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ANNUAL reports on Human Rights: AI, CoE, HRF, IACHR

April 23, 2026

Several organisations came out with annual reports, including

  • Predatory attacks on multilateralism, international law and civil society marked 2025
  • The alternative on offer is a racist, patriarchal, unequal and anti-rights world order
  • Protesters, activists and global bodies are working to resist, disrupt and transform

The world is on the brink of a perilous new era Amnesty International warned on 21 April 2026 with the launch of its annual report, The State of the World’s Human Rights. The organisation called on governments, including Australia, to reject the politics of appeasement and collectively resist attacks on multilateralism, international law and civil society, before this emerging order takes hold.

In its assessment of the human rights situation across 144 countries, the report documents widespread violations by governments and other actors throughout 2025, alongside persistent failures of accountability, with only limited areas of progress. Many of these patterns have continued into 2026, as the international rules-based order faces sustained and coordinated pressure.

“We are confronting the most challenging moment of our age. Humanity is under attack from transnational anti-rights movements and predatory governments determined to assert their dominance through unlawful wars and brazen economic blackmail,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. 

“World leaders have been far too submissive in the face of attacks on international law and the multilateral system. Their silence and inaction are inexcusable.”Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International

“The vast majority of states have been unwilling or unable to consistently denounce predatory acts by the USA, Russia, Israel or China, or to chisel out diplomatic solutions.

“World leaders have been far too submissive in the face of attacks on international law and the multilateral system. Their silence and inaction are inexcusable. It is morally bankrupt and will bring nothing but retreat, defeat and the erasure of decades of hard-fought human rights gains.

“To appease aggressors is to pour fuel on a fire that will burn us all and scorch the future for generations to come,” said Agnès Callamard…

“For the sake of humanity, the time to make history is now.”Agnès Callamard

ANNUAL REPORT: THE STATE OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN RIGHTS

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presents its Annual Report 2025, documenting the work it has done in compliance with the mandate to promote and protect human rights in the Americas. The report—showing, over six chapters, the results attained by IACHR mechanisms—is an instrument for institutional transparency and a reference for States, civil society, and regional and international organizations.

In a year that was full of challenges including weaknesses in democratic institutions, violence in various national contexts, the effects of climate change, and issues concerning vulnerable individuals and groups, among others, the IACHR strengthened its mechanisms and each of those mechanisms has achieved concrete results.

Annual Report 2025

Our country is facing a grave threat as those in power leverage bias and disinformation to push rights-restricting legislation through at the state and federal levels. Our communities, schools, libraries, elections, and individual freedoms are being placed at risk by escalating assaults on our rights. In response, Human Rights First launched Democracy Watch in 2025, to track and expose legislative trends that endanger our civil and human rights and undermine democratic processes and institutions. Since its launch, we have tracked a proliferation of authoritarian tactics targeting our states and hurting our communities. This year we saw a wide range of legislative strategies, including rollbacks on reproductive freedom, immigrant and refugee rights, free speech, LGBTQ+ equality, voting rights, and public education.

Click to access HRF_Democracy_Watch_2025.pdf

Council of Europe:

In the midst of a

Presenting his 2025 Annual Activity Report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe today, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Michael O’Flaherty, warned that Europe, and the rest of the world, is no longer merely in an “era of change” but is experiencing a profound “change of era” that threatens the very foundations of human rights law and practice.

“We are living in a context where our stable cultural framework is being shattered by rapid social and technological advances that surpass our capacity to grasp them,” the Commissioner stated. Highlighting the impact of artificial intelligence, the triple planetary crisis, and worsening inequality, he noted a widespread diminishment of trust between citizens and the state, as well as between generations and an increasing pressure on institutions and civil society across the continent. “Unimaginably, we risk losing our invaluable acquis of human rights law. This is the duty of our generation: to act and ensure these rights survive this transition intact”.

https://rm.coe.int/annual-activity-report-2025-by-michael-o-flaherty-council-of-europe-co/48802b5894

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Women Human Rights Defenders on Ukraine’s Frontline

April 16, 2026

Women human rights defenders (WHRDS) are taking enormous daily risks to help vulnerable people living on the frontline of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Some deliver humanitarian aid to those in desperate need of food and clothes, while others evacuate elderly and infirm residents from communities under fire. Some do this work full-time, others join these efforts when they can. Few had any experience of activism before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Human Rights First has regularly worked alongside women activists around the northeastern region of Kharkiv, and sometimes in the Donetsk region further south, and has seen firsthand the lifesaving work they do, and the risks involved.

