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From 10-16 March 2025, the third edition of the Portraits of Strength exhibition, featuring women human rights defenders from the Network of Human Rights Houses, is exhibited at Vega Scene in Oslo as part of the Human International Documentary Film Festival.

At HRC58, Human Rights House Foundation urged the Georgian authorities to immediately end repression against civil society and to meaningfully engage with the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations and uphold its obligations under international human rights law.

In a joint letter delivered on 28 February 2025, Human Rights House Foundation and several international and Belarusian civil society organisations urged the UN Human Rights Council Member States 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.

On 27 February 2025, Human Rights House Foundation hosted a side event at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council alongside OMCT and IRCT. This side event provided an update on the deteriorating situation in Georgia including new reporting by Georgian and international civil society organisations.

Human Rights Houses in Belgrade, Banja Luka, and Zagreb, along with the Sarajevo Open Center – united in a Regional Network – strongly condemn yesterday’s armed police intrusion into the premises of member organisations of the Human Rights House Belgrade, conducted without a proper court order.

On the 11th anniversary of Crimea’s Resistance to the Russian Federation’s unlawful occupation, Human Rights House Crimea, its member organisations, and the Human Rights House Foundation reaffirm their strong commitment to protecting human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the dignity of all individuals in the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol.

In February 2025, Ukraine marks three years since Russia’s full-scale invasion and eleven years in total of armed Russian aggression against the country starting with the annexation of Crimea, sparking an “avalanche of atrocities” and human rights violations. In this interview with HRHF, Ukrainian human rights defender Tetiana Pechonchyk, discusses the potential escalation of the war, Ukrainian civil society’s current human rights focuses, the impact of disrupted US support for Ukraine, and how it could strengthen China’s influence in the region, among other pressing issues.

“We cannot rely on Trump’s United States to attempt to civilise human conflict. Now we must rely on American civil society and the EU” writes Human Rights House Foundation’s Chairperson Bernt Hagtvet in a recent op-ed for the Norwegian publication VG.

Appeal to the Heads of State and Government and the institutions of the European Union to take action to fill the gaps in international development aid created by the U.S. Presidential Executive Order on Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid and the reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule.

Aleksandra Skochilenko is a Russian anti-war musician, artist and campaigner. Skochilenko came to prominence during protests following the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Skochilenko was detained in April 2022 for distributing anti-war messages in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg. She was held as a political prisoner by the Russian authorities until her release on 1 August 2024 as part of an international prisoner exchange. She now lives in exile.

Unprecedented peaceful protests in Georgia are being met with unprecedented levels of violence and brutality according to Georgian human rights defender and psychologist Lela Tsiskarishvili. In this interview with Human Rights House Foundation, Tsiskarishvili outlines the use of torture and ill-treatment against peaceful protesters in the context of the current situation in Georgia as well as reflecting on her work rehabilitating survivors and the resilience of those she helps. Estimated reading time: 7-12mins.

Irene Kinunda Afriyie is a Norwegian author and columnist. Through her work, Afriyie tackles issues including human rights, racism, and immigrant integration in Norwegian society. Afriyie arrived in Norway as a refugee and aims to highlight the challenges and opportunities in the country of her origin, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as other African countries. She is notably critical of traditional aid models and advocates for transitioning from the era of aid to the era of taxation.