Geneva

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Human rights groups call for Special UN Session on Iran amid protests

Geneva
We are writing to raise our deep concerns about the Iranian authorities' mobilization of their well­ honed machinery of repression to ruthlessly crackdown on current nationwide protests.
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Kyrgyzstan: rights organisations raise alarm over rapid decline in civic freedoms to the UN Human Rights Committee

Geneva
Oral statement by International Partnership for Human Rights, Legal Prosperity Foundation and CIVICUS Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Examination of Kyrgyzstan ICCPR Report under the Covenant Dear Committee Members, colleagues, I’m speaking on behalf of CIVICUS, the Brussels-based International Partnership for Human Rights, and the Bishkek-based Legal Prosperity Foundation.
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Philippines: civic space record continues to deteriorate

Geneva
CIVICUS's Oral Statement to UN Human Rights Committee on the Philippines Examination of Philippines International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Report under the Covenant   Chairperson, Honourable Committee members, CIVICUS welcomes this opportunity to share with you some of the organisation’s main concerns about the Philippines’ civic space record.
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Outcomes from the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council: Progress & Shortcomings

Geneva
Joint statement from the end of the United Nations' 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council 12 organisations share reflections on the key outcomes of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, as well as the missed opportunities to address key issues including human rights situations in Afghanistan, China, Philippines, and Yemen.
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Philippines: The Council’s inadequate response to a human rights crisis is shameful

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Enhanced Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner’s report on the Philippines Delivered by Lisa Majumdar Thank you, Mr.
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Cambodia: the international community must step up efforts to address human right violations

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia Delivered by Lisa Majumdar Thank you, Mr President, and thank you Special Rapporteur for your report.
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Open Letter urging UN Human Rights Council members to discuss the report on human rights situation in Xinjiang

Geneva
Re: Proposed Human Rights Council Decision on Xinjiang Dear Minister, We, the undersigned human rights organizations, are writing to urge you to support a decision at the current session of the United Nations Human Rights Council enabling the Council to discuss the recent report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
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UN Member States must hold South Africa accountable for the escalating crackdown on human rights defenders

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Item 6 General Debate Delivered by Mqapheli Bonono, Abahlali baseMjondolo Mr.
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States must ensure civil society engagement with the UN and its mechanisms without fear

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 5 General Debate Delivered by Junwoo Yang, CIVICUS Thank you, Mr President.
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India: Civil society orgs call for the Council's attention on the deteriorating human rights situation

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Delivered by Ahmed Adam On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), World Organisation against Torture (OMCT), CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation Mr.
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The Council must address deteriorating human rights situations before they become crises

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 4 General Debate Delivered by Lisa Majumdar Thank you, Mr President.
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Venezuela: Lack of substantive progress requires renewal of the Fact-Finding Mission’s mandate

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela Delivered by Marysabel Rodríguez CIVICUS and Espacio Público reiterate to this Council the importance of maintaining the monitoring of the human rights situation in Venezuela.
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Burundi: Special Rapporteur’s first report shows that patterns of human rights violations remain

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Burundi  Delivered by Lisa Majumdar  Thank you, Mr President.
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Ethiopia: Amidst a humanitarian crisis, violations are compounded by civic space restrictions

Geneva
State,emt at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council – 51st Session  Interactive Dialogue on Ethiopia  Delivered by Lisa Majumdar  Thank you, Mr President, and thank you to the Commission for their first report.

Bolder measures must be taken to force the junta out of power

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Delivered by Kyaw Win The Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) and CIVICUS welcome the findings of the High Commissioner’s report on the progress made and remaining challenges regarding the recommendations of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar.
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Myanmar remains at crisis point and impunity still persists

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar  Delivered by Kyaw Win  Thank you, Mr President, and thank you Special Rapporteur for the update.
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#HRC51: States must ensure systematic investment in meaningful, safe and inclusive participation of civil society

Geneva
Statement at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council General Debate on Item 3 Delivered by Nicola Paccimiccio Thank you, Madame Vice-President.
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States must increase cooperation with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention & halt the practice of arbitrary & secret detention

Geneva
Statement at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Thank you Mr.
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Philippines: Lack of action by the UN Human Rights Council risks abandoning victims of human rights abuses

Geneva
Without a resolution at the upcoming 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) mandate to report on the Philippines will expire.
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Reaction to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights global update

Geneva
Statement at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council General Debate on the High Commissioner’s update Delivered by Lisa Majumdar Thank you, Mr President, and High Commissioner.
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Nicaragua: lack of engagement with UN mechanisms outlines contempt for human rights obligations

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on Nicaragua Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Thank you Mr President, and thank you Deputy High Commissioner for this report, which outlines Nicaragua’s contempt for its human rights obligations.
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Afghanistan: Grave violations to civic freedoms and ongoing impunity show need for robust international mechanism

Geneva
Statement at the 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue on the Special Rapporteur’s report on Afghanistan Delivered by Horia Mosadiq CIVICUS and the Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization thank the Special Rapporteur for his first report.
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Advocacy priorities at the 51st Session of UN Human Rights Council

Geneva
The 51st regular session of the Human Rights Council will run from 12 September to 7 October, and will provide an opportunity to advance civic space and the protection of civil society, as well as address serious country situations.
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Burundi: Extend the Special Rapporteur’s mandate

Geneva
Ahead of the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council (12 September-7 October 2022), CIVICUS joins over 50 civil society organisations in calling the Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on Burundi.
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Joint Civil Society Letter to UN Member States: Appointment of the next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Geneva
Your Excellency, The post of High Commissioner for Human Rights is critical to the promotion and protection of human rights globally, particularly at a time when human rights standards and mechanisms face enormous pressure from powerful governments, and human rights communities in countries throughout the world face imminent threats to their survival.
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CIVICUS UN Universal Periodic Review submissions on civil society space in Benin, Guatemala, Pakistan, Peru, Sri Lanka and Zambia