Across the world, women – including women activists – experience war differently from men. In a 2023 report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders described these environments as the “hypermasculinized context of war”. In these contexts, the role of WHRDs becomes more essential even as they face additional challenges “because of [their] work and because of who they are.”

WHRDs often face the same risks as their male counterparts, including restrictions on their rights, but also face additional and distinct risks shaped by entrenched stereotypes and expectations about women’s roles. They are stigmatized and criticized for actions for which men are praised, frequently stereotyped not as agents of change, but as vulnerable individuals in need of protection.

These are not new prejudices. A 2019 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders also found that women defenders working in conflict and post-conflict are “particularly exposed to gender-based violence, including sexual violence,” and are “more directly affected by breakdowns in health-care services.” Their legitimacy as defenders continues to be challenged and they remain largely excluded from decision-making.

In Ukraine, WHRDs evacuate civilians, deliver humanitarian assistance, and document war crimes, often at significant physical and mental risk. Yet, they are excluded from effective decision-making spaces. In March 2022, UN special procedure mandate holders drew attention to the absence of Ukrainian women from peace negotiations, despite their central role in the humanitarian response.

Human Rights First is part of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition a global network supporting WHRDs facing harassment, threats, surveillance, arbitrary detention and other forms of retaliation. Through this coalition and our own Human Rights Defenders program, we promote the work of WHRDs and work toward their protection. [https://whrdic.org/]

In 2022, Human Rights First supported the production of a guide for journalists on responsibly reporting war-related sexual violence, authored by three Ukrainian women experts in gender issues.

Human Rights First has worked alongside WHRDs in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of 2014. Since the full-scale invasion in 2022, the organization has made dozens of visits to the front-line region of Kharkiv. This has involved assisting WHRDs with evacuations from frontline areas, documenting war crimes, and reporting on the work of local activists providing humanitarian aid, countering corruption and disinformation, and those responding to the mental health crisis.

This report (by Brian Dooley and Suchita Uppal) draws on interviews with WHRDs working in frontline areas of northeastern Ukraine, highlighting their work during the conflict, the risks they face, and the critical role they have played in sustaining communities under fire. Published on April 10, 2026

Risk and Response: Women Human Rights Defenders on Ukraine’s Frontline

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HRF/HRW Webinar on Egypt’s repressive practices re the Egyptian diaspora in America – 1 May 2026

April 16, 2026

Join Human Rights First and Human Rights Watch for a briefing on Egypt’s repressive practices and the impact on the Egyptian diaspora in America. 

Date & Time :May 1, 2026 09:30 AM ET

A highlight will be Human Rights First’s work on El Sammak v. Egypt, a case brought on behalf of two American brothers—one a minor—who were violently assaulted by Egyptian security agents outside and inside Egypt’s Mission to the United Nations in New York City in retaliation for a protest by their friend. 

In the briefing, the NGOs will explore:

The rise of transnational repression.

Broader patterns and risks.

How to defend rights on U.S. soil.

Opportunities for support.

Register to join the briefing

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Deluge of NGO criticism greets 2024 US State Department Report on human rights

August 20, 2025

The Trump administration’s omission of key sections and manipulation of certain countries’ rights abuses degrade and politicize the 2025 US State Department human rights report, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Human Rights First and many other NGOs concluded .

On August 12, 2025, the State Department released its “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices” covering the year 2024. The report omits several categories of rights violations that were standard in past editions, including women, LGBT people, persons with disabilities, corruption in government, and freedom of peaceful assembly. The administration has also grossly mischaracterized the human rights records of abusive governments with which it has or is currently seeking friendly relations.

By undermining the credibility of the report, the administration puts human rights defenders at risk, weakens protections for asylum seekers, and undercuts the global fight against authoritarianism. 

