16, has been adjourned to November 24.
Within the past four months, Tunisia has temporarily suspended the activities of at least 14 Tunisian and international NGOs, said Amnesty, including the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women and the World Organisation against Torture.
Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Friday that Tunis’s Court of Appeal will hear on November 17 the appeal of more than 30 people “unjustly sentenced to heavy prison terms in a politically motivated ‘Conspiracy Case’” mass trial in April.
“Four of those detained are on hunger strike, including one who, according to his lawyers, was subjected to physical violence in prison on November 11.”
The defendants were charged with plotting to destabilise the country under various articles of Tunisia’s Penal Code and the 2015 Counterterrorism Law. Human Rights Watch, which reviewed the judicial documents, said the charges are unfounded and lack credible evidence. The NGO has called on the court to immediately overturn the convictions and ensure the release of all those detained.
The 37 people detained include opponents of Saied, lawyers, activists and researchers. Their prison terms range from four to 66 years for “conspiracy against state security” and terrorism offences. Jawhar Ben Mbarek – cofounder of Tunisia’s main opposition alliance, the National Salvation Front – began a hunger strike on October 29 to protest his arbitrary detention. Ben Mbarek was sentenced to 18 years behind bars on charges of “conspiracy against state security” and “belonging to a terrorist group”.
For this 31st edition, ten of the world’s leading human rights NGOs composing the Jury of the Martin Ennals Award – Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, FIDH, HURIDOCS, Bread for the World, Human Rights First, World Organisation Against Torture, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), and Front Line Defenders – have selected, after much deliberation, three human rights defenders for their exceptional contribution to the human rights movement. [se also https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/043F9D13-640A-412C-90E8-99952CA56DCE]
The 2025 Laureate is Ana Paula Gomes de Oliveira (Brazil), who co-founded the collective ‘Mothers of Manguinhos’ to fight for justice after the killing of her son, a 19-year-old Black man, who was shot in the back by a military police officer in the favelas of Rio on his way back from his girlfriend’s house in May 2014. The collective serves as a front for resistance and advocacy, but also as a network of emotional support and solidarity between women who share stories of similar loss. These women, in their majority Black, many of whom have lost children and other family members to violent actions by law enforcement officials, came together to denounce violence in the favelas, especially police violence that disproportionately affects poor Black youth. ‘When we are born Black and raised in the favelas, we are targeted by a racist system that is also reinforced by public security policies based on death and imprisonment,’ says Ana Paula. According to the UN, killings by the police have more than doubled in the last ten years in Brazil, with more than 6000 killings every year over the past six years. Black people, overwhelmingly men, represent a shocking rate of 82,7% of the killings by police officers in 2023. ‘The racist violence in Brazilian streets merits the full attention of the federal government and the international community,’ says Hans Thoolen, Chair of the Martin Ennals Award Jury. The collective ‘Mothers of Manguinhos’ fights for truth, memory, justice, freedom and the human rights of Black, poor, and peripheral lives. The collective is a member of the UN Antiracism Coalition (UNARC) and during the 57th session of the Human Rights Council, Ana Paula delivered a powerful message at a side event organised by UNARC on the perspectives of the Afro-Brazilian community directly affected by police violence in Brazil.
The Jury also recognised two finalists: Aloikin Praise Opoloje (Uganda) and Saadia Mosbah (Tunisia).
Aloikin Praise Opoloje is a 26-year-old Ugandan student who has become a leading voice against corruption, social injustice, and human rights abuses in Uganda. Inspired by the dire living and educational conditions in her home district of Palisa, she has mobilised thousands through social media and organised major peaceful protests, including the March to Parliament and the Nude Protest against government mismanagement, which prompted official accountability for the Kiteezi landfill tragedy. Despite repeated arrests in 2024 and ongoing legal charges, Aloikin went on to create the WeThePeople movement, which informs young Ugandans about their civic rights and non-violent resistance.
Saadia Mosbah is a leading Tunisian human rights activist and co-founder of Mnemty (‘My Dream’), the main organisation dedicated to fighting racism and racial discrimination in Tunisia. She has spearheaded initiatives through education, awareness raising and legislative advocacy, which have led to the 2016 national debate on systemic racism, the adoption of the Anti-Racism Law No. 50 (2018), and the declaration of 23 January as the National Day for the Abolition of Slavery for Tunisia (since 2019). Her work has also focused on combatting prejudice against migrant people and promoting migrant and refugee rights. Despite her legitimate activism, Saadia Mosbah and Mnemty have faced intense smear campaigns. She was arrested on 6 May 2024 on false accusations of financial crimes and remains in pre-trial detention without a set trial date.
