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Interview with Mary Lawlor, departing UN special rapporteur

October 29, 2025

On 13 October 2025, Nina Lakhani, climate justice reporter the Guardian, published this interview with Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, who presented her final annual thematic report during an interactive dialogue at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee. The Special Rapporteur’s report focused on the contributions of human rights defenders addressing climate change and working to realise a just transition from fossil fuels, and the risks they face in carrying out this work.

Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders since 2020, has documented hundreds of cases where states have sought to smear and silence climate defenders engaged in peaceful protest, non-violent civil disobedience and litigation.

“Attacks against climate defenders have surged over the course of the mandate, and we now see outright repression against people who are organizing for climate action. It’s some of the states that have claimed to be the strongest supporters of human rights defenders including the UK, Germany, France and the US, that are most often repressing climate activists and where the right to protest is being denigrated and delegitimized.

“These big countries spew out the rhetoric about 1.5C, but they don’t mean it. They are playing the game to suit themselves. It’s business as usual,” Lawlor said in an interview with the Guardian.

Lawlor will present the penultimate report of her six-year mandate, “Tipping points: Human rights defenders, climate change and a just transition”, to the UN general assembly on 16 October.

It documents state repression including police violence and surveillance, civil litigation deployed to deliberately wear down and silence climate defenders known as Slapp (strategic lawsuits against public participation), as well as bogus criminal charges ranging from sedition, criminal defamation, terrorism and conspiracy to trespass, to public disorder and to disobedience.

One trend documented by Lawlor is the conflation of non-violent climate action with terrorism. In 2022, the French minister of interior at the time, and current minister of justice, accused the national environmental movement Les Soulèvements de la Terre of “ecoterrorism”. The government sought to close down the group, but the country’s highest administrative court eventually overturned the effort.

Lawlor is adamant that climate activists are human rights defenders. They use non-violent protest, disruptive civil disobedience and litigation to stop fossil fuel projects and pressure elected officials to take meaningful action precisely because they are trying to protect the right to food, clean water, health, life and a healthy environment.

But it’s not just fossil fuels. Human rights are now being targeted in the rush for critical minerals and new sources of non-fossil energy. The same repressive playbook is being used by governments and private companies involved in land grabs, pollution and Indigenous rights violations in pursuit of a green transition.

“Governments are repressing human rights defenders and the current trajectory is incompatible with the realization of human rights for all. It’s just a road to destruction … I think states are behaving in a criminal fashion,” Lawlor said.

“No system, no power, no government, no big company seeking profit should trump the rights of billions of people in the world. And that’s what’s happening. It’s the rich, the powerful that are creating such a disaster for humanity.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/13/climate-defenders-mary-lawlor-human-rights

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/unga-80-special-rapporteur-urges-states-to-protect-environmental-defenders-working-towards-a-just-transition

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/new-report-un-special-rapporteur-exposes-rising-global-threats-and-systemic-retaliation-against-environmental-defenders-under-the-aarhus-convention/

https://genevasolutions.news/climate-environment/environmental-crimes-go-unpunished-experts-want-to-equip-defenders-to-fight-back

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/ishr-calls-for-the-unanimous-renewal-of-the-un-mandate-on-human-rights-defenders

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | 1 Comment »
Tags: Business & Human Rights Resource Centr, climate-change, environment, environmental defenders, General Assembly, Geneva Solutions, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, indigenous groups, Mary Lawlor, news, Nina Lakhani, politics, the Guardian, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

International Organizations Denounce Escalating State Violence in Ecuador

October 22, 2025

On 16 October 2025 Amazon Watch reported that more than 130 civil society and human rights organizations from across Latin America and around the world have issued an urgent appeal for an immediate end to repression, militarization, and human rights violations by the Ecuadorian government. The statement follows weeks of violent crackdowns against Indigenous-led protests that began on September 21, when social movements mobilized to defend democracy, rights, and the environment amid controversial government reforms.

According to Ecuadorian human rights groups, the government’s response has been brutal and disproportionate: at least three people have been killed, including Indigenous leader Efraín Fuerez; over 282 people injured; 172 detained; and 15 temporarily disappeared. Reports also confirm attacks on journalists, raids without warrants, internet blackouts, and summary deportations, while military operations continue across several provinces.

