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The Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, has announced much-needed reforms to the human rights body’s “reprisal mechanism” – launched in May 2017 to ensure “human rights defenders… never face retribution for their principled stance.”

The resolution aims to strengthen responses by the UN and States to put an end to reprisals for cooperating with the UN in the field of human rights. Human rights organisations sent the following joint letter to members of the Human Rights Council on 9 September 2019 – the opening day of HRC42.

Some 16 human rights organisations, including Human Rights House Foundation, issued a joint statement on 12 July 2019, responding to the outcomes of the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Belarusian human rights organisations have issued a joint position on EU-Belarus dialogue as well as recommendations to both parties following a 6th round of dialogue on 18 June in Brussels.

In a statement at HRC 41, HRHF calls on the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus, support Belarus in implementing its recommendations from human rights treaty bodies, and encourage Belarus to expand on its meaningful cooperation with civil society.

HRHF raises hate speech and smear campaigns against women human rights defenders in Armenia, in its statement to the UN Human Rights Council (HRC41) on 26 June 2019. This follows the UN special rapporteur on freedom of association and assembly presenting his report on his November 2018 visit to Armenia.

In a letter to member states of the Human Rights Council, HRHF and other international NGOs urge the Council to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Belarus. Further, they set out tangible steps that Belarus can take to address “systemic human rights challenges” in the country.

In an open letter to all permanent missions to the United Nations, 399 NGOs, including HRHF, have issued a joint letter warning of a critical funding gap affecting UN human rights mechanisms and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

During follow-up discussions of Armenia’s universal periodic review in April 2019, Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs Naira Zohrabyan gave a discriminatory speech relating to issues of transgender people. Some 20 Armenian Human Rights NGOs, including Human Rights House Yerevan, issued the following statement calling on the Armenian authorities to examine the incident and condemn the speech made by Zohrabyan.