This year’s human rights report may strictly keep with the minimum statutory requirements but does not acknowledge the reality of widespread human rights violations against whole groups of people in many locations.  As a result, Congress now lacks a widely trusted, comprehensive tool from its own government to appropriately oversee US foreign policy and commit resources. Many of the sections and rights abuses that the report omits are extremely important to understanding the trends and developments of human rights globally, Human Rights Watch said.

On Israel, the State Department disregards the Israeli authorities’ mass forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza, their use of starvation as a weapon of war, and their deliberate deprivation of water, electricity, medical aid, and other goods necessary for civilians’ survival, actions that amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide. The State Department also fails to mention vast damage and destruction to Gaza’s essential infrastructure and the majority of homes, schools, universities, and hospitals.

The report is dishonest about abuses in some third countries to which the US is deporting people, stating that the US found “no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in El Salvador, although they cite “reports” of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearance, and mistreatment by police. The administration has transferred to El Salvador’s prisons, despite evidence of torture and other abuses. 

The State Department glosses over the Hungarian government’s escalating efforts to undermine democratic institutions and the rule of law, including severe curbs on civil society and independent media, and abuses against LGBT people and migrants. It also fails to acknowledge that Russian authorities have widely used politically motivated imprisonment as a tool in their crackdown on dissent, and its prosecutions of individuals for “extremism” for their alleged affiliation with the LGBT movement. 

Compare: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/05/04/us-state-department-2023-country-reports/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/12/us-rights-report-mixes-facts-deception-political-spin

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/u-s-state-departments-human-rights-report-puts-politics-above-human-rights/

https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/

Human Rights Reports Exemplify Trump Administration’s Destructive, Hypocritical Stance on Rights

https://theweek.com/politics/state-department-stance-human-rights

https://www.bushcenter.org/publications/what-to-know-about-the-state-departments-new-human-rights-reports

The Trump Administration’s Partisan Global Human Rights Report Will Have ‘Devastating Consequences’

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Uzra Zeya new President of Human Rights First

April 4, 2025

Human Rights First, a leading international human rights organization, announced on 1 April 2025 the selection of foreign policy leader and lifelong human rights advocate Uzra Zeya as its next President and CEO. With decades of leadership acumen in international peace, security, and human rights, Zeya brings unparalleled expertise, superb strategic vision, and an unwavering commitment to the protection of vulnerable populations, democracy, and fundamental freedoms. She will take office on April 21st, succeeding Susan Hendrickson who will continue to serve on Human Rights First’s Board of Directors.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome Uzra as the next President and CEO of Human Rights First,” said Board Co-Chair Lynda Clarizio. “Uzra’s impressive track record of championing human rights both inside and outside of government makes her the ideal leader for this moment. At a time when democracy is under siege, authoritarianism is on the rise, and human rights are at risk both at home and abroad, Uzra brings the experience and perspective needed to further the ongoing pursuit of freedom, justice and accountability.”

Zeya has devoted her career to protecting vulnerable communities, advancing democracy and upholding human rights for all. From 2021 to 2025, she served as Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, and led U.S. efforts to support refugees, expand humanitarian partnerships, defend democracy, and counter human rights abuses globally. Her accomplishments include launching the first-ever private sponsorship plan for refugees in the United States, rebuilding the U.S. refugee resettlement program and enabling it to welcome more refugees than it had in the previous 30 years, expanding global partnerships to combat gender-based violence and increase disability and LGBTQI+ inclusion, helping secure the release of hundreds of political prisoners, and introducing new accountability tools to curb transnational repression and the misuse of commercial spyware. She served concurrently as the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues, rallying international solidarity in support of the human rights of the Tibetan people and safeguarding their cultural, religious and linguistic identity.

Outside of government, Zeya led the Alliance for Peacebuilding, a global network of over 200 organizations working for peace in more than 180 countries. While there, she co-led an NGO coalition that succeeded in securing the bipartisan passage of the Global Fragility Act, landmark legislation that prioritizes preventive diplomacy over more costly, military interventions.

Michael Posner, Director, Center for Business and Human Rights at the NYU Stern School of Business, who served as the founding Executive Director of Human Rights First, added, “Uzra is a dynamic leader who throughout her career has demonstrated integrity, vision and courage. I had the privilege of working with her at the State Department where she was widely respected and admired. Uzra is an ideal leader for HRF at this moment. She will challenge the U.S. government when it does not live up to its historic ideals. She also will enhance HRF’s support for and partnership with local human rights activists around the world.”