The joint declaration denounces the criminalization of Indigenous and human rights defenders, who face fabricated charges of terrorism, sabotage, and illicit enrichment, along with the freezing of organizational bank accounts. The signatories condemn President Daniel Noboa’s use of racist and stigmatizing rhetoric to justify state violence and to discredit legitimate social protest.

“Defending life, land, human rights, and freedom of expression cannot be criminalized. Peace cannot be imposed by force; it is built on truth, justice, and dialogue,” the statement affirms.

The organizations also point to international alarm: on October 8, seven United Nations Special Rapporteurs expressed concern about the repression and institutional rollbacks that weaken environmental protections and Indigenous rights. Two days later, members of the European Parliament called for a public EU statement, a monitoring mission, and a review of the E.U.–Ecuador Trade Agreement under its human rights clauses.

In response to the escalating crisis, Amazon Watch has launched an international action urging President Noboa to cease all violence immediately, end the criminalization of Indigenous movements, and ensure full respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Download the statement in PDF format to view a complete list of signatories.

Over 130 International Organizations Denounce Escalating State Violence in Ecuador and Call for Global Action to Protect Human Rights

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Tags: Amazon Watch, criminalisation, Ecuador, environmental defenders, Human Rights Defenders, indigenous groups, politics

New Guidelines on Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience

October 20, 2025

During October 2025, new guidelines on Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience were released by Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention.

The new guidelines aim to support states, civil society, environmental activists, and legal practitioners in understanding and implementing the rights guaranteed under the Aarhus Convention. The document underscores that individuals and groups have a recognised international right to engage in peaceful environmental demonstrations, even when challenging public or private actors whose practices may harm the environment.

The document outlines five guiding principles to help states ensure that peaceful environmental activism is respected, not repressed:

Address the root causes of the protest: Governments should tackle the real reasons behind environmental protests, such as inaction on environmental protection, lack of transparency, or exclusion from decision-making.
Reject criminalization of defenders: Authorities and media must stop portraying environmental activists as criminals and instead recognize their legitimate role in defending public interests.
Protect civic space: Civil disobedience must not be used as a pretext to restrict fundamental freedoms or limit peaceful public expression.
Ensure human rights–based policing: Law enforcement responses must be lawful, necessary, and proportionate — never arbitrary, excessive, or punitive.
Uphold justice and civic freedom: Courts should avoid rulings or sanctions that discourage peaceful protest or shrink civic space.

Furthermore, the guidelines recognize that some environmental defenders may resort to civil disobedience when legal channels fail, and the guidelines set out conditions under which such acts may be tolerated (e.g., proportionality, non-violence, necessity, public interest). The guidelines stress the need for states to prevent and remediate retaliatory actions against protestors, such as legal harassment, surveillance, excessive use of force, or criminalisation of protest. The text encourages states to review and reform national laws, police protocols, and judicial practices to ensure that protest rights are respected, especially for environmental defenders, and it calls for transparent mechanisms to monitor how protests are handled, report abuses, and hold responsible persons and institutions to account.

The guideline highlights that public authorities (including political figures) should refrain from using language labelling protesters as threats, “eco-terrorists,” or “foreign agents”, and media (especially public or state media) should maintain factual accuracy, avoid derogatory language, and refrain from mischaracterising environmental defenders.

https://unipd-centrodirittiumani.it/en/news/un-rapporteur-michel-forst-issues-new-guidelines-on-environmental-protest-and-civil-disobedience

Guidelines on the Right to Peaceful Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience – October 2025

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: activism, civil disobedience, climate-change, environmental defenders, guidelines, history, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Michel Forst, news, politics, right to protest, UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention.

CESCR General Comment: States should protect environmental and Indigenous HRDs

October 17, 2025

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recently published its General Comment on the environmental dimension of sustainable development. In addition to recognising human rights defenders, the Comment clarifies State obligations towards marginalized communities and notes the importance of transitioning away from fossil fuels. It also outlines States’ extraterritorial obligations.

ISHR provided two written inputs to the draft of this General Comment earlier this year – a standalone submission regarding the recognition and protection of environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) based on the Declaration+25, a supplement to the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and a joint submission in partnership with the Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice, FIAN International, the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam.

‘States parties should respect, protect, and promote the work of environmental and indigenous human rights defenders, as well as other civil society actors who support people in marginalized and disadvantaged situations in realizing their Covenant rights.’ States parties should take all necessary measures to ensure that environmental human rights defenders and journalists can carry out their work, without fear of harassment, intimidation or violence, including by protecting them from harm by third parties.’

