Human Rights

The Erasure of the Private Sphere in Iran

By Franzie Schatzl and Jack Budlow Before attending a local production of Chekhov’s “Ivanov,” two women publicly share a cigarette — a habit once considered socially unacceptable. Across Iran, women continue to find small ways to assert individuality, resist, and stretch the boundaries of what authorities deem acceptable behaviour. Photograph: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times The erosion of the private sphere is a hallmark of totalitarianism. The demolition of individuality a

Genocide Watch

Nov 13, 2025

Slovakia curb on same-sex rights sparks concern

By enr with AFP, ANSA, BTA, CTK, dpa, HINA, PAP, TASR | 04.Nov 2025 While social acceptance of LGBTIQ+ people has increased across the EU in the last five years, the rights of sexual minorities are under pressure in the EU. The latest move by Slovakia to restrict the rights of same-sex couples stands at odds with the bloc’s strategy to promote the communities’ rights and safety. Participants in the 6th cross-border Pride parade wait for the event to begin. The parade started

European Newsroom (enr)

Nov 10, 2025

UN Review to Examine Croatia's Human Rights Record

By OHCHR United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner Logo GENEVA – The human rights record of Croatia will be examined by the United Nations Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the fourth time on Monday 10 November 2025, 14:30–18:00 (GMT+1), in a meeting in Geneva that will be webcast live . Croatia is one of 14 States scheduled to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during its upcoming session from 3 to 14 November 2025.

United Nations

Nov 8, 2025

Cultural Genocide and the Kurdish Struggle in Iran

By Michał Jagielski Protesters hold up a placard reading "Stop Execution in Iran" as they take part in a rally in Berlin, Germany, Oct. 22, 2022. Iran executed four Kurds by hanging on Jan. 29, 2024, having found them guilty of charges of collaborating with Israel. Photograph: AFP The Kurds, along with other ethnic minorities in Iran, have been suffering from systemic attempts by the state to limit their autonomy and forcefully assimilate them into the dominant Iranian cultur

Genocide Watch

Nov 7, 2025

Marginalization of the Baloch in Iran

By Michał Jagielski Protesters marching in Zahedan city, Sistan and Baluchistan province. Photograph: UGC/AFP Sistan and Balochistan Province has been the victim of persistent attempts by the Iranian regime to oppress the Baloch and limit their capacity for mobilization. The events and policies described in this report are not isolated instances of ethnic persecution, but rather a strategy created to eradicate the Baloch. Tehran frames its policies as a response to the percei

Genocide Watch

Nov 7, 2025

Colombia's Atrato River Crisis: a Human Rights Emergency

A United Nations letter to Colombia warns that mercury contamination from illegal gold mining in the Atrato River basin is causing a grave human rights crisis for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities By Steven Grattan A group of women, part of Asociacion Nuestra Casa Comun, or Our Community House Association, go by boat to an area destroyed by illegal mining, on the Quito River, the Atrato River’s main tributary, near Paimado, Colombia, Sept. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Ivan Va

ABC 1

Oct 22, 2025

Latvia's Possible Withdrawal From Domestic Violence Treaty

Women’s rights activists protest against Latvia’s possible withdrawal from domestic violence treaty By Claudia Ciobanu National flag flutters over Latvian central bank headquarters in Riga, Latvia April 9, 2019. Photo by Ints Kalnins/ Reuters WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Women’s rights activists taped their mouths shut at a demonstration Wednesday outside the Latvian parliament to protest the country’s possible withdrawal from an international treaty aimed at supporting women who ar

PBS News

Oct 21, 2025

Iran Prisoners Hunger Strike Against Executions

By Stuart Williams Inmates detained inside one of Iran's largest prisons have for the last two days staged a sit-in protest and a hunger strike against the growing number of executions in the Islamic republic, rights groups said Wednesday. Ghezel Hesar is notorious for the large numbers of hangings inside the prison. Photo: Wikimedia Commons The protest at Ghezel Hesar prison in the city of Karaj outside Tehran was triggered by the transfer of up to 16 inmates to solitary con

AFP (Agence France-Press)

Oct 16, 2025

Houthis rule: prisons, personality cult, pilfered aid

By Maggie Michael and Amr Alfiky . Yemenis who have fled the Houthi-controlled area of this divided country paint a grim picture of life under the militant group. People are forced to attend rallies and chant death to America and Israel, pay crippling taxes and hand children over to become soldiers, they say. A Yemeni man walks past buildings on the outskirts of Aden damaged during the civil war. The most populated areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, are controlled

Reuters

Oct 15, 2025