THE RAPPORT – 13 April to 26 April 2026

THE RAPPORT is the only newsletter devoted to briefing human rights practitioners on the communications of the UN Special Procedures. It is written by our Principal, Kate McInnes, and is published on Sundays on a biweekly basis. To subscribe and read the full newsletter, visit https://therapport.substack.com/

Africa

• Assassination attempts, acts of torture, abductions, attempted abductions, physical attacks, death threats, intimidation, and surveillance targeting human rights defenders by M23 amounts to a state failure “to guarantee the right to life and respect for the physical and moral integrity of human rights defenders in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu” in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, say the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls and the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, SOGI, and torture. (COD 2/2026)

Americas

• International adoptions of minors stemming from enforced disappearances in Guatemala between 1968 and 1996 amounts to a denial of rights of both of the families of the children involved and the children themselves, who are entitled to their rights to justice, truth, reparation, and memorialization, say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on independence of judges and lawyers, torture, trafficking, transitional justice, and violence against women and girls. (GTM 4/2026)

• The continued classification of trans identities as “diseases” or “disorders” within strategies disseminated by the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance “could constitute a failure to prevent discrimination and a breach of the obligation to ensure the availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of health services for trans and gender-diverse persons in Guatemala,” say the Special Rapporteurs on health and SOGI. (GTM 2/2026)

• Guatemala’s Decree No. 11-2025, which aims to combat criminal groups and terrorist organisations, “may be incompatible with international human rights law, including the principle of legality, due process guarantees in the designation of organizations as terrorist or criminal, as well as international standards on conditions of detention,” say the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, the independence of judges and lawyers, and Indigenous peoples. (GTM 5/2026)

• Insufficient measures to investigate and memorialize the Tulsa Race Massacre in the United States in 1921 amounts to a violation of state obligations to provide “remedy and reparation to victims and their descendants for the violations committed by their officials through action or omission,” say the Working Group on African descent and enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on transitional justice, executions, and racism. (USA 5/2026)

• A proposed amendment to the Penal Code of Panama, which would penalize the use of masks, hoods, or balaclavas during demonstrations and public gatherings, imposes disproportionate restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and “create[s] a chilling effect that undermines the legitimate exercise of the fundamental rights of Panamanian citizens,” say the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of assembly and human rights defenders. (PAN 1/2026)

Asia

• Discriminatory and arbitrary administrative practices affecting refugees in Nepal — including the requirement to obtain government-approved exit permits and the imposition of excessive and arbitrary “overstay fines” — may constitute a violation of Article 12(2) of the ICCPR, which guarantees the right of everyone to leave any country, including their own, say the Special Rapporteurs on minorities, migrants, and torture. (NPL 1/2026)

• The suspension and termination of Dr. Jillian Spencer, a senior psychiatrist in Queensland, Australia, reportedly in connection with her public expression of concern “regarding aspects of clinical approaches to children and adolescents experiencing gender-related distress,” may amount to a violation of the right to freedom of expression, which includes public-interest speech by professionals and whistleblowers, says the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. (AUS 3/2026)

• The inhumane conditions of detention experienced by three women journalists, who have been prosecuted following their investigation of high-level corruption in Azerbaijan, constitutes part of a campaign to “discredit journalistic and human rights defenders’ anticorruption work,” say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion, and torture. (AZE 3/2026)

• A proclamation by Samoa’s Head of State, indicating that he would be mandating religious observance and proposal a ban on non-Christian religions in Samoa, appears