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Opening for programme internship with ISHR New York

October 27, 2026

This internship offers a unique opportunity to view the United Nations human rights system at work in New York. It provides hands-on experience working for an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) as well as the opportunity to contribute to our work supporting human rights defenders, strengthening human rights systems, building and leading human rights coalitions, and responding to significant and systemic human rights concerns. For more information, consult our website https://ishr.ch/.

Key tasks

  • Providing support to programme staff in the implementation of project activities, across ISHR’s strategic programme areas including improving civil society engagement at the UN, addressing reprisals, as well as other projects seeking to enhance protection for human rights defenders;
  • Contributing to ISHR’s outreach and communications, including regular online publications;
  • Monitoring and reporting on UN human rights meetings, including the ECOSOC’s Committee on NGOs and General Assembly’s Third Committee;
  • Approximately 15-20% of the work will be administrative in nature, including assisting with the organisation and preparation of events, training and meetings.

Internship modalities

The internship will be in person, in ISHR’s New York Office and will start on 11 January 2027. It is a 6-months full-time (37.5 hours per week) position with no possibility of extension.

Internships will be compensated with:

  • a stipend of USD700/month.
  • 25 annual vacation days per calendar year, pro-rated based on start/departure date (12,5 days for six months)

How to apply

Interested candidates should apply by sending a cover letter, a CV (no profile picture please) and a writing sample here. In their cover letter, candidates should demonstrate their commitment to human rights and social change.

Application deadline: 30 November 2026 (midnight, NYC time). Incomplete applications will not be considered.

https://reliefweb.int/job/4235592/full-time-programme-internship-new-york

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NGO Forum at the 89th session of the African Commission: panel discussion on the growing issue of transnational repression of HRDs in Africa

October 21, 2026

At the NGO Forum ahead of the 89th session of the African Commission, in October 2026, a high-level panel discussion tackled the growing issue of transnational repression in Africa. The discussion, titled ‘From Restrictive Laws to Transnational Repression: Protecting Human Rights Defenders in Africa’, was the first ever panel on the topic of transnational repression in this space.

It featured Aua Baldé of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Ralmeg Gandaho, President of Changement-Social (Bénin), and Basma Mostafa, Director of Programs at the Law and Democracy Support Foundation and herself an exiled journalist and activist directly affected by transnational repression. (Basma Mostafa was unable to attend in person due to visa issues. Her statement was read on her behalf by ISHR’s Salomé Boucif)

This discussion built on our ongoing work on transnational repression: in June, ISHR convened a retreat for UN human rights experts that culminated in a landmark statement by over 130 UN Special Procedures mandate holders and Treaty Body members calling for a decisive international response to transnational repression.[https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2026/09/28/over-130-human-rights-experts-issue-global-call-for-states-to-end-transnational-repression/]

At the ACHPR’s 89th session, ISHR further called on the Commission to adopt a resolution on transnational repression and carry out a comprehensive, continent-wide study examining its nature, scale, patterns, methods, perpetrators, affected populations and impact on the enjoyment of human rights.

The panel opened from a clear premise: a conducive national legal framework is a precondition for the safe and effective work of human rights defenders, as affirmed by Aua Baldé. Yet across Africa, the opposite trend is now dominant.

In Angola, a 2025 law on the status of non-governmental organisations allows the State to monitor, suspend and financially restrict civil society organisations. In Zimbabwe, the Private Voluntary Organization Act adopted in 2025 confers sweeping discretionary powers on the executive to over-regulate and interfere in the governance and operations of NGOs. And in Uganda, the Protection of Sovereignty Act, signed into law in May 2026, created broad controls over who may receive foreign funding and who may be labelled a ‘foreign agent’.

Speaking from the experience of defenders in West Africa and particularly Benin, Ralmeg Gandaho illustrated how such frameworks translate into daily intimidation, criminalisation and surveillance of those who document violations and hold power to account.

A central thread of the discussion was that crossing an international border does not guarantee safety. For Basma Mostafa, transnational repression ‘should not be understood simply as a collection of isolated incidents’. Instead, she stressed, it is a ‘governance strategy’ used by States to ‘extend control beyond their territory’.