“I am honored to lead Human Rights First at this existential crossroads for human rights and democracy worldwide,” said Zeya. “For nearly five decades, this organization has stood on the frontlines of the fight for freedom and justice. Today the threats we face are greater than ever, but so is our resolve. I look forward to building on Sue’s leadership and partnering with the talented and dynamic team at Human Rights First to deploy our collective commitment, expertise and creativity toward making a decisive difference in the fight for rights and freedoms.”

To speak with Zeya, please contact Press@HumanRightsFirst.org.

Human Rights First Names Uzra Zeya as President and CEO

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Interview with Human Rights Defender Olga Kleitman

February 28, 2025

Human Rights First published this on 24 February 2025

Human Rights Defender & architect Olga Kleitman from Ukraine turned an empty building into a safe haven for those displaced by war in Kharkiv.

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Impact of US funding freeze on human rights defenders

February 6, 2025

The suspension and, in some cases the termination, of US foreign aid is having profound and adverse human rights impacts, threatening the very existence says Phil Lynch of ISHR in his Director’s update: “Impact of US funding freeze on human rights defenders and ISHRe of many human rights defenders, organisations and institutions“.

ISHR is directly affected by the US funding freeze. The suspension of US government funds means we’ve already had to terminate, defer or reduce activities to support human rights defenders working in highly restrictive contexts.

Together with announced and anticipated reductions in support for human rights organisations from some other governments and institutional philanthropy, it has also required that we take a number of significant anticipatory cost-saving measures, reducing our capacity to support human rights defenders globally.

The US funding freeze is also very adversely affecting a number of our national NGO partners, including those supporting human rights defenders in countries such as Afghanistan, China and Venezuela, among others. If you are in any position to support these organisations we would be delighted to connect you.

As I have recently written together with incoming and outgoing ISHR Board Chairs Taaka Awori and Vrinda Grover, we simply can’t afford to give up hope in our shared work for freedom, equality and justice. But we will not win and cannot survive on starvation rations.

We need investors – governments, foundations, corporations and individuals – to join us and create the resources that enable us to be sustainable, innovative and impactful. We particularly need medium and small States to step up investment, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because their interests are not served by the law of the jungle where might is right.

This investment needs to be made in civil society at the national, regional and international levels, as well as in the international human rights system to which frontline defenders increasingly turn when justice and accountability are denied at the national level. The realisation of human rights will provide an unmatched return on investment.

..

And we invite you to take action for a fairer future now, whether by sharing our training and information  material, amplifying our messages on social media, making a donation or in-kind contribution, or participating in our campaigns. Your every action makes a difference. 

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/directors-update-impact-of-us-funding-freeze-on-human-rights-defenders-and-ishr

Freeze in Foreign Aid Harms Human Rights Defenders, Damages U.S. Interests

https://www.freiheit.org/sub-saharan-africa/are-trumps-policies-holding-human-rights-organisations-hostage

and later:
https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/lives-at-risk-chaotic-and-abrupt-cuts-to-foreign-aid-put-millions-of-lives-at-risk/

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Vietnamese Human Rights Defender Bach Wins 2024 Baldwin Medal of Liberty

January 28, 2025

Human Rights First announced on 24 January 2025 that climate rights activist and lawyer Dang Dinh Bach, jailed in Vietnam since June 2021, is the winner of the 2024  Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty. The Baldwin Medal will be presented at an event in the United States later this year to someone on Bach’s behalf, unless he is freed from prison and able to travel to receive the award in person.

For more on the Baldwin Medal and its laureates, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/F23B5465-6A15-4463-9A91-14B2977D9FCE

Bach is the co-founder and former Executive Director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center (LPSD), a public interest law firm advising communities on cases of environmental harm, including industrial pollution, involuntary displacement due to hydropower construction, and pollution from coal plants.

Taken from his home in June 2021, he was held in pretrial detention for seven months, with limited contact with his family or his lawyers, and the LPSD was shut down by authorities following his arrest. The UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found Bach’s imprisonment to be arbitrary and in “violation of international law,” and called for his immediate release. United Nations Special Procedures experts have noted reports of his being attacked and beaten in prison.