ISHR welcomes that priorities from the joint NGO submission to the CESCR are reflected in the General Comment, in particular Indigenous Peoples’ right to ‘free, prior and informed consent’ and the need to transition away from fossil fuels (including by reducing ineffective subsidies).

However, we regret that the Comment does not more explicitly acknowledge the critical role of EHRDs in promoting sustainable development or strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) as an obstacle to their engagement. The CESCR has previously noted the risks faced by HRDs and provided guidance on their recognition and protection in the context of land issues in General Comment No. 26 and it should have extended this analysis to EHRDs in the context of sustainable development. The use of SLAPPs to silence HRDs has been acknowledged by other UN bodies, including in the most recent report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Ms. Mary Lawlor, to the Third Committee of the General Assembly.

Some additional highlights from the General Comment are set out below.

The Committee found that ‘[t]he full realization of Covenant rights demands a just transition towards a sustainable economy that centres human rights and the well-being of the planet’.
States should supervise commercial activity, establish a legal obligation for businesses in respect of environment and human rights due diligence, and ensure that victims of human rights violations stemming from businesses have redress.
States have obligations to conduct human rights and environmental impact assessments, which are to be undertaken with ‘meaningful public participation’.

States have an extraterritorial obligation to ensure that any activities within the State or in areas under its control do not substantially adversely affect the environment in another country. This also extends to preventing businesses in the State from causing such harm in another jurisdiction. Even though the CESCR does not expressly mention it in the Comment, this should also apply to cases of attacks against EHRDs.
The CESCR also clarifies States’ obligations towards marginalized communities, spotlighting the concept of intersectionality. It also explicitly notes that equal exercise of economic, social and cultural rights by women and men is a prerequisite for sustainable development, encouraging States to redistribute the unpaid domestic work undertaken by women and girls.
Environment-related obligations have also been set out for States in the context of specific Covenant rights, for example, the right to self-determination , right to freely utilize natural resources , right to work , right to an adequate standard of living, right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, right to education and other economic, social and cultural rights.
The General Comment recognises that certain communities are particularly vulnerable to the effects of environmental degradation – it calls on States to identify and protect those at risk. The CESCR focuses particularly on children (specifically calling for child rights defenders to be recognised and protected and for their participation in climate action to be facilitated), Indigenous Peoples, peasants, pastoralists, fishers and others in rural areas, and displaced persons.

‘Environmental degradation, including climate change, intensifies the vulnerabilities of individuals and groups who have historically experienced and/or experience marginalization. These vulnerabilities are shaped by intersecting factors such as socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, age, migratory status, sexual orientation, and gender identity.’

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/cescr-general-comment-states-should-protect-environmental-and-indigenous-hrds-work-in-the-context-of-sustainable-development

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: climate change, climate-change, Committee on Economic, environment, environmental defenders, guidelines, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, news, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), sustainability, vulnerable

Global Citizen festival New York 2025: protecting human rights defenders

October 9, 2025

Global Citizen is a social action platform for a global generation that aims to solve the world’s biggest challenges. On the platform, you can learn about issues, take action on what matters most, and join a community committed to social change. toRegister: https://www.globalcitizen.org/

On 27 September 2025, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk joined award-winning actor, playwright, and Global Citizen and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Danai Gurira, along with Global Citizen Prize winners Valeriia Rachynska, Director of Human Rights, Gender and Community Development at 100% Life (Ukraine), and Omowumi Ogunrotimi, Founder and Executive Lead of Gender Mobile Initiative (Nigeria), to announce commitments to protect human rights defenders and share powerful personal stories of impact at Global Citizen Festival in New York City

Posted in films, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, OHCHR | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Danai Gurira, Global CITIZENS FESTIVAL, Human Rights Defenders, New York, Omowumi Ogunrotimi, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Valeriia Rachynska, Volker Türk, Volker Turk

Burundian women’s rights defender Marie Louise Baricako pushes for a national dialogue

October 8, 2025

Marie Louise Baricako, a women’s rights activist from Burundi, in Geneva for the Human Rights Council (Geneva Solutions/Michelle Langrand)

Michelle Langrand in Geneva Solutions of 8 October 2025, talks with Burundian women’s rights defender Marie Louise Baricako – who was In Geneva to attend the Human Rights Council. She warns that her country is sinking deeper into crisis as the region teeters on the brink, urging the international community to push for a national dialogue.