Drawing on the work of the Law and Democracy Support Foundation with exiled defenders, journalists and political activists, she identified several recurring patterns: proxy punishment and reprisals against family members, the weaponisation of legal and counter-terrorism frameworks, including politically motivated prosecutions and convictions in absentia, the misuse of administrative and consular measures such as travel bans and the refusal to renew documents, digital transnational repression and more.

Mostafa’s account of the case of Egyptian activist Mariam Abdelbasette illustrated how these practices intersect: her husband was reportedly deported from Oman to Egypt, following a procedure that allegedly involved INTERPOL, without meaningful due process and subsequently disappeared, while she herself faced travel restrictions, politically motivated terrorism-related accusations, threats of deportation and sustained intimidation of her and her family.

The panel stressed that the target is not only the individual defender. The broader objective is to create fear and silence entire communities, to make people think twice before speaking, organising, documenting violations, engaging with the media or cooperating with the United Nations.

When a journalist sees a colleague’s family arrested, the message reaches hundreds of journalists. When an activist’s relatives are detained, it reaches an entire exile community. Self-censorship becomes a survival strategy, undermining freedom of expression, independent journalism and cooperation with international human rights mechanisms.

Aua Baldé underlined that the cross-border nature of these threats challenges conventional approaches to human rights protection, which are typically organised around a single jurisdiction.

She emphasised that States must not be allowed to evade their human rights obligations by facilitating, outsourcing or benefiting from acts of repression carried out beyond their borders.

Recommendations

The panel called on the African Commission and the UN human rights system to:

  1. Adopt a dedicated resolution formally recognising transnational repression as a distinct and growing human rights challenge in Africa.
  2. Establish a joint task force on transnational repression bringing together the relevant ACHPR special mechanisms — on human rights defenders, freedom of expression, refugees and asylum seekers, reprisals and enforced disappearances — and UN human rights mechanisms, to ensure a coordinated and victim-centred response.
  3. Undertake a comprehensive continental study on transnational repression in Africa, examining patterns such as proxy punishment, digital repression, forced return, deportation, the misuse of counter-terrorism frameworks and cross-border security cooperation.
  4. Pay greater attention to the targeting of family members and proxy punishment, one of the most widespread and least addressed forms of transnational repression in the region.
  5. Design protection mechanisms with the meaningful participation of affected communities, guided by the principle that nothing about targeted communities should be discussed without targeted communities.

The panel concluded that, when repression crosses borders, protection and accountability must cross borders too.

Regional and international institutions must work together, including under the Addis Ababa Roadmap on cooperation between the ACHPR and UN Special Procedures, to ensure that defenders do not lose access to protection simply because their cases extend beyond a single country.

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/ngo-forum-from-restrictive-laws-to-transnational-repression-protecting-human-rights-defenders-in-africa

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/achpr89-training-17-inspiring-defenders-from-africa-strengthened-their-capacity-and-advocated-at-ngo-forum/

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Tomorrow 20 October webcast event on transnational repression and reprisals against HRDs in New York

October 19, 2026

Recent developments within the UN human rights system have brought increasing attention to the scale of TNR, its human rights impacts and the obligations of States and other actors to prevent and respond to it. On 23 September 2026, more than 130 Special Procedures mandate holders and Treaty Body members issued a joint statement on TNR, describing it as a growing, direct challenge to the international human rights system and the UN Charter’s principles. The statement clarifies the legal obligations of States under international law, and sets out a roadmap for States, businesses, INTERPOL and international organisations to better prevent and respond to TNR, and protect and assist individuals and groups affected. These recommendations build on existing reports by UN Special Procedures, the brief on TNR by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and resolutions adopted by the Human Rights Council. [see https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2026/09/28/over-130-human-rights-experts-issue-global-call-for-states-to-end-transnational-repression/]

TNR also increasingly intersects with acts of intimidation and reprisal against individuals and groups who cooperate, or seek to cooperate, with the United Nations. The Secretary-General’s 2026 annual report on reprisals (A/HRC/63/62) documents TNR-related reprisals affecting individuals and organisations across regions, including through digital technologies. These practices can extend the reach of repression across borders, targeting defenders and other civil society actors even after they have left the country in which the original threats arose. They can also affect relatives, colleagues and communities, creating a broader chilling effect on engagement with the United Nations. Of the  32 States cited in the report, 15 are cited for violations that include TNR, affecting at least 43 individuals and four organisations. [see https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2026/10/01/un-report-warns-of-transnational-reprisals-human-rights-defenders-cooperating-with-the-un/]

The growing recognition of these interconnected patterns creates an opportunity to move from documentation and recognition towards coordinated prevention, protection and accountability. Responses to TNR should be grounded in international human rights law and should address the conduct of both States perpetrating repression abroad and States within whose territory such acts occur. They should also ensure that people at risk can safely access international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the United Nations.

