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Becky Bakr Vindheim er hentet inn som kommunikasjonssjef i norske Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF).

At the first of the OSCE’s key human rights forums of the year, HRHF worked with civil society partners from the Network of Human Rights Houses and beyond to continue to raise the issue of reprisals and threats against human rights defenders across the OSCE region, as well as highlighting the situations in Georgia and Serbia via side events co-organised with partners.

At the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, HRHF worked closely with partners from the Network of Human Rights Houses and beyond to keep civic space and accountability at the centre of international attention. HRHF cited the reporting and analysis of partners to highlight the human rights situations in multiple countries, renewed calls for scrutiny where repression is entrenched, and used interactive dialogues, UPR adoptions, side events, and various meetings with officials to bring the voice of civil society partners to HRC member and observer states.

Dagens verden preges av krig, uro og ledere med forakt for felles normer. Norge kan ikke ta seg råd til å satse mindre på menneskerettigheter i en slik virkelighet, skriver seks menneskerettighetsorganisasjoner.

Human Rights House Foundation joins Belarusian and international CSOs in urging the Belarusian authorities to revoke “extremist” designations against PEN Belarus, Human Constanta, the Belarusian Helsinki Committee, and other civil society groups, align extremism laws with international human rights standards, and to end the practice of designiating organisations as “extremist” without reasonable and proportional grounds. The organisations also call international civil society to show solidarity with Belarus, and urge international bodies to assess violations, press authorities to meet their obligations, and halt abusive extremist designations.

In Belarus today, even culture is not safe from state repression. Books are labeled ‘extremist,’ independent publishers are targeted, and cultural workers face detention or exile. In this interview, Belarusian poet and human rights defender Taciana Niadbaj talks to HRHF about the personal realities of working under such pressure, the emotional cost of exile, and the growing risks for those who continue cultural work inside the country. She also discusses “Belarus. Banned. Books project—an initiative documenting censorship and preserving access to banned literature—highlighting how defending cultural rights has become an essential part of defending human rights.

In 2025, Human Rights House Foundation worked closely with the Network of Human Rights Houses and other civil society partners to defend human rights and support perseverance amidst global uncertainty.

Between October and December 2025, the Solidarity Force project, supported by HRHF, brought together young human rights defenders from Belarus and Ukraine for an international course on human rights reflecting the context of repression in Belarus and Russia’s war against Ukraine. 16 participants strengthened their skills in human rights monitoring, advocacy, and documentation through a four-day training in Poland, webinars, and continued collaboration, while building cross-border connections based on trust and solidarity. HRHF spoke with two participants about their experience and how the project influenced their perspectives and work.

At the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, HRHF warned of accelerating authoritarianism and systemic repression in Georgia, citing credible allegations of the use of chemical agents against protesters, violence against journalists, the dismantling of civil society, and the use of repressive laws to silence dissent both in occupied regions and government-controlled territory.