Geneva
The United Nations Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States once every 4.
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Joint NGO statement: key takeaways from the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Geneva
Joint  NGO[1] statement from the end of the 50th Session of the United Nations' Human Rights Council   We welcome the resolution on discrimination against women and girls which focused on girls’ activism.
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Resolution on peaceful protests reaffirms the need to protect the right to protest and strengthen accountability

Geneva
Resolution on peaceful protests adopted by the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
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HRC50: resolution on freedom of peaceful assembly & association renews the crucial Special Rapporteur mandate & addresses key issues

Geneva
Resolution on on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association adopted at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council CIVICUS welcomes this new resolution on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, which addresses substantive concerns facing civil society today.
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Timor-Leste: Civil society has played a critical role in strengthening democracy, but civic space shortfalls remain

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Adoption of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) report of Timor-Leste Delivered by Marta da Silva, La'o Hamutuk Thank you, Mr President.
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Afghanistan: Systematic violations of women's and girls’ rights demand an urgent and proportionate response

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of UN Human Rights Council Urgent Debate on Afghanistan Delivered by Horia Mosadiq, Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization CIVICUS and Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization welcome the holding of this Urgent Debate.
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Venezuela: Restrictions to civic space continue unabated as government defies commitments

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the Human Rights Council  Adoption of the UPR report of Venezuela Delivered by Carlos Correa, Espacio Público Thank you, Mr President.
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Togo needs concrete actions to address the deterioration of civic space

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Thank you, Mr President.
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The human rights situation continues to worsen amid increasing hostility against civil society

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia Delivered by Sibahle Zuma Thank you Mr.

Ongoing violations of fundamental rights require Council’s continued scrutiny

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the Human Ricghts Council  Interactive Dialogue on High Commssioners report on Venezuela Delivered by Carlos Correa, Espacio Público  Espacio Público and CIVICUS reiterate the need to continue documentation of the human rights situation in Venezuela.
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Myanmar: As the atrocities mount, so must the momentum towards ensuring accountability

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar June 2022 Delivered by Kyaw Win, Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) Thank you, Mr.
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No safety of journalists in the digital age if impunity persists

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council  Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Thank you Mr President, We welcome the report of the Special Rapporteur and share the concerns over the increasing vilification, targeting and criminalisation of journalists and media workers.
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CSOs call for an open, transparent & merit-based process to appoint the next UN High-Commissioner

Geneva
In an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, Mr António Guterres, various civil society organisations urge the Secretary General to find a compelling leader for human rights within the UN system and throughout the world through a consultative process.
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Alarming trends in restrictions to access to resources facing civil society in Asia

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Item 3: Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Delivered by Ahmed Adam On behalf of Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) Mr.
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CSOs urge the UN to renew its Expert mandate on sexual orientation & gender identity

Geneva
1117 Civil Society Organisations(CSOs) urge the Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity(SOGI) during its 50th session.
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The dismantling of Nicaragua’s civil society continues unabated

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue on High Commisioner's oral update on Nicaragua Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Thank you, Mr.
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Afghanistan: Keep the pressure on the Taliban to create a safer space for women, HRDs, and journalists

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Debate on the High Commissioner’s update on Afghanistan  Delivered by Horia Mosadiq  CIVICUS and Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization thank the High Commissioner for her update.
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Now is the time for greater transparency and broader participation

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Annual Report Delivered by Lisa Majumdar We thank the High Commissioner for her report, and for her work during her term.
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Call for a resolution to establish an Expert on Human Rights & extension of HC mandate on Sudan

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Enhanced Interactive Debate on High Commisioners report on Sudan Delivered by Sibahle Zuma We welcomed the Council’s Special Session on Sudan last November and its adoption of a resolution mandating a designated Expert on Human Rights in the Sudan.
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Myanmar: The root causes of violations against the Rohingya & other minorities cannot be addressed without accountability

Geneva
Statements at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council CIVICUS and our partner, Burma Human Rights Network delivered two statements on the situation of Rohingya and other minorities in and outside Myanmar, please read them below: Interactive Dialogue on High Commisioner Oral update on Myanmar Delivered by Kyaw Win, Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) Thank you, Mr.
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Report of Special Rapporteur on Eritrea shows a deepening human rights crisis

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Eritrea Delivered by Helen Kidan, Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights CIVICUS and the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights welcome the work of the Special Rapporteur and his latest report.
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No response to crisis can be effective without the support of a strong, diverse & capable civil society

Geneva
Statement at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council Interactive Debate on High Commissioner's report on State response to pandemics Delivered by Nicola Paccamiccio Thank you, Mister President, and thank you High Commissioner for your report.
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Advocacy priorities at the 50th Session of UN Human Rights Council

Geneva
The 50th Session of the Human Rights Council will run from 13 June to 8 July, and will provide an opportunity to advance civic space and the protection of civil society, as well as address serious country situations.
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#HRC50: Call for Urgent Debate on the women’s rights crisis in Afghanistan

Geneva
Open letter to Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States to the UN Human Rights Council Excellencies, We, the undersigned civil society organisations, urge you to call for and support an urgent debate at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council regarding the women’s rights crisis in Afghanistan.

Eritrea: Extend the UN Special Rapporteur mandate and enshrine his “benchmarks for progress”

Geneva
To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council (Geneva, Switzerland) Excellencies, Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 50th session (13 June- 8 July 2022), we, the undersigned non-governmental organisations, are writing to urge your delegation to support the adoption of a resolution that extends the mandate of the Special Rap­por­teur on the situation of hu­man rights in Eritrea.

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