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From 9 to 13 June, human rights defenders and civil society actors from across the Network of Human Rights Houses and beyond gathered in Oslo for the 2025 Network meeting. Amidst increasing global challenges faced by civil society, participants came together not only to share but also to build new strategies and forge solidarity.

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.

We members of the Network of Human Rights Houses stand in solidarity with our imprisoned colleagues in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, as well as all political prisoners in the region.

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.

Human Rights House Foundation invites all Human Rights Houses, their member organisations as well as organisations and actors from outside of the network to apply for funding in collaboration to advance human rights priorities in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

At HRC58, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) continued to amplify the voices of civil society and human rights defenders facing increased repression across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Balkans. In particular, HRHF worked alongside partners to highlight ongoing human rights violations in Belarus, Georgia, and in the context of continued Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

In 2024, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) worked closely with the Network of Human Rights Houses and other civil society partners to protect and promote human rights amidst increasing challenges, including rising authoritarianism. Find out more in HRHF’s 2024 annual report.

On 18 March 2025, Human Rights House Foundation delivered a statement focused on the situation for the independent media at the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting.

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.