Category: Human Rights

Azerbaijani authorities have intensified their long-running crackdown on the opposition Azerbaijan Popular Front Party, building on years of politically motivated prosecutions and intimidation. In recent months, authorities have increasingly targeted the party’s leadership. On December 19, a court sentenced Murad Sultan, a senior party official, to 30 days of administrative detention. This followed the November […]

The European Commission has successfully relocated a full thermal power plant from Lithuania to Ukraine, completing its largest-ever coordinated logistical operation to date. This unprecedented transfer restores critical energy capacity and directly reinforces Ukraine’s national grid following sustained Russian attacks on its infrastructure. The equipment has been crucial to completing emergency repairs in several parts […]

Two dozen humanitarian workers facing 20 years in prison finally got their day in court on December 4 and 5 on the Greek island of Lesbos after a seven-year wait. We were there. The hearings quickly revealed just how baseless the case against them is. The defendants were associated with a small search and rescue […]

At least 160 people were killed in the blaze at the Wang Fung Court complex, Tai Po district, which was undergoing renovations. Mr. Türk expressed solidarity with the victims and called for civic space to be ensured. Answers and accountability “At a tragic time like this, the space for discussion and debate on issues of major public interest and concern […]

Armenia’s appeals court on November 19 significantly weakened protections against disability-based discrimination and further restricted access to justice for people undergoing disability assessment. The court overturned a progressive ruling by a lower court and held that discrimination “on the basis of disability” can only occur under the law if a person has already been formally recognized […]

UN News asked Astrid Van Genderen Stort, OHCHR chief of external engagement and partnerships, about hers.   “My everyday essentials are my family, a sense of belonging, knowledge, safety and the freedom to speak, do and live the way I deem best,” she responded. With the help of artificial intelligence, UN News has analysed the […]

(Beirut) –The detention of an Emirati dissident in Syria raises serious concerns that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will pressure Syrian authorities to extradite him, Human Rights Watch said today.  An informed source told Human Rights Watch that Syrian authorities detained Jasem al-Shamsi, 55, at a checkpoint in the Damascus countryside on November 6, 2025, […]

Briefing the Security Council, Georgette Gagnon, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, and Tom Fletcher, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, said nearly half the population will need protection and humanitarian assistance in 2026. Women and girls remain “systematically excluded” from almost all aspects of public life, Ms. Gagnon said, as the ban on […]

This year’s honourees include five remarkable laureates from Cameroon, Mexico, Ukraine, Iraq and Tajikistan, each recognised for their courage, empathy and determination to protect people forced to flee. Established in 1954, the award celebrates those who go far beyond the call of duty to support refugees, internally displaced people and the stateless. Announcing the winners, […]

Georgia’s ruling party has introduced new legislation that would dramatically weaken protections for peaceful assembly, further shrinking democratic space and flouting basic human rights standards guaranteed by the country’s constitution and international law. The bill, tabled on December 8, is being reviewed under an expedited procedure without a substantiated justification for bypassing the ordinary legislative timeline. […]