Human Rights

11/3/2025: Amnesty International has welcomed news that former President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested by Philippine authorities on the basis of a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for the crime against humanity of murder in relation to killings in the “war on drugs”.

Source: Amnesty International

11/3/2025: Human Rights Watch says that Myanmar’s generals do not control enough of the country to hold credible elections in January 2026. A recent census obtained returns from less than half of the country. Countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are divided on whether to support the elections.

Source: Human Rights Watch

7/3/2025: From the US to the Democratic Republic of Congo, women and girls’ rights have suffered serious setbacks. There also have been improvements and victories. For International Women’s Day, a senior executive at Human Rights Watch assesses the best and worst of women’s rights last year.

Source: Human Rights Watch

5/3/2025: Since March 2 the Israeli government has again blocked all aid entering Gaza, including fuel, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. Supplies of food and water are at imminent risk. Israel as a warring party has an obligation to facilitate humanitarian aid, ceasefire or not, according to Human Rights Watch.

Source: Human Rights Watch

4/3/2025: Research by Equality Now for International Women's Day reveals that while some commendable gains have been achieved in strengthening legal protections for women and girls over the past five years, progress is under threat from a growing backlash against women’s rights. Prospects for Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality are a concern.

Source: Inter Press Service

3/3/2025: For 2025 USAID had allocated around $268 million to supporting “independent media and free flow of information.” The fate of that money is now uncertain. This funding often addresses key global and local issues, including the climate crisis, women’s rights, maternal and child health, or conflict — topics that media coverage tends to overlook quickly.

Source: Devex

24/2/2025: US President Donald Trump has severed ties with the UN Human Rights Council, in stark contrast with former president Joe Biden’s efforts to re-engage the US in multilateral diplomacy. Last year, the US was the Human Rights Office’s largest donor, accounting for 13 per cent of voluntary donations.

Source: Geneva Solutions

17/2/2025: The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has released a new report alleging that North Korea’s persistent use of forced labor, detention, and torture to maintain totalitarian rule amounts to crimes against humanity. It recommends that the UN Security Council should refer North Korea’s situation to the International Criminal Court.

Source: Human Rights Watch

6/2/2025: Female Genital Mutilation is a practice deemed a gross violation of human rights, but which tragically persists across multiple countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. In a joint statement, the heads of UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Health Organization reaffirm their commitment to work together to tackle FGM and abolish it once and for all.

Source: Inter Press Service

4/2/2025: Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have officially left the Economic Community of West African States. Since 2005, the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice has had jurisdiction to hear human rights cases brought by citizens of member states. This important path for accountability and justice is now closed.

Source: Human Rights Watch