Marie Louise Baricako recalls the Arusha negotiations with a mixture of pride and sorrow. In the late 1990s, she pushed for women to have a seat at the table in the talks aimed at ending Burundi’s inter-ethic civil war – and yet, 25 years on, much of the agreement’s promises remain unfulfilled.

“If women are left out, Burundi will keep losing,” she says. “How can you hope to develop when 52 per cent of your population are left aside?”

Baricako has spent a lifetime trying to empower that 52 per cent. In 1988, she became the first Burundian woman to earn a PhD, studying in Cameroon, and later led the English department at the University of Burundi. Born in Muramvya province, she spent much of her adult life abroad, including in The Gambia, where she joined Femme Africa Solidarité, a feminist network founded in Geneva in 1996 to promote female leadership in peace, security and development……

Fortuné Gaetan Zongo, UN special rapporteur on Burundi since 2021, warns of a “real risk” of regional destabilisation. “If Kinshasa were to fall, Burundi would be deeply affected,” he tells Geneva Solutions. Some 78,000 Congolese refugees fleeing the violence have crossed into Burundi since the beginning of the year, raising questions about how Burundi, already struggling, can cope with their humanitarian needs while the UN aid system is strapped for cash.

Baricako sees how ethnic narratives continue to be exploited by those in power. “This is what our leaders today are nourishing, because in their mind, Tutsi had kept power for so long alone, excluding Hutus. Now, they say ‘we have taken it, we shall not release it, until Jesus comes back’,” she says.

Yet repression is not limited to a group. “When women or human rights defenders dare to speak out on any violation, the next day, either they are in prison or they are killed,” she says…

Despite the bleak prospects, Baricako places hope in ordinary Burundians. “They have had time to believe in these stories of Hutus or Tutsi being the enemy. Now I believe people have realised that it is not about the ethnic group,” she says. “Burundians want a peaceful country, and they are ready to work as hard as they can to rebuild Burundi.”

Baricako stresses that talks would lead to more unfulfilled promises without the participation of those in power. She calls on the African Union and the East African Community to step out of their indifference and pressure Burundi to the table.

Zongo, who has been met with the government’s outright refusal to cooperate with him and other human rights experts, also notes that certain states with good relations with Burundi, like Tanzania, DRC and Cameroon, “can convince Burundi to sit at the table and engage in cooperation.”

For all the setbacks, Baricako remains steadfast. “The support of civil society has been essential in staying strong and not abandoning the fight,” she says. “Peace is our business, whether they want it or not. I will not go to the battlefield with a weapon, but what I have in my heart, I will use it to stand for peace and security of Burundians.”

https://genevasolutions.news/human-rights/rights-defender-fights-for-political-way-out-as-burundi-sinks-deeper-into-crisis

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 60th session of the UN Human rights Council, Burundi, ethnic conflict, Fortuné Gaetan Zongo, Geneva Solutions, Human Rights Defenders, human rights of women, Marie Louise Baricako, politics, profile, UN Special Rapporteur, woman human rights defender

UN Secretary-General’s 2025 report highlights reprisals against human rights defenders

October 1, 2025

*Ilze Brands Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights © Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024 licensed under CC BY 2.0*

On 24 September, 2025, the United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (ASG), presented the annual report of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) on intimidation and reprisals against those cooperating with the UN. The report highlights allegations of acts of intimidation and reprisals committed from May 2024 to April 2025, as well as updates on cases from previous reports.

Reprisals are acts of intimidation, harassment or retaliation against individuals or groups for cooperating with the UN. The annual report includes both newly documented cases from the reporting period and follow-up information on situations previously highlighted, such as changes in detention conditions, judicial or administrative measures, or recurring patterns of intimidation. see also: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140603192912-22083774–crime-should-not-pay-in-the-area-of-international-human-rights

The UNSG report warns that “more than half of the States reviewed continue to enforce or adopt laws on civil society, counter-terrorism and national security that have the effect of deterring or obstructing cooperation with the United Nations”. In some cases, new or amended legislation has further tightened restrictions on NGOs, complicating their registration and operations, and creating additional obstacles to meaningful civil society engagement with the UN. This trend is particularly pronounced in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where more than 6 out of 10 cases of reprisals are linked to counter-terrorism or security measures.

