CIVICUS 2025 Report reveals widespread attacks on civic freedoms
11/12/2025: According to the People Power Under Attack report published by Civicus, most countries are experiencing some degree of obstructed civil liberties. As authoritarian governments strengthen their hold, civilians face limitations to freedom of association, peaceful assembly, as well as notable crackdowns on press freedoms.
Source: Inter Press Service
The Hong Kong fire and the human cost of China’s repression
6/12/2025: Could the fire that claimed at least 159 lives in seven high-rise residential buildings have been prevented if Hong Kong still had a free media and a democratic legislature? Since 2020, when the Chinese government imposed a draconian National Security Law on Hong Kong, these safeguards have been gutted.
Source: Human Rights Watch
International Criminal Court: justice at risk
1/12/2025: Human Rights Watch is calling on member states of the International Criminal Court to fight back against its critics. The Annual Meeting of the Court is an opportunity to highlight that US sanctions on ICC prosecutors could severely set back the global fight against impunity.
Source: Human Rights Watch
UN chief condemns Guinea-Bissau coup
28/11/2025: The UN has strongly condemned the military coup in Guinea-Bissau, warning that the overthrow of elected authorities just days after national elections represents a grave violation of democratic principles. The coup marks the latest military takeover in West and Central Africa, underscoring persistent regional instability.
Source: UN News
Burkina Faso: three years of broken promises
27/11/2025: Three years ago, Captain Ibrahim Traoré seized power in Burkina Faso promising to address the country’s security crisis and restore civilian rule. Now he has postponed elections until 2029, dissolved the independent electoral commission and pulled the country out of the International Criminal Court. Burkina Faso has become a military dictatorship.
Source: Inter Press Service
Seventy-nine years without a woman leader at the UN
24/11/2025: Women’s full participation in all decision-making is a core UN principle. A campaign, by 1 for 8 Billion, is now under way for a woman to be elected as the next UN secretary-general. A quarter of countries are currently experiencing a backlash against women’s rights. Misogyny is a common tool of authoritarian leaders.
Source: Human Rights Watch
European banks ignore supply chain ethics in mining investment
17/11/2025: Between 2016 and 2024, EU banks provided €64 billion in loans and underwriting services for extracting raw materials for the green transition. Oxfam has exposed these investments as linked to land grabs, pollution and human rights violations. This disclosure coincides with EU proposals to dismantle its sustainability rules.
Source: Oxfam International
Myanmar’s election theatre of the democratic absurd
17/11/2025: After more than four years of civil war, Myanmar’s military junta plans to hold elections next month. Opposition parties are banned, leaders are imprisoned and the system has been redesigned to guarantee victory for those aligned with the military. Endorsing these elections would normalise military coups and legitimise war crimes.
Source: East Asia Forum
Call to strengthen global rules to protect gig workers
14/11/2025: Human Rights Watch has called on governments negotiating a new global treaty on gig work to strengthen the draft text to protect workers from exploitative management. Too many digital platform workers are being denied their human rights, including pay below the minimum wage and the use of unaccountable algorithms to evade employer responsibilities.
Source: Human Rights Watch
US skips UN periodic rights review
7/11/2025: The US has missed the deadline to participate in its UN Universal Periodic Review, a process where the human rights record of every member state is reviewed by other states. No UN member state has failed to be reviewed since its creation in 2006.
Source: Human Rights Watch