Human rights

Taliban official kills Iranian-Kurdish mother and daughter after failed forced marriage attempt

Sara Yousefi and her mother, Chiman Hosseinzadeh, were said to have been killed by Mofti Mohammadollah, head of the Taliban’s Hajj and Endowments Department in Kohistanat district.

Afghan internally displaced children stand near temporary tents along a river due to the ongoing conflict between Pakistani forces and Taliban security personnel in the Marawara district of Kunar province on April 12, 2026.
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, attends a news conference during the Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, March 24, 2026.

How UN ‘human rights experts’ became a tool of dictatorships - opinion

 UNITED NATIONS headquarters in New York City.

The UN can't afford another appeaser: Why Michelle Bachelet must not lead - opinion

European Union flags flutter outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 24, 2021

The boycott of Israeli academia - opinion


Iran had highest number of executions in over a decade, human rights report says

Iran's treatment of prisoners in 2025 was also rife with abuses, according to the report, with 2,513 cases of prisoners being held in inappropriate conditions.

PEOPLE ATTEND a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022.

Between fear and hope, civic protest survives in Iran -opinion

What began as mourning for a human rights lawyer in Mashhad exposed Iran’s familiar strategy of turning grief into a threat and protest into a crime.

A picture shows traffic in the city of Mashhad, the capital of the province of Khorassan-e Razavi in northeastern Iran, on October 1, 2023

Venezuela's GNB guilty of crimes against humanity, including rape and torture, UN finds

"The torture, ill-treatment, and acts of sexual violence we have verified were not isolated incidents. They form part of a pattern of abuse used to punish and break victims," said head of UN mission.

Members of Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard stand in formation as they carry out an increased security patrol along Lake Maracaibo amid rising tensions between Venezuela and US, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, October 26, 2025.

How Middle East countries cover Human Rights Day - explainer

What are the issues concerning Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iran vis-a-vis Human Rights Day?

An illustration commemorating Human Rights Day.

UN official warns funding cuts threaten human rights efforts worldwide

OHCHR has $90 million less in funding than it needed this year, which resulted in 300 job cuts, directly impacting the office's work, Turk said.

Volker Turk United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights addresses the Human Rights Council on his report on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, F

Human Rights Day: How ancient Jewish values meet modern universal duties - opinion

If each of us commits to our duties, we can build a society grounded in mutual respect, responsibility, and peace.

Israeli flag and rainbow flag being waved at Tel Aviv Pride Parade, June 25 2021

Iran continues crackdown on dissent with human rights lawyer found dead, arrests and disappearances

If the people cannot be persuaded to fear, then they will be forced to, is the mentality behind the ayatollahs’ rule. The result is intimidation, but there is backlash amongst ordinary Iranians.

L-R: Khosro Alikordi, Bita Shafiei, runners from the  Kish Island marathon, Bita and her mother.

‘More should be done’: UN pushes Syrian regime on justice for Druze, Alawites and minority groups

The UN condemned continued incidents of summary executions, arbitrary killings, abductions, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, looting and the destruction of homes.

People stand next to a destroyed tank turret, following deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Sunni Bedouin tribes and government forces, in Syria's predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria July 25, 2025.

Solidarity Film Festival focuses on human rights

For more information, go to the festival website at https://www.solidaritytlveng.org/

‘BEETHOVEN’S NINE’ will be screened at The Solidarity Human Rights Film Festival.

UN torture report flags Israel for allegedly mistreating journalists, detainees, ex-MAG

The UN warned Israel over alleged abuses against rights defenders and detainees, calling for stronger legal protections and impartial investigations.

An Israel Prison Service officer at Ketziot Prison watches as Palestinian prisoners are prepared for release in exchange for Israeli hostages held by Gazan terrorists, February 26, 2025; illustrative.