This UNGA81 side event will bring together UN experts, States and civil society to examine how TNR and reprisals manifest in practice, clarify applicable human rights standards and responsibilities, and identify concrete measures that States, the UN and other actors can take to prevent violations, protect those at risk and ensure accountability.

Location: New York City, United States of America

Date: 20 October 2026

  • Time: 1:15PM – 2:30PM EST
  • Address: UN Headquarters, Conference Room 7
  • Event language(s) English
  • RSVP Needed: no
  • The event will be webcast on UN Web TV.

Opening remarks: Ambassador Laura Dupuy Lasserre, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations

Speakers:

  • Claudia Fuentes Julio, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights [tbc]
  • Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism
  • Grażyna Baranowska, Chair of UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID)
  • Civil society representative

Closing remarks: Ambassador Florian Laudi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the United Nations

Moderator: International Service for Human Rights

https://ishr.ch/events/beyond-borders-not-beyond-reach

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Over 130 human rights experts issue global call for States to end transnational repression

September 28, 2026

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UN human rights experts released a landmark statement urging States, businesses, INTERPOL and international organisations to prevent and combat the spread of transnational repression, warning of its increasing impacts on human rights, democracy and the rule of law and those who take action to defend them. Over one hundred UN Special Procedures mandate holders and members of Treaty Bodies (full list below) adopted a landmark statement calling for a decisive international response to the increasing use of transnational repression by States as a tool to silence activism across borders. ‘An unprecedented number of UN experts made it clear today that any response to transnational repression should be strongly anchored in human rights obligations. Not only should governments hold perpetrators accountable, they should also proactively adopt laws and policies that centre the needs of victims, in particular at-risk diasporas and those in exile.’Raphaël Viana David, ISHR Senior Advocacy Manager ‘Transnational repression represents a growing challenge to the international human rights system and to the principles of the Charter of the UN itself,’ signatories said in their appeal, which provided a roadmap of measures to prevent and respond to transnational repression, and better assist and protect those targeted. ‘By creating fear across borders, transnational repression has profound consequences not only for those directly targeted, their families and communities, but also for civil society action, democratic principles, civic space, refugee protection, independent journalism and media freedom,’ the experts stressed, warning that this threatens the ability of individuals and groups to ‘promote, protect and defend human rights, and to engage safely with national, regional and international human rights mechanisms’, including at the UN. Arising from a retreat for UN human rights experts convened by ISHR in June, this joint statement comes a week after the UN Human Rights Council’s first dedicated dialogue on the issue of transnational repression, and arbitrary detention and amid broader efforts by the UN human rights system to address growing acts of transnational repression targeting those who engage with the UN. These efforts include statements and resolutions at the Human Rights Council, and a first brief by the UN Human Rights Office. Transnational repression tactics, the experts said, include extrajudicial killings, torture, harassment, arbitrary detention, travel bans, expulsions, deprivation of nationality, misuse of international law enforcement mechanisms, including INTERPOL Red Notices, intimidation of family members and associates, and more. Signatories flagged the ‘increasingly digital nature of transnational repression’, including through the use of social media, spyware and malware software, warning that all of these are being amplified by artificial intelligence tools. Signatories urge States to refrain from committing or supporting acts of transnational repression and to develop specific laws and policies to prevent, investigate and punish such acts, including when they don’t amount to a crime under domestic law. This includes directing resources to better track and analyse patterns of transnational repression, including digitally, building the capacity of national authorities across different areas, establishing inter-governmental coordination mechanisms and focal points, and regulating surveillance technologies. Signatories stress the need to combat the misuse of frameworks to counter terrorism and organised crime, to apply additional vetting to INTERPOL Red Notices and Diffusions, and to take into account a country’s transnational repression record when considering bilateral cooperation, agreements, and diplomatic assurances. States must also redouble efforts to protect and assist those being targeted or likely to be in the future, including through efficient reporting channels, adequate protection policies and programmes, psychosocial support, and expedited asylum, resettlement and humanitarian visa processes. Experts also call on other actors, including international organisations and businesses – to be wary of transnational repression and of their responsibilities in preventing it. Businesses, in particular tech companies, should conduct due diligence and strengthen privacy and data protection. INTERPOL should also step up efforts to tackle the misuse of Notices, Diffusions, and other mechanisms, including by cooperating with civil society and relevant States. ‘Powerful human rights abusers will not let a border stop them from quashing dissent. At a time when more States are pushing human rights defence into exile, the UN and all States who care about upholding human rights must heed the experts’ call and take action to protect those who seek refuge or engage in critique or dissent abroad.’Raphael Viana David The latest annual report by the UN Secretary-General on acts of reprisals against individuals seeking to cooperate with the UN cites 32 States. Of these, 13 States are cited for acts of transnational repression, affecting at least 43 individuals and four organisations. ‘Allegations of transnational repression across borders seemed to be on the rise, with examples from all regions, some enabled by the misuse of digital technologies,’ the report noted in its conclusions. ‘Transnational repression can cripple key accountability efforts at the UN and leave the global human rights system blind and deaf. States must ensure human rights defenders and activists who seek justice at the UN are safe from the long reach of abusive governments both while engaging with its mechanisms and afterwards.’Madeleine Sinclair, director of ISHR’s office in New York. ISHR has long campaigned to denounce reprisals against those engaging with the UN, and for the UN and States to ensure that human rights defenders and civil society organisations can safely cooperate with human rights experts and mechanisms. This year, ISHR’s campaign is focused on the impact of transnational repression. ISHR urges States, UN officials, businesses and all stakeholders to follow the recommendations in the statement and take proactive steps to address, prevent and punish acts of transnational repression, to enhance assistance and protection of victims, and to ensure everyone can safely engage with the UN and other international human rights bodies.

