Global executions surge to highest recorded figure
18/5/2026: Over 2,000 people were executed across 17 countries in 2025, an annual increase of 78%, very largely the responsibility of Iran and Saudi Arabia. This data excludes China, believed to be the world’s lead executioner.
Source: Amnesty International
Cuts in US foreign aid harm human rights globally
14/5/2026: The US government had been the largest donor to human rights work around the world for decades, until the current Trump administration gutted US foreign aid. A new report finds that investigations into abuses have been halted, support for victims cut off, and organizations that helped deter violations have been forced to scale back or close.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Postponement of rights conference in Zambia allegedly imposed by China
5/5/2026: Over 5000 people from 150 countries were expected to meet in Lusaka for RightsCon, a biennial platform for dialogue on emerging human rights issues in the digital space. Alleged pressure by Chinese diplomats was behind the last-minute postponement.
Source: Amnesty International
EU budget support for Ethiopia ignores human rights reality
22/4/2026: Ahead of national elections to be held on June 1st, Ethiopian authorities have imposed heightened restrictions on independent media, harassed and detained journalists, threatened civil society groups, and severely curtailed peaceful assembly and free speech. Despite these abuses, the European Union has resumed direct budget support to the Ethiopian government.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Amnesty calls on states to confront attacks on human rights and international law
21/4/2026: Amnesty International's annual report warns that predatory attacks on multilateralism, international law and civil society amount to a pivotal moment for humanity. The alternative on offer is a racist, patriarchal, unequal and anti-rights world order.
Source: Amnesty International
Burkina Faso dissolves more than a hundred NGOs and associations
16/4/2026: Intensifying its crackdown on civil society, Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Territorial Administration and Mobility has banned the activities of 118 NGOs and associations, without any further justifications. In January 2026, all political parties were dissolved.
Source: Amnesty International
New global report highlights slow progress in expanding secure land tenure
25/2/2026: The ownership, tenure or use rights of only 35 percent of the world’s land is formally documented, according to a new UN report. More than one billion people fear that they could lose the rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years. And more than a third of the world’s stored carbon and 40 percent of its intact forests are at risk of legal limbo.
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization
Ethiopia shutters key news outlet
25/2/2026: Three months ahead of national elections, Ethiopia’s Media Authority revoked the license of the Addis Standard, one of the last independent media outlets in the country. Since 2025, Ethiopian government efforts to muzzle independent media have escalated through arbitrary arrests and revocation of licenses of journalists.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Iran resorts to death penalty amid expedited and grossly unfair trials
20/2/2026: Amnesty International is calling on all UN member states to coordinate urgent diplomatic action, demanding that Iranian authorities quash death sentences for alleged offences linked to the January 2026 protests. Eight individuals have been sentenced to death and over 50 others are at risk of the death penalty, including two 17-year-olds.
Source: Amnesty International
Senegal arrests 12 men using punitive anti-LGBT laws
18/2/2026: Men arrested in Senegal under homophobic laws could face up to five years in prison. Hostility toward LGBT people has intensified in Senegal where the Penal Code criminalizes consensual same‑sex conduct as “acts against nature.
Source: Human Rights Watch