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. [https://www.martinennalsaward.org/2025-edition/]
The Tiruchelvam Fellowship will provide opportunities for outstanding legal scholars and practitioners of Sri Lankan background to undertake research, writing, and scholarly engagement on themes related to human rights in Sri Lanka and South Asia for up to one academic semester at Harvard Law School. The Fellowship is named in honor of the late Neelan Tiruchelvam, a Sri Lankan peace and human rights activist, lawyer, scholar, and politician.
Applications and all supporting materials must be received by March 2, 2026. Please click here for more information and to access the online application.
Chinese authorities harassed several dozen Chinese film directors and producers, as well as their families in China, causing them to pull films from the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival in New York City. On November 6, 2025, the festival’s organizer, Zhu Riku, announced that the film festival, scheduled for November 8-15, had been “suspended.”
“The Chinese government reached around the globe to shut down a film festival in New York City,” said Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “This latest act of transnational repression demonstrates the Chinese government’s aim to control what the world sees and learns about China.”
Chiang Seeta, a Chinese artist and activist, reported that nearly all participating directors in China faced intimidation. Even directors abroad, including those who are not Chinese nationals, reported that their relatives and friends in China were receiving threatening calls from police, said Chiang.
On November 1, the organizers issued an announcement on social media saying they had received messages from some film directors and producers and their families about Chinese government harassment: “We are deeply concerned about the situation. … [I]f you are under pressure not to attend the festival … we fully understand and respect it.” By November 4, more than two-thirds of participating films had cancelled their screenings.
After the festival was suspended, Zhu issued a statement that the decision was not out of fear, but rather to “stop harassment of … directors, guests, former staff, and volunteers associated with the festival, including my friends and family.”
Independent film festivals in China have faced intensifying crackdowns over the past decade, Human Rights Watch said. The Chinese authorities have shut down all three major independent film festivals in China: Yunfest, founded in 2003; the China Independent Film Festival, founded in 2003; and Beijing Independent Film Festival, founded in 2006.
When the authorities shut down the last screening of the Beijing Independent Film Festival in 2014, they cut off electricity from the venue, confiscated documents from the organizer’s office, and forced the organizers to sign a paper promising not to hold the festival. Many festival organizers have tried without success to adapt, for instance by changing their format to screenings at multiple venues.
The 14th China Independent Film Festival was shuttered in 2018, the last time such a festival took place in China.
A court in January 2025 sentenced Chen Pinlin, known as Plato, to three-and-a-half years in prison for allegedly “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after he made a documentary about the “white paper protests” during Covid-19 lockdowns. Transnational repression can be defined as government efforts to silence or deter dissent by committing human rights abuses against their own nationals living abroad, their families at home, or members of the country’s diaspora. [see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/10/17/un-report-highlights-chinas-targeting-of-human-rights-defenders-abroad/]
The Chinese government’s transnational repression of the arts has not been limited to film. Chinese officials interfered with an exhibition in Bangkok and censored artwork by Uyghur, Tibetan, and Hongkonger artists in August.
Mirbahari, a founding member of the organization, was arrested by security forces at his sister’s home in Tehran on October 15, 2025, and detained without charge. His whereabouts remain unknown, as does the status of his case, and he is being denied access to his family and lawyer. There are serious concerns about his state of health. Security agents also sealed the organization’s office and confiscated equipment and communication devices, effectively halting its operations.
“Mirbahari’s unlawful arrest and the closing of the organization mirror the Islamic Republic’s dismantling of other NGOs, and reflect its intensifying drive to wipe out independent civil society organizations,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
In a pattern of increasing judicial harassment, Mirbahari was previously arbitrarily arrested on June 20, 2025, and released after 30 days in solitary confinement upon posting bail, again without lawful cause or disclosed charge.
This latest act of repression comes amid an escalating campaign by Iranian authorities to criminalize humanitarian work and silence independent voices advocating for social justice and the rights of children, women, and marginalized groups.
A knowledgeable source told CHRI that Mirbahari’s physical condition is fragile, following chemotherapy, and his whereabouts and charges against him remain unknown. His family and lawyer have had no contact with him since his arrest.
Two Decades of Children’s Rights Advocacy
Since its founding in 2002, the Society for the Protection of Child Laborers and Street Children has been a lifeline for working and street children across Iran, advocating for the eradication of child labor and all forms of exploitation, and promoting equal rights and humane living conditions for every child, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion.
Its activities included providing educational programs, health services, psychological support, and advocacy for social protections such as child and family insurance coverage. The organization also sought to raise public awareness about the plight of working children in Iran and to encourage community participation in child protection.
Operating through eight specialized units —public relations, health, arts, library, education, social work, finance, and research— the society was one of the few NGOs in Iran maintaining a consistent focus on children’s welfare amid tightening restrictions on civil society….