READ THE FULL
STATEMENT HERE
https://crm.ishr.ch/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=2026&cid=8618&cs=1c0e8879424323feccbd08455c9c775a_1790156122_168

see also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/03/19/transnational-repression-human-rights-watch-and-other-reports/

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/over-130-human-rights-experts-issue-global-call-for-states-to-end-transnational-repression

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/human-rights-council-reprisals-debate-highlights-growing-trend-of-transnational-repression

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/united-nations-human-rights-experts-release-joint-statement-on-transnational-repression

https://mzv.gov.cz/coe.strasbourg/en/news/czechia_hosts_debate_on_digital.html

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | 3 Comments »
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24 September 2026 in Geneva: panel on the role of women human rights defenders and environment

September 21, 2026

This event brings together women human rights defenders who live at the intersections of gender, climate and conflict and whose stories show that these issues need to be tackled in a coordinated, holistic way. On 24 September 2026; 1:00PM – 2:00PM CEST. Address: Room XI, Palais des Nations.

The climate crisis and conflicts are often addressed as separate global issues, however, these crises are deeply interconnected, as both are driven by the same extractive and political dynamics. Climate change compounds existing social and economic inequalities, including gender inequalities, intensifying pressures on natural resources and communities, and contributing to displacement, poverty and insecurity. At the same time, conflicts can destroy ecosystems and livelihoods, and leave communities less able to endure climate change impacts. Human rights defenders often work in contexts where environmental degradation, resource extraction, land dispossession and violence are deeply intertwined, shaped by political and economic interests that determine who controls resources, who benefits from their exploitation, and who bears the costs. In these contexts, violence and conflict become tools for maintaining unequal systems of power and access to land and natural resources, placing those who challenge them at particular risk.

Despite the accumulated risks, women defenders continue to organise and protect their communities and the environment in the face of extreme violence, war and State and non-State armed groups. 