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/hrc60-un-flags-repression-of-human-rights-defenders-including-by-human-rights-council-members

https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2025/09/ensuring-safety-those-who-engage-united-nations-essential

UN Report Lists Saudi Arabia Among States Accused of Intimidating Rights Defenders

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders, UN | 1 Comment »
Tags: annual report of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) on intimidation and reprisals, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights (ASG), Human Rights Defenders, Ilze Brands Kehris, intimidation, ISHR, reprisals

Mali: UN experts demand activist El Bachir Thiam’s release, four months after enforced disappearance

September 23, 2025

On 9 September 2025 UN experts called on authorities in Mali to disclose the fate and whereabouts of journalist and activist El Bachir Thiam, who disappeared four months ago.

“Mali must immediately and unconditionally release El Bachir Thiam and other victims of enforced disappearance, and cease the crackdown on civil society actors, human rights defenders, and political opponents or those perceived as such,” the experts said.

El Bachir Thiam is a journalist for the MaliActu website and a member of several civil society organisations and political movements, including the political party Yelema – Le Changement, led by former Prime Minister Moussa Mara, the Collectif Sirako, and a youth movement calling for a return to constitutional order, for which he serves as spokesperson and communications officer.

Thiam was allegedly kidnapped on 8 May 2025, in front of several witnesses in Kati town, by a group of at least five hooded and unidentified men suspected of being Malian intelligence agents – more specifically from the the Agence Nationale de la Sécurité d’Etat (ANSE) – or elements of the Bamako gendarmerie du Camp I, who were traveling in a gray TOYOTA V8 4×4 vehicle with tinted windows and no license plate. His relatives and colleagues reportedly searched for him in vain in police stations and gendarmeries of Bamako and Kati. Since then, Thiam’s fate and whereabouts have remained unknown.

“As time goes by, Thiam’s condition risks deteriorating further and will take a profound toll on his physical and psychological health,” the experts said.

On 17 July 2025, Thiam Mariam Dagnon, wife of El Bachir Thiam, filed a complaint for kidnapping and disappearance with the Public Prosecutor of the Kati Court of First Instance. Thiam’s alleged kidnapping and enforced disappearance took place in the context of peaceful protest movements initiated in early May 2025 by several political movements and parties, as well as civil society actors and organisations, following the adoption of draconian laws further restricting civic space by Malian transitional authorities in April 2025.

The experts stressed that Malian authorities are allegedly making increased use of enforced disappearance as a weapon to instill fear and silence civil society actors, human rights defenders, political opponents or those perceived as such.

“These actions have a pattern. The frequency of the practice, its organised nature and the methods used indicate a systematic character,” they said.

“Thiam’s case reflects the persistent and escalating pattern of human rights violations against members of opposition political parties, civil society organisations, journalists and human rights defenders in Mali,” the experts said, recalling that several mandate holders had expressed similar concerns in 2021, 2024 as well as in February, April and August 2025.

They noted that the situation has continued to further deteriorate, as illustrated by the signature or adoption of several draconian laws, including a presidential decree on 13 May which dissolved all political parties and “organisations of a political nature” in Mali.

The experts have written to the Government of Mali and will continue to closely monitor the situation.

Eduardo Gonzalez, Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Mali;
Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Aua Baldé; Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez; and Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances;
Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression;
Gina Romero, Special Rapporte

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/09/mali-un-experts-demand-activist-el-bachir-thiams-release-four-months-after

Enforced disappearances: UN expert group to review 1317 cases from 44 countries at 137th Session

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: disappearance, El Bachir Thiam, Human rights defender, Journalist, Mali, MaliActu, UN expert, UN Special Rapporteurs

2026 budget proposal for UN80 reform points to disproportionate cuts to human rights pillar.

September 22, 2025

On 18 September 2025, ISHR said that analysis of revised 2026 budget proposal for UN80 reform points to disproportionate cuts to the chronically-underfunded human rights pillar. Together with peace and development, human rights constitutes one of the three key areas of action for the UN and thus should be adequately funded.

On 16 September 2025, the UN Secretary-General published its report revising its earlier proposal for the UN’s 2026 budget (known as ‘Revised estimates’ report). The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) has analysed the revised budget and is deeply concerned about proposed cuts to an already chronically under-resourced human rights pillar. While demands on the human rights system do not cease to grow to address mounting global conflicts and crises, further cuts will significantly reduce effectiveness and efficiency, and its capacity to deliver on human rights protection to individuals and populations on the ground.

