Index on Censorship 10th Annual Freedom of Expression Awards

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.