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At the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation highlighted the effects of Georgia’s new “foreign agent” law as well as recent legal threats against NGOs and the punitive fining of rights defender Baia Pataraia. HRHF urged repeal of the law and pressed for concrete international support to shield civil society from intensifying state pressure.

At the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation condemned state-backed disinformation, legal harassment, and physical attacks targeting journalists and election observers in countries like Belarus, Russia, Azerbaijan, and Serbia. Citing the imprisonment of Anar Mammadli and widespread abuse of “national security” laws, HRHF called for clear benchmarks to hold states accountable during election cycles.

On 2 June 2025 at SHDMIII, HRHF highlighted the systematic steps taken by authorities in Georgia to close civic space, criminalise legitimate human rights work, and to silence civil society and opposition voices. HRHF also highlighted the deteriorating situation in neighbouring Azerbaijan citing the cases of Anar Mammadli and Ulviyya Ali as examples of hundreds of political prisoners in the country.

The European Union should defend the International Criminal Court (ICC) amid serious attacks on its mandate and mission, said a group of INGOs on 4 April 2025. These attacks could undermine justice for victims of serious international crimes around the world, making urgent EU action to uphold the international rules-based order.

During the 2025 Democracy Defender Award seminar in Vienna, HRHF issued recommendations to OSCE States on how to address shrinking space for civil society. HRHF Congratulates Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association for the well-deserved recognition of their commitment to advancing democracy and human rights in Georgia.

At HRC58, HRHF urged the Georgian authorities to lift restrictions against Human Rights House Tbilisi, to repeal laws that target civil society, and to ensure accountability for violence against human rights defenders and protesters.

Members of the Network of Human Rights Houses condemn the recent actions of the Georgian authorities against independent human rights organisation Human Rights House Tbilisi and call for immediate stop of the investigation and reversal of the decision to freeze all of the organisation’s bank accounts.

At HRC58, HRHF raised the situation for children in the occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian political prisoners held by the Russian Federation.

HRHF joins several INGOs in urging UN member states to support the adoption of Human Rights Council draft resolution L.22, to renew the mandate of UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine at HRC58.