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At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights House Foundation drew attention to new reporting by Crimean Process, Human Rights House Crimea and the Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv documenting a coordinated pattern of abduction, incommunicado detention and torture in occupied Crimea. HRHF also highlighted the situation for unlawfully detained civilians including Bohdan Ziza.

At the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, HRHF welcomed the Special Rapporteur on the freedom of freedom of opinion and expression’s final report and echoed concerns about the growing use of national security, extremism, and counter-terrorism frameworks, as well as legal harassment such as SLAPPs, to restrict freedom of expression and undermine independent journalism and civil society. HRHF also highlighted the need for stronger protections for journalists working in armed conflict and occupied territories, drawing attention to ongoing risks faced by media workers in Ukraine and calling for the release of imprisoned Crimean civic journalist Iryna Danylovich.

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 2025, Human Rights House Foundation worked closely with the Network of Human Rights Houses and other civil society partners to defend human rights and support perseverance amidst global uncertainty.

Between October and December 2025, the Solidarity Force project, supported by HRHF, brought together young human rights defenders from Belarus and Ukraine for an international course on human rights reflecting the context of repression in Belarus and Russia’s war against Ukraine. 16 participants strengthened their skills in human rights monitoring, advocacy, and documentation through a four-day training in Poland, webinars, and continued collaboration, while building cross-border connections based on trust and solidarity. HRHF spoke with two participants about their experience and how the project influenced their perspectives and work.

At HRC61, HRHF highlighted the issues of forced displacement on Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories, as well as documentation from Ukrainian civil society partners on the persecution of journalists, civic activists, and Crimean Tatars.

Human Rights House Foundation calls for the renewal of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine at the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council.

​​As Ukraine approaches a fifth year of Russia’s full-scale war, Ukrainian human rights lawyer Kateryna Rashevska reflects on working through blackouts, documenting war crimes, and why justice — not just ceasefire — will determine the region’s future. From losing her organisation’s office to confronting global shifts in international law, she speaks about resilience, responsibility, and the long struggle for accountability, and at what cost.