Reza Shafakhah, a prominent human rights lawyer, in an interview with Shargh newspaper on October 13, 2024, said:
“It is not possible for you to open a curtain and look out the window in the farthest reaches of Iran and not see a child going through a trash can. The fact that nearly 120,000 street children are active in Iran is a form of child abuse.”
On 5 November, 2025Camilla Pollera, Human Rights and Climate Change Program Associate at the Center for International Environmental Law published a blog post about the upcoming COP30 and the role of human rights defenders:
There is no climate justice in a climate of fear. As governments prepare to meet in Belém, Brazil for, COP30, attention turns to a country where defending nature still comes at a high cost. Deep-rooted and intertwined impunity and violence against environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) — including Indigenous defenders, Afro-descendent communities, women, and defenders from LGBTQIA+ —persist in Brazil.
COP30 decisions must recognize the efforts of those protecting the planet, in Brazil and beyond, and ensure that they can do so safely, freely, and without fear.
Around the world, EHRDs are on the frontlines of the climate crisis — protecting land, water, communities, and their rights, often at great personal risk. Faced with an escalating climate crisis and the inaction of governments, a growing number of people are stepping up to defend their rights, the rights of future generations and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, exercising their fundamental freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, guaranteed under international human rights law.
…The violence and repression faced by defenders are intensified by intersecting forms of marginalization, especially affecting women defending the environment, who often suffer gender-based violence that rarely appears in the data, including sexual violence, harassment, and rejection within their families and communities. They are targeted not only as defenders of rights and natural resources but also as women, in all their diversity, challenging discriminatory societal norms, a combination that makes their work particularly dangerous and invisible. …The persistent violence and lack of effective guarantees for human rights protection are a stark reminder of what is at stake as COP30 comes to Belém.
The Advisory Opinion of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on the climate emergency and human rights made it clear: States must take proactive steps to ensure the effective protection of environmental defenders — including for those such as Indigenous and women EHRDs who are most at risk of retaliation. The Court recognized EHRDs are “allies of democracy”, whose work takes on even greater importance amid the urgency and complexity of the climate emergency. It reaffirmed the right to defend human rights as an autonomous right and declared that States have a special duty of protection toward those who exercise it, and recognized the double layer of risk faced by women environmental defenders, requiring an even higher duty of care. The Court also formulated very concrete recommendations on what this means at the national level.
The Escazú Agreement and the Aarhus Convention both enshrine explicit provisions on the protection of EHRDs, setting legal and institutional frameworks to operationalize these duties. Recent work under these instruments has provided concrete guidance for States and businesses to uphold their obligations, safeguard civic space, and ensure defenders are protected and not penalized. The recent Action Plan under Escazú and the ad hoc rapid response mechanism under Aarhus are just a few examples marking concrete advances in protecting those facing threats.
At COP30, Parties can no longer ignore their human rights obligations. They have a duty to ensure that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)—the central forum for global cooperation on climate action—and its outcomes align with legal standards. Rightsholders have been obstructed from participating and silenced the climate talks, a process that is deciding on their future. Restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, lack of transparency in the host country agreements, persistent visa barriers and financial burdens, continue to limit access. In recent COPs, civic space has continued to shrink, with obstruction often led by the very States hosting the negotiations.
Brazil has a chance to do things differently, by making civic space at COP30 and the protection of environmental defenders a true priority. This includes guaranteeing safe conditions for the meaningful participation before, during, and after COP30 and beyond. And it also means taking steps domestically, starting with the urgent ratification of the Escazú Agreement. Brazil has a key role to play in building upon its legacy of international environmental leadership and steering negotiations at the COP towards rights-based outcomes.
COP30 indeed offers a crucial moment to enhance the protection of defenders through critical decisions expected in Belém: the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP) and the Gender Action Plan (GAP).
As highlighted by the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, a just transition should be grounded in the protection of those who defend rights and call out false climate solutions, from Indigenous Peoples and land defenders opposing harmful mining projects to workers’ advocates demanding fair and equitable transitions. All decisions, measures, and mechanisms designed to enable a just transition from the fossil fuel economy must protect a safe and enabling civic space, and ensure the meaningful participation of EHRDs.
..
There is no climate justice without human rights and without protecting those on the frontlines. EHRDs step in to protect what governments have neglected, and their courage exposes States’ failure to meet their climate and human rights obligations. Despite the risk, around the world, defenders continue to organize, resist, and demand climate justice, leading the way forward. In their resistance lies the chance of a just and sustainable future.
Since 1989, CIEL has used the power of law to protect the environment, promote human rights, and ensure a just and sustainable society.