‘The UN’s human rights pillar has historically received significantly less funds than development and peace and security, accounting for just 7% of the UN regular budget and less than 1% of UN’s total expenditure. Any cuts to it would result in minimal savings but have significant and disproportionate adverse consequences for the rights of people around the world – Phil Lynch, ISHR Executive Director

In recent years, a liquidity crisis fuelled by the late or non-payments of dues by the US and China had already prompted High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to suspend the delivery of reports, workshops and other activities mandated by the Human Rights Council (HRC). The HRC has also reduced the length of its sessions, limiting space for States, experts and civil society to address some of the world’s most pressing rights issues and crises.

Additional cuts to the human rights pillar would further undermine the ability of the UN’s human rights bodies to continue to investigate atrocity crimes such as in Gaza, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to support victims and human rights defenders, to assist States in improving their human rights policies, and to develop global human rights standards that protect us all.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stressed the cuts are ‘carefully calibrated’ and ensure balance between the UN’s three pillars (peace and security, development, and human rights). Yet, the proposed cuts to the budget of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of around 15% run much deeper than the 2026 proposed budget on development (targeted for around 12% cut) and peace and security (targeted for a 13% cut, excluding peacekeeping operations).

Like a three-legged stool, if the human rights pillar is cut to the extent proposed then not only will it collapse, but the whole system will topple.

ISHR is campaigning for the UN80 Initiative to be more than a simple accounting overhaul for the UN, centred only on cost-cutting. On July 21, ISHR and 16 civil society organisations signed an open letter to the Secretary-General and High Commissioner Türk with concrete recommendations and proposals to ensure that the UN human rights system is streamlined, strengthened and sustainable, guided by the aim of support human rights defenders, providing justice to victims and ensuring accountability for rights abuses.

The cuts will next be reviewed by a UN budgetary committee traditionally hostile to human rights funding, whose conclusions will serve as a basis for States to negotiate.

For more information, please contact: Raphael Viana David, ISHR, Programme Manager r.vianadavid@ishr.ch

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/un80-initiative-proposed-budget-cuts-disproportionately-hit-the-human-rights-pillar

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/unga80-over-270-civil-society-groups-urge-states-to-defend-human-rights-refugee-protections

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: budgeting, funding, Government, human rights, International Service for Human Rights, ISHR, news, Phil Lynch, politics, Raphael Viana David, UN80

International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances: Syrian HRDs take a stand

September 2, 2025

To illustrate how international days can influence actions by NGOs, here an example from Syria:

The International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances (30 August) the Platform of Families of Missing and Enforcedly Disappeared Persons in North and East Syria organized a solidarity stand in Qamishlo.

The event took place today under the slogan, “Our doors are still open, waiting for their return,” in front of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Qamishlo, Jazira Canton, with participation from relatives of the missing, activists, and human rights defenders.

Participants carried banners with messages in Kurdish, Arabic, and English, including: “A mother is still waiting at the window,” “Absence is a weight heavier than iron,” “No peace and no future without knowing the fate of the missing,” “Knowing the fate is the beginning of holding perpetrators accountable,” and “Our voices will not be silenced; we will continue demanding our loved ones.”

Abbas Ali Mousa, coordinator of the Platform of Families of Missing Persons in North and East Syria, told ANHA agency that the number of families affiliated with the platform ranges between 600 and 700.

Mousa explained that the event was held in solidarity with victims of enforced disappearances and their families, reaffirming their legitimate right to know the fate of their loved ones and emphasizing the necessity of establishing truth and justice.

Ilham Ahmed, the mother of journalist Farhad Hamo, who has been missing by ISIS mercenaries for 11 years, said: “I know nothing about my son or his fate.”

Ahmed added: “Despite repeatedly appealing to human rights organizations and relevant bodies, we have received no response or clarification.” She called on human rights organizations and groups working with abductees to reveal the fate of her son and all missing persons.

https://hawarnews.com/en/solidarity-stand-ahead-of-international-day-of-the-victims-of-enforced-disappearances

also: https://www.coe.int/be/web/commissioner/-/enforced-disappearance-inflicts-profound-suffering-on-victims

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: disappearances, Farhad Hamo, history, Human Rights Defenders, International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Syria

Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards