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The annual Liberties Rule of Law Report 2026 has classified Croatia as one of five EU “dismantlers of the rule of law”, alongside Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia. In this interview, HRHF’s Croatian partner Centre for Peace Studies, a contributor to the report, discusses what this classification means for the country, why Croatia’s democratic challenges often receive limited international attention, and why early warning signs of democratic erosion deserve greater scrutiny.

At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation drew attention to new reporting by Crimean Process, Human Rights House Crimea and the Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv documenting a coordinated pattern of abduction, incommunicado detention and torture in occupied Crimea. HRHF also highlighted the situation for unlawfully detained civilians including Bohdan Ziza.

At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation and Human Rights House Tbilisi urged Georgia to repeal restrictive legislation, end attacks against civil society actors, and called for accountability for human rights violations, and for the release of political prisoners.

At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation warned that Belarus is intensifying its assault on cultural rights by criminalising independent culture, targeting the Belarusian language, and imprisoning writers, journalists, and human rights defenders. HRHF renewed calls for the release of political prisoners in the country including journalists Andrei Aliaksandrau and Igaar Ilyash.

Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) and Human Rights House Azerbaijan welcome the adoption of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolution “Silencing critical voices in Azerbaijan”, and calls for urgent follow-up to protect human rights defenders, journalists, civil society and critical voices inside Azerbaijan and in exile.

At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement warning that surveillance, spyware, and emerging AI-assisted surveillance technologies are increasingly being used to restrict civic space and intimidate civil society actors across the Network of Human Rights Houses and beyond.

At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, HRHF welcomed the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of freedom of opinion and expression’s final report and echoed concerns about the growing use of national security, extremism, and counter-terrorism frameworks, as well as legal harassment such as SLAPPs, to restrict freedom of expression and undermine independent journalism and civil society. HRHF also highlighted the need for stronger protections for journalists working in armed conflict and occupied territories, drawing attention to ongoing risks faced by media workers in Ukraine and calling for the release of imprisoned Crimean civic journalist Iryna Danylovich.

Human Rights House Foundation joins Belarusian and international human rights organisations, independent trade unions, and civil society initiatives have issued a joint statement on the systemic crisis of human rights in the labour sector in Belarus.

“There is no safe life for LGBTIQ+ people in the North Caucasus, and even private existence can trigger violence, detention, or forced return to families.” This publication is based on the personal testimony of David Isteev, a human rights defender working in exile with North Caucasus SOS (NC SoS). In his testimony, Isteev outlines the situation for LGBTIQ+ people as well as how the organisation continues to coordinate life-saving support from outside the country, relying on volunteers and trusted partners still inside Russia.