Human rights

Two human rights groups recognize global significance of Israel’s Declaration of Independence 

Recognition comes amid rising attacks on Zionism since October 7 and ahead of Israel’s Independence Day 

Ambassador Oren Rozenblat receives the recognition from Dr. Luis Andrade.
UN HIGH COMMISSIONER for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet makes a speech at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, in February.

UN Watch demands democracies explain election of human rights abusers to UN positions

MK Gilad Kariv pictured in the Knesset, January 26, 2026.

MK Kariv, Zulat Institute, Rabbis for Human Rights ask High Court to strike down death penalty law

A view of a residential building damaged by a strike in Tehran, Iran, March 23, 2026.

US strikes on Iran may constitute war crimes, international law experts announce


Israel’s post-Oct. 7 emergency detentions risk becoming permanent law, rights groups warn

The measures, first enacted on December 18, 2023, as a temporary amendment to the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, have since been extended six times.

An Israeli police officer looks on as a Red Cross vehicle is seen near the Israeli military prison, Ofer, on the day Israel releases Palestinian prisoners as part of a hostages-prisoners swap and a ceasefire deal in Gaza between Hamas and Israel, near Ramallah in the West Bank, January 19, 2025.

Obtuse global piracy in Venezuela: Trump's illegal actions shatters US world standing - opinion

His invasion of Venezuela to seize its oil, under the pretense of combating drug trafficking, shatters the US's moral, legal, and ideological standing, while also violating international law

An activist holds a poster that reads ‘Condemns Donald Trump’s military aggression in Venezuela’, during an anti-US protest, after the US struck Venezuela and captured its President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, outside the US Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 6, 2026.

How Gazan medical professionals were complicit in hostage captivity, sexual assault - opinion

If medical professionals can participate in terror without accountability, then the laws meant to protect humanity have been hollowed out from within.

 Smoke rises as displaced Palestinians take shelter at Al Shifa hospital, amid the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel, in Gaza City, November 8, 2023.

Iran had highest number of executions in over a decade, human rights report says

Iran's treatment of prisoners in 2025 was also rife with abuses, according to the report, with 2,513 cases of prisoners being held in inappropriate conditions.

PEOPLE ATTEND a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022.

Between fear and hope, civic protest survives in Iran -opinion

What began as mourning for a human rights lawyer in Mashhad exposed Iran’s familiar strategy of turning grief into a threat and protest into a crime.

A picture shows traffic in the city of Mashhad, the capital of the province of Khorassan-e Razavi in northeastern Iran, on October 1, 2023

Venezuela's GNB guilty of crimes against humanity, including rape and torture, UN finds

"The torture, ill-treatment, and acts of sexual violence we have verified were not isolated incidents. They form part of a pattern of abuse used to punish and break victims," said head of UN mission.

Members of Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard stand in formation as they carry out an increased security patrol along Lake Maracaibo amid rising tensions between Venezuela and US, in Maracaibo, Venezuela, October 26, 2025.

How Middle East countries cover Human Rights Day - explainer

What are the issues concerning Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Iran vis-a-vis Human Rights Day?

An illustration commemorating Human Rights Day.

UN official warns funding cuts threaten human rights efforts worldwide

OHCHR has $90 million less in funding than it needed this year, which resulted in 300 job cuts, directly impacting the office's work, Turk said.

Volker Turk United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights addresses the Human Rights Council on his report on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the obligation to ensure accountability and justice at the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, F

Human Rights Day: How ancient Jewish values meet modern universal duties - opinion

If each of us commits to our duties, we can build a society grounded in mutual respect, responsibility, and peace.

Israeli flag and rainbow flag being waved at Tel Aviv Pride Parade, June 25 2021

Iran continues crackdown on dissent with human rights lawyer found dead, arrests and disappearances

If the people cannot be persuaded to fear, then they will be forced to, is the mentality behind the ayatollahs’ rule. The result is intimidation, but there is backlash amongst ordinary Iranians.

L-R: Khosro Alikordi, Bita Shafiei, runners from the  Kish Island marathon, Bita and her mother.