On the occasion of the WHRD Advocacy Week organised by ISHR and partners, women human rights defenders whose stories embody these struggles – from defending the rights of fisherwomen in West Papua, to protecting the rivers of Serbia, or the wetlands in Mexico – have gathered in Geneva. These women live at the intersections of gender, climate and conflict and show us they cannot be tackled separately. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2026/09/21/from-21-to-25-september-women-human-rights-advocacy-week-in-geneva/]

With more armed conflicts raging worldwide than ever, and the climate crisis churning out natural disasters and extreme weather events with increasing frequency, learning the lessons from the work of these women human rights defenders has never been more urgent.

Speakers:

  • Astrid Puentes Riaño, Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
  • Women human rights defenders from Latin America, Africa and Asia-Pacific

Moderation: International Service for Human Rights

Interpretation in English, French and Spanish.

This event is co-organised by Amnesty International, Front Line Defenders, International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), WHRD Middle East and North Africa Coalition (WHRD MENA Coalition), Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC), Peace Brigades International (PBI), the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism (UAF), and Asia Pacific Forum on Women (APWLD).

https://ishr.ch/events/gender-conflict-and-environmental-justice-the-role-of-women-human-rights-defenders

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From 21 to 25 September Women Human Rights Advocacy Week in Geneva

September 21, 2026

Women Human Right Defenders (WHRDs) from around the world will be gathering in Geneva from 21 to 25 September, to learn about the UN Human Rights Council, advocate for their rights and amplify their own stories.

The week-long training, known as the Women Human Rights Advocacy Week, is co-organized by nine human rights organizations including Amnesty International (see below for full list). It is aimed at providing participants with practical tools to understand the Human Rights Council, while offering guidance on how to engage with it strategically and advocate for change in their communities.

“The women attending are risking their lives every day to protect their communities from climate change, greedy corporations and land theft,” said Lisa Maracani, Amnesty International’s researcher on human rights defenders. “Their knowledge is crucial to ensuring bodies such as the Human Rights Council remain effective, while the WHRD Advocacy Week is designed to provide these women with the tools and strategies to advance their advocacy on this global stage.”

The women attending [this meeting] are risking their lives every day to protect their communities from climate change, greedy corporations and land theft.Lisa Maracani, Amnesty International’s researcher on human rights defenders

Participants attending are WHRDs working at the nexus of gender, climate and conflict, and includes activists protecting the environment, the rights of women migrant workers, Indigenous land rights, as well as the rights of communities impacted by businesses activities.

The training aims to facilitate participation for activists who face multiple barriers to accessing the UN, to equip participants with a broad knowledge of the human rights system, to foster networks among them as well as between them and human rights experts, and to amplify their voices and calls for international accountability.

Participants will be able to speak before the Human Rights Council, and meet with, lobby and inform UN officials, diplomats and Council-mandated independent experts. Several participating defenders will also speak at a public event at the UN headquarters on Thursday 24 September alongside the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

“The UN human rights system must be open to and informed by those who have most to contribute to it: human rights defenders,” said Fabiana Leibl, programme manager for the International Service for Human Rights. “With this training, we seek to make sure the perspectives of women human rights defenders are effectively represented at the Human Rights Council’s and across its key mechanisms.”

This event has been organized by: Amnesty International, Asia Pacific Forum on Women (APWLD), Front Line Defenders Rights, International Service for Human (ISHR), Peace Brigade International (PBI), The Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC), WHRD Middle East and North Africa Coalition (WHRD MENA Coalition), Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism (UAF).

https://www.tolerance.ca/ArticleExt.aspx?ID=611397&L=en

https://ishr.ch/events/gender-conflict-and-environmental-justice-the-role-of-women-human-rights-defenders

https://www.oikoumene.org/events/womens-human-rights-advocacy-training-will-help-hone-strategies

for the result, see:

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/feminist-voices-at-the-un-women-human-rights-defenders-advocacy-week-2026

Posted in Amnesty international, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR | 1 Comment »
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NGOs call on China to ensure Sophia Huang Xueqin’s release

September 17, 2026

Credit: Women’s Media Centre

On 15 September 2026 several NGOs issued a joint Statement on this case:

Journalist and #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin is due to be released on 18 September after serving an unjust five-year prison sentence. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, together with other organisations, call on the Chinese authorities to ensure her immediate release and guarantee that, once released, she can carry out her journalism and human rights work without surveillance, harassment, retaliation or other restrictions.

