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At the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation expressed concerns about the environment in which human rights defenders operate in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Republika Srpska, as reflected in the Special Rapporteur’s country report, urging authorities to implement her recommendations.

On the Day of Crimean Resistance to the Russian occupation, Human Rights House Crimea, its member organisations, and Human Rights House Foundation underline on-going human rights violations on the occupied peninsula, as well as urge the international community to take action.

Ahead of HRC61, HRHF joins Belarusian and international human rights organisations in urging Member and Observer States of the UN Human Rights Council to support the renewal and strengthening of the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus and the Group of Independent Experts on the Situation of Human Rights in Belarus (Group of Experts).

​​As Ukraine approaches a fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war, Ukrainian human rights lawyer Kateryna Rashevska reflects on working through blackouts, documenting war crimes, and why justice — not just ceasefire — will determine the region’s future. From losing her organisation’s office to confronting global shifts in international law, she speaks about resilience, responsibility, and the long struggle for accountability, and at what cost.

HRHF joins international human rights and media freedom organisations in expressing serious concern regarding the recent letter of Azerbaijani journalist Aysel Umudova sent to media outlets from Baku Pre-trial Investigation Facility, in which she has reported being subjected to sexual harassment and ill-treatment by police officers during her arrest on 6 December 2024. Umudova’s letter published in December 2025 echoes the earlier case of a journalist and human rights defender, Ulviyya (Ali) Guliyeva, who faced arbitrary detention, torture, and explicit rape threats by a police officer while in police custody on 6 May 2025.

Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) welcomes today’s action by 24 OSCE participating States to invoke an independent human rights mechanism to report on the Georgian Dream government’s systematic attacks on human rights and fundamental freedoms.

At the UN, HRHF underscored Russia’s occupation of Crimea as marked by widespread abuses, eroding prospects for peace, reconciliation and global security. This statement was delivered during an interactive dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on his quarterly report on Ukraine.

We are saddened by the passing of our board member Laila Bokhari on Friday 12 December 2025. We are grateful to Laila for the years of expertise and principled guidance that she brought to HRHF’s board since joining in 2019. A distinguished political scientist, diplomat, and politician, Laila devoted decades to human rights. We extend our deepest condolences to her family.

An interview with a human rights defender from Crimea on enforced disappearances in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, the situation for those unjustly detained and the power of letters.