rights

MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somalia’s National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) on Monday met with the National Independent Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), led by Chairperson Dr Maryan Qasim, to formally hand over its 2025 State of the Media Report. The document records 72 verified violations of media freedom between January and December 2025, painting a stark picture of a press corps operating under constant strain and official pressure. The report details a wide pattern of abuses, ranging from arbitrary arrests and…

Tuesday April 28, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A new report handed to Somalia’s top human rights watchdog on Monday paints a stark picture of the pressures facing the country’s media, with the National Union of Somali Journalists warning that abuse of reporters remains widespread and rarely punished. NUSOJ presented its 2025 State of the Media Report to the National Independent Human Rights Commission (NIHRC), saying it had verified 72 violations of media freedom between January and December 2025. The union said the findings point…

Russia has moved to tighten its crackdown on LGBTQ activism, with a court declaring the country’s leading LGBTQ rights group “extremist” — a ruling that effectively bans the organisation and exposes its supporters to prosecution. The decision marks the latest step in a years-long campaign against LGBTQ organisations, one that has intensified sharply since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and deepened an already forceful conservative shift. A court in Saint Petersburg sided with a case filed by the…

The military government has escalated its crackdown on civil society, recently dissolving 118 organizations, with many focusing on human rights advocacy. The authorities have invoked a law regarding freedom of association enacted in July 2025, yet they have provided little justification beyond ambiguous claims of noncompliance. This latest move is part of a larger pattern of repression that emerged following the military coup in September 2022. Since that takeover, the regime has systematically targeted non-governmental…

The Trump administration has moved to end a series of agreements that had supported transgender students, reversing commitments earlier administrations made with several school districts. The US Education Department said it was scrapping six resolution agreements that, in its view, were reached through what it described as the manipulation of Title IX. Title IX, the federal civil-rights law, prohibits schools from denying benefits or engaging in discrimination in education "on the basis of sex." Since returning to office,…

A recent report by Human Rights Watch has uncovered a harrowing reality in Burkina Faso, revealing that over 1,800 civilians have lost their lives in the turmoil following Ibrahim Traoré's ascent to power three years ago. The document outlines incidents that constitute both war crimes and crimes against humanity, with 1,837 civilians—including many children—reported killed across 57 events from January 2023 to August 2025. The majority of these killings have been linked to the military and its allied militias, while a…

The bombing of an Iranian elementary school drew “visceral horror,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said today, as he pressed Washington to finish its investigation and demanded justice for “the terrible harm done”. Turk spoke at the opening of an urgent debate in the UN Human Rights Council called to address the 28 February attack on a school in Minab, describing the strike as an attack on children that none of the council’s members should be willing to justify. “The bombing evoked a…

The Zimbabwe Peace Project reported more than 100 human rights violations affecting 3,205 people across Zimbabwe in February 2026. In its latest report, the watchdog said the cases spanned severe abuses — including torture, assault, enforced disappearances and abductions — as well as infringements on civil and political rights. The group said members of the ruling Zanu PF party were responsible for 35.46% of incidents, largely through political intimidation, coercion and interference with fundamental freedoms. It added that…

Human Rights Watch Calls for Protection of Civilians Amid Rising Violence in Burkina Faso Human Rights Watch (HRW) has issued a strong plea to all parties entangled in the conflict in Burkina Faso, urging them to adhere to international law, specifically the Geneva Conventions. These conventions prohibit summary executions, attacks on civilians, and sexual violence. This appeal comes on the heels of harrowing reports indicating that militants have killed at least 38 civilians, abducted nine women, and destroyed property in…

Human Rights Watch Urges Ghana to Uphold Equality Amid LGBT Bill Revival Human Rights Watch is calling upon Ghanaian leaders to uphold international legal protections that ensure equality, non-discrimination, freedom of expression, and privacy for all citizens. This urgent appeal follows the recent reintroduction of a controversial bill targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the country. The legislation, which aims to expand criminal sanctions against same-sex conduct, was initially passed…