Saudi Arabia: executions surge in 2025
11/8/2025: Saudi authorities have executed at least 241 people in 2025. The annual figure is likely to exceed all prior records if executions continue at the same rate. It is highly unlikely that any of those executed in 2025 received a fair trial.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Afghanistan: relentless repression 4 Years into Taliban rule
5/8/2025: The Taliban have deepened their repression since taking over Afghanistan in 2021, by intensifying restrictions on the rights of women and girls, detaining journalists, and silencing all dissent, according to Human Rights Watch. The country's humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by donor governments’ aid cuts and the return of 1.9 million refugees expelled from Iran and Pakistan.
Source: Human Rights Watch
UN funding crisis threatens work of Human Rights Council
11/7/2025: The UN Human Rights Council has expressed concern that certain activities mandated by the Council cannot be delivered due to a lack of funding. Virtually all the Council’s work has been affected, with investigations into rights abuses—for example in Sudan, Palestine, and Ukraine—reportedly operating at approximately 30-60 percent of capacity.
Source: Inter Press Service
US terminates protected status for Afghans
10/7/2025: The Trump administration’s termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghans leaves over 11,000 Afghans in the US subject to immediate detention and deportation. Women and girls who are returned to Afghanistan will be particularly vulnerable.
Source: Human Rights Watch
ICC issues warrant for Taliban’s supreme leader for persecution of women
8/7/2025: The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders, accusing them of crimes against humanity for the persecution of women and girls. A recent UN report highlighted the suspension of a law on violence against women.
Source: The Guardian
When journalism disappears, so does democracy
7/7/2025: The sudden, chaotic, and unpredictable nature of the US cuts in funding for independent journalism abroad has hit hard. In countries like Myanmar, Sudan, and Venezuela, the loss of funding hasn’t just meant fewer headlines – it has meant fewer protections against propaganda, censorship, and state violence.
Source: The New Humanitarian
UN rights review should call for urgent reform in Vietnam
7/7/2025: As the UN Human Rights Committee approaches its periodic review into civil and political rights in Vietnam, Human Rights Watch alleges that repression in the country has worsened. Rights activists and bloggers who criticize the government face police intimidation. And Vietnam is the world’s third largest jailer of journalists.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Why the world needs a UN Special Rapporteur for Democracy
2/7/2025: While the UN investigates everything from torture to toxic waste through specialised rapporteurs, democracy – supposedly a core UN principle – receives no systematic international oversight. This is a blind spot civil society wants to change.
Source: Inter Press Service
Eritrea bids to end scrutiny of Human Rights Council
24/6/2025: The government of Eritrea is trying to end the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on the country's human rights record. At the same time, Eritrea has proved unwilling to improve its dismal rights record and blocked the special rapporteur’s access to the country.
Source: Human Rights Watch
European Commission endorses exporting asylum seekers
28/5/2025: The European Commission has published a proposal that would allow member states to send asylum seekers to countries with which they have no connection. Human Rights Watch believes this would undermine good faith implementation of the letter and spirit of international human rights and refugee law.
Source: Human Rights Watch