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For three days in September, representatives of the network of Human Rights Houses met in Vilnius, Lithuania for House Treff 2022. This event marked the first time that the Houses were able to reconnect in-person following several years of unprecedented world events. Together, they discussed how the network can address the impact of these world events and meet common challenges together.

On 24 October 2022, Human Rights House Foundation co-organised a side event ahead of the start of the First Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimea Platform. The event focused on the deteriorating human rights situation in occupied Crimea following the launch of renewed Russian aggression against Ukraine in February 2022.

On 10 October 2022, Human Rights House Foundation joined over 20 international civil society organisations in a joint statement calling on member states of the United Nations General Assembly Third Committee to show commitment to ensuring civil society participation at the UN without fear of intimidation and reprisals.

Human Rights House Foundation applauds the Nobel Committee’s decision to award the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to our colleagues and partners Ales Bialiatski, Memorial, and Center for Civil Liberties. This is an important recognition of their resilient, brave, and outstanding work for democracy and human rights. It is also an award to all those repressed, imprisoned, and killed for their legitimate human rights work in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia.

Human Rights House Foundation applauds the UN Human Rights Council for voting today to establish a Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in Russia and thanks it for its work.

On 6 October 2022, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights situation in Georgia.

On 10 October 2022, Human Rights House Foundation and several Ukrainian partners co-hosted a side event at PACE, aimed at Refocusing international attention on grave human rights violations in the occupied peninsula after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On 4 October 2022, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement on the human rights situation in occupied Crimea at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council. In the statement, HRHF highlighted the return of the practice of enforced disappearances, as well as highlighting the cases of several unjustly detained or imprisoned people on the peninsula.

On 3 October 2022, Human Rights House Foundation, Ukrainian civil society organisations, and State delegations co-organised the HRC51 side event ” Ukraine: Human rights violations and militarisation in Crimea”.

On 30 September 2022, at the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement on the situation for independent journalists and media outlets in Azerbaijan.

Dzianis Boltuts, an anti-fascist and fan of the MTZ-RIPO football club, was detained on 25 September 2020 as a suspect in a rioting case – public gatherings against the Lukashenka regime are oftentimes described as a “riot”. He was later charged under Art. 342 of the Criminal Code, “group actions that grossly violate public order”. At the start of 2021, Boltuts was also charged under Part 2 of Art. 293 of the Criminal Code (participation in riots) and under Art. 364 of the Criminal Code (violence or threat of violence against a police officer). A day after his birthday, Dzianis was sentenced to six years in a medium-security penal colony.

On 29 September 2022 at the 51st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation highlighted cases of reprisals against human rights defenders in Russia and Belarus, and asked the Assistant Secretary-General what more could be done by the Council to support defenders.