“I’d like to express honor and gratitude for this recognition of Bach’s life and work,” said Tran Phuong Thao, his wife. “The Baldwin Award represents the critical importance of human rights and rule of law in building a just and sustainable world – values my husband has fought for both outside and inside of prison. It is through solidarity and support from the international community that the movement he has helped to build continues to grow and inspire others.”Press

Jailed Vietnamese Human Rights Defender Wins Baldwin Medal of Liberty

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Nominations for the 2024 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award now open

August 22, 2024

Human Rights First announced a call for nominations for the 2024 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award. Nominations are due by September 23, 2024.

“Honoring those who champion human rights despite immense personal risk is at the heart of what we do,” said Human Rights First President and CEO Sue Hendrickson. “This award stands as a testament to the power of individuals to make a difference, even in the face of adversity.”

https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/F23B5465-6A15-4463-9A91-14B2977D9FCE

Individuals or organizations can submit nominations. Nominees will be judged based on the following criteria:

  • The nominee’s work is unique or particularly distinctive.
  • The nominee’s work has been effective in advancing human rights in a country other than the United States.
  • The nominee faces risk or insecurity as a result of their work.
  • The nominee would benefit significantly from receiving the Baldwin Award in the form of enhanced protection or in any other way.

The nomination form can be found [here].

For any questions about the award or the nomination process, please contact Human Rights First at BaldwinAward2024@humanrightsfirst.org.

Call for Nominations: 2024 Roger N. Baldwin Medal of Liberty Award

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United Arab Emirates convicts scores of defendants in a mass trial, sentencing 40 to life in prison

July 22, 2024

The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) sentenced 43 individuals to life in prison in a mass trial on Wednesday 3 July 2024, according to the UAE’s state-run news agency, WAM. The trial, which has been criticized by human rights organizations for allegedly targeting dissidents, involved charges linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, a group designated as a terrorist organization by the UAE government. WAM reported the verdicts shortly after human rights advocates released statements announcing the sentences. Alongside the life sentences, five defendants received 15-year prison terms and another five were sentenced to 10 years. The court dismissed the cases of 24 defendants.

According to WAM, the court ruled that those convicted “have worked to create and replicate violent events in the country, similar to what has occurred in other Arab states—including protests and clashes between the security forces and protesting crowds—that led to deaths and injuries and to the destruction of facilities, as well as the consequent spread of panic and terror among people.”

While WAM did not identify those sentenced by name, and specific details regarding the trial are not clear, Joey Shea, a researcher focusing on the UAE for Human Rights Watch, noted a few prominent figures involved in the case to the Associated Press (AP).

On 10 July 2024, Human Rights First condemned the secret trial and sentencing of dozens of activists in the United Arab Emirates:

“Washington’s ally has again today demonstrated its violent repression,” said Senior Advisor Brian Dooley. “The Biden administration has struck millions of dollars of arms deals with the UAE dictatorship, and failed to sanction its officials responsible for cracking down on peaceful dissent. The message from Washington to the UAE has been clear for many years: Do what you want, there will be no consequences.”

Among those reportedly sentenced to life in prison after a mass trial is prominent legal scholar Nasser bin Ghaith. He graduated with honors from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Ohio with an LLM in U.S. and Global Legal Studies in 2001. Another of those in the mass sham trial — which included 84 defendants — was Ahmed Mansoor, who received his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical, Computer, & Energy Engineering and his Master’s in Telecommunications for the University of Colorado, Boulder. Human Rights First is still waiting for confirmation on the outcome of his case in the trial. [see https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/074ACCD4-A327-4A21-B056-440C4C378A1A]

Bin Ghaith, Mansoor, and other prominent activists in the trial were already in prison serving long sentences for their peaceful activism.

Washington Enables Violent Repression in the UAE as Dozens of Activists Sentenced in Secret Trial

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/press-releases/uae-scores-convicted-sham-trial-uae84

https://www.newsweek.com/uae-court-sentences-40-people-life-prision-mass-trail-report-1923443

https://apnews.com/article/uae-mass-trial-dissidents-2108263bffe49915a866eecc64d1b605

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/uae-un-experts-shocked-after-dozens-sentenced-life-mass-trial

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