With offices in Washington, DC, and Geneva, Switzerland, CIEL’s team of attorneys, policy experts, and support staff works to provide legal counsel and advocacy, policy research, and capacity building across our four program areas: Climate & Energy, Environmental Health, Fossil Economy, and People, Land & Resources.
On 5 November 2025 Amnesty international endorsed this kind of view under the title “What is COP and why is this year’s meeting in Brazil so important?”
As part of DefendDefenders’ 20th anniversary commemorations, it has gathered 15 stories that reflect the impact of its work over the past two decades. Through interviews with human rights defenders (HRDs), key partners, and friends, these stories highlight our journey as told by those we have worked with, stood alongside, and served. They include reflections from those present at our founding 20 years ago, as well as from partners who have walked this path with us. We are deeply grateful for the personal experiences shared, and we celebrate the memories and milestones we have achieved together. We are because you are.
The Front Line Defenders Award is intended for HRDs for whom visibility can contribute to their security and who have not already had a lot of international recognition for their human rights work.
DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS: 23rd January 2026
Selection Criteria:
the nature of human rights defender’s work
the impact of human rights defender’s work in advancing the rights of others
the level of risk or negative consequences associated with human rights defender’s work
the continued commitment to advancing human rights, despite high level risks
the potential impact of receiving the Award on the human rights defender and their work
On 29 October, 2025 Amnesty International came with a report: “Closing the door – How Europe’s Schengen area visa policies fail human rights defenders“. International travel is crucial for human rights defenders (HRDs), and the Schengen area is a key destination, offering many opportunities for human rights advocacy, networking, learning, and for temporary respite for those facing threats and burnout. The importance of mobility for HRDs has been recognized by EU institutions and Schengen states. However, gaps remain between commitments and practice.
HRDs who are nationals of the 104 visa-restricted countries and who are in their vast majority racialized as Black, Asian and/or Muslim, continue to encounter huge barriers in obtaining a visa.
The report brings together real-life cases showing the impact of these obstacles on racialized HRDs, including many examples of visa denials because HRDs were not believed for the purpose of their travel. These experiences occur within a broader context of systemic racism, a legacy of colonial practices that shape visa policies and practices to this day. The report calls on authorities to ensure the full implementation of existing flexible arrangements for HRDs applying for visas, to develop a new visa procedure specifically designed to facilitate the process for HRDs, and to eliminate and prevent racial discrimination in the context of visa policies and processes.
Every journalist who dares to speak the truth faces danger, yet their courage lights the path for all of us. Remembering those killed is not enough; we must demand justice, protection, and a world where truth can be spoken without fear”. Burhan Sonmez, PEN International President
31 October 2025: On the Day of the Dead, we the undersigned, honour the journalists in Mexico who have been killed for their work. This act of remembrance is also an urgent appeal: violence against the press has reached alarming levels in the region. In Mexico, practicing journalism carries deadly risks. The Mexican State must acknowledge this reality and take immediate action.
PEN International and Article 19’s Mexico and Central America office have documented the killing of at least ten journalists over the past twelve months in Mexico. Seven of these cases are believed to be directly linked to their work, while the motives behind the remaining three killings are still under investigation. The past year, UNESCO, PEN, CPJ, RSF also recorded the murder of journalists in Brazil (1), Colombia (3), Ecuador (2), Honduras (1), Guatemala (1), Haiti (2), and Peru (2), positioning Mexico once again as the country with the highest number of journalists murdered in the continent. The murders of journalists are closely linked to their reporting on matters of high public interest, including corruption, organised crime, drug trafficking, human rights violations, environmental concerns, and abuses of power.
The brutality of the attacks, combined with entrenched impunity, has created a perpetual cycle of violence that undermines not only the right to freedom of expression but also the public’s right to be informed.
Despite its international obligations, the Mexican State continues to fail to ensure the protection of journalists and a safe environment for journalism, and to deliver effective justice for victims and their families.
This reflects a reality that cannot be ignored: Mexico faces not only a crisis of violence, but also a crisis of structural impunity that enables attacks to continue without consequence. Such impunity creates a chilling effect of self-censorship, restraint, and fear among journalists.
Emblematic cases
We remember the journalists Kristian Uriel Martínez Zavala andCalletano de Jesús Guerrero, killed in Mexico in 2025. …
Mexico’s ongoing crisis is no accident. It is the result of entrenched impunity and a state either unable or unwilling to protect those who bring truth to light.
We urge the Mexican State to:
Take concrete steps to guarantee that journalists in Mexico can exercise their right to freedom of expression without fear of reprisals.
Review and strengthen the Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, ensuring that effective measures are deployed swiftly.
Undertake thorough, impartial, and independent investigations into the killings of and attacks on journalists, and deliver effective justice for victims and their families.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 