Sophia Huang Xueqin is widely recognised for her work on human rights and commitment to press freedom. She is a journalist and one of the most prominent figures associated with China’s #MeToo movement. For years, she reported on and advocated for gender equality and supported survivors of sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

In September 2021, Sophia was preparing to start graduate studies in the UK. However, she and a friend, human and labour rights activist Wang Jianbing, were arrested in Guangzhou, China on 19 September, and detained incommunicado for more than five months. While in detention, both Sophia and Jianbing were reportedly subjected to ill-treatment, with negative impacts on their health.

During their trial in September 2023, the prosecution focused on their role in co-organising weekly gatherings with fellow activists, as well as their participation in an online course on non-violence and online posts they had published or shared on issues deemed “sensitive” by the Chinese government.

Their convictions in June 2024 for “inciting subversion of state power” were based solely on the permissible exercise of their human rights, including the rights to freedom of the press and expression as well as association. Their case is emblematic of the Chinese government’s ongoing crackdown on journalists, human rights defenders, feminist activists and civil society voices calling for social justice and respect for human rights.

Wang, who was sentenced to three and a half years, was released in March 2025.

While Sophia Huang Xueqin is expected to be released on 18 September, we are concerned that she will face restrictions after leaving prison. She was subject to a “supplemental sentence” of four years’ deprivation of political rights, a punishment that is routinely imposed on human rights defenders and journalists to restrict their ability to speak, publish and organise long after their prison terms end. The legal provisions permitting this punishment are incompatible with international human rights standards, not to mention the fact that no one should be punished simply for exercising their human rights.

We call on the Chinese authorities to:

 Ensure Sophia Huang Xueqin is released immediately and is not subjected to any further arbitrary detention and allowed to move freely;
 Guarantee her rights to freedom of expression, press, association and peaceful assembly, alongside her right to participate in public life, including her ability to communicate freely with family, friends, supporters and civil society groups;
 Ensure she is not subjected to surveillance, harassment, intimidation, retaliation or restrictions on her movement and communications; and
 Amend domestic laws, notably the Criminal Law, to ensure their compliance with international law and standards, and prevent the misuse of legal provisions to restrict the rights of human rights defenders and others.

https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/china/china-ensure-sophia-huang-xueqin-s-release-and-guarantee-her-freedom

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/china-ngos-call-for-sophia-huang-xueqins-release-and-full-freedom

Posted in FIDH, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, OMCT | Leave a Comment »
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Podcast with staff of International Service for Human Rights

August 19, 2026

On August 18, 2026 Swissinfo, in their series Summer profiles, featured the ISHR and its director and deputy, Phil Lynch and Pooja Patel.

Please listen to this week’s episode:

https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/international-geneva/summer-profiles-international-service-for-human-rights-ishr/91910274

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Human rights defenders Khurram Parvez and Irfan Mehraj finally released on bail in India

July 24, 2026

Khurram Parvez, coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and Chair of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), has spent decades documenting human rights violations in Indian-administered Kashmir, including enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. Irfan Mehraj, a journalist and human rights defender associated with JKCCS, has similarly contributed to documenting and reporting on human rights concerns in the region.

Both human rights defenders have faced prosecution under spurious allegations related to terrorism and secessionism that human rights organisations have consistently characterised as politically motivated and unsupported by credible evidence. The charges against both defenders remain in place, and the conditions attached to Khurram Parvez’s release continue to impose severe restrictions on his rights and freedoms. The international community, including the UN human rights system, must remain closely engaged until all charges are dropped and any restrictions on their work and freedom come to an end.

22 July 2022: The case in which Khurram Parvez, a prominent Kashmiri human rights defender, and Irfan Mehraj, a Kashmiri journalist and human rights defender – both associated with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) – have been granted bail involves trumped-up charges of “funding terror activities” and “propagation of secessionist agenda” in retaliation for their widely respected and recognised human rights documentation and accountability work through JKCCS. On 18 July 2026, a New Delhi District Court held the bail hearing in this case.

Kashmir human rights defender and MEA laureate Khurram Parvez to be granted bail but not free yet

In June 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), in its Opinion No. 8/2023, determined that Khurram Parvez’s detention was arbitrary and called on the Indian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him.

