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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 warned that Belarus is intensifying its assault on cultural rights by criminalising independent culture, targeting the Belarusian language, and imprisoning writers, journalists, and human rights defenders. HRHF renewed calls for the release of political prisoners in the country including journalists Andrei Aliaksandrau and Igaar Ilyash.

At the OSCE’s second Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting of the year, HRHF urged the OSCE Participating States to strengthen legal safeguards against digital threats to civic space, as well as calling for the OSCE to establish a formal mechanism to monitor and report on reprisals against civil society for engaging with the institution. HRHF also called for additional steps to be taken to address rising threats to civic space, including for various stakeholders to review their own digital practices in order to not undermine the security and safety of civil society.

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.

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.

At the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, HRHF and Human Rights House Zagreb urged the Croatian authorities to ensure full access peaceful assemblies, introduce robust safeguards against SLAPPs, and strengthen coordination for implementing international human rights recommendations, and ensure meaningful and timely consultation with civil society.

After a year marked by large-scale student and civic protests, the authorities in Serbia began introducing more intensive legislative changes aimed at restricting freedoms and further undermining separation of powers and democratic law-making. On 17 March 2026, these issues and more were discussed at an SHDMI side event organised by YUCOM, Human Rights House Belgrade, and Human Rights House Foundation.

Following a year of large-scale student and civic protests, accompanied by reports of excessive use of force against demonstrators the freedoms of assembly and expression have been under increasing attack in Serbia. On 11 March 2026, these issues and more were discussed at a HRC61 side event organised by the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights with the support of Human Rights House Foundation.

On 3 March 2026, on International Writer’s Day, Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF) and the Belarusian Human Rights House (BHRH), co-organised a film screening and policy discussion in Brussels dedicated to freedom of expression, media freedom, and the situation of journalists and political prisoners in Belarus. The event was hosted by the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Poland to the European Union.