Although the conditional release of the two defenders comes as a relief, after a prolonged period of arbitrary pre-trial detention, the harassment through legal means against them continues, in a context of longstanding and ongoing grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Observatory calls on the Indian authorities to drop all charges against Khurram and Irfan, as they are part of politically motivated proceedings aimed at discrediting their legitimate work and the JKCCS.

https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/india/india-khurram-parvez-and-irfan-mehraj-released-on-bail

https://kmsnews.org/kms/2026/07/23/kashmiri-rights-defender-khurram-parvez-journalist-irfan-mehraj-released-on-bail.html

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/india-bail-for-kashmiri-human-rights-defenders-must-be-followed-by-justice

https://kashmirtimes.com/opinion/comment-articles/does-bail-mean-freedom-unfinished-liberty-of-khurram-and-irfan

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
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Human rights defenders increasingly face reprisals through transnational repression – #EndReprisals campaign!

June 23, 2026

Human rights defenders who engage with the United Nations are increasingly facing reprisals through transnational repression, as States seek to silence criticism beyond their borders.

The world is starting to recognise transnational repression. [see e.g. https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2024/03/19/transnational-repression-human-rights-watch-and-other-reports/] Now it must act to stop it. 

ISHR calls on States to raise cases of transnational repression as reprisals against human rights defenders who engaged with the United Nations. Here is the message it will send and it calls on anybody to sign up:

Excellency, 

In the past, you showed your support in preventing reprisals against those who engage with the United Nations by co-sponsoring the resolution on reprisals and/or publicly naming cases of reprisals against human rights defenders. 

The following human rights defenders have dedicated themselves to promoting and safeguarding human rights in their respective countries, including through engagement with the United Nations. Yet, instead of being protected, they are facing reprisals and transnational repression linked to their cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms. 

Through threats, criminalisation, surveillance, attacks on family members, professional sanctions, asset seizures and other forms of intimidation, these defenders continue to face consequences for engaging with the United Nations, even while living in exile. 

I urge your delegation to raise the following cases during the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly’s Third Committee and publicly condemn all acts of reprisals and transnational repression against individuals who cooperate with the UN. 

Basma Mostafa (Egypt) is an investigative journalist and human rights defender who fled Egypt in 2020 after reporting on enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings. Despite living in exile in Europe, she continues to face threats, harassment, surveillance and intimidation linked to her human rights work and engagement with UN human rights mechanisms. Her case was included in the UN Secretary-General’s reprisals report. 

Anna Kwok (Hong Kong) was the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council. In connection with her international human rights advocacy and engagement with UN mechanisms, Hong Kong authorities issued an arrest warrant against her, revoked her passport and offered a reward for information leading to her arrest. Her case was included in the Secretary-General’s reprisals report, and reprisals have also extended to her family members. 

Armel Niyongere, Dieudonné Bashirahishize, Vital Nshimirimana and Lambert Nigarura (Burundi) are human rights lawyers who were forced into exile after cooperating with the UN Committee against Torture. Despite living in Belgium, they remain subject to the consequences of reprisals, including life sentences handed down in absentia and the freezing of their assets in Burundi. In 2025, the Committee against Torture found that Burundi had violated the Convention against Torture by retaliating against them for engaging with the UN. 

These cases underscore the urgent need for States to address transnational repression as a growing threat to the integrity of the UN human rights system and the safety of those who engage with it. 

I call on your delegation to publicly raise these cases during the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly’s Third Committee, condemn all acts of reprisals and transnational repression against those who cooperate with the United Nations, and urge the governments concerned to end these violations. 

Human rights defenders must be able to engage with the United Nations freely, safely and without fear of retaliation, whether at home or abroad. 

Yours sincerely, 

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The world is beginning to recognise transnational repression. Now it must act to stop it. 

Read the stories of human rights defenders who left their countries of origin, but the threats continue.  

https://ishr.ch/campaigns/endreprisals2026

seealso https://www.coe.int/en/web/civil-society/-/pace-condemns-transnational-repression-and-urges-new-laws-to-stop-it

China Is Finding New Ways to Coerce Uyghurs Abroad

https://kettering.org/exile-no-longer-offers-safety-the-mounting-threat-of-transnational-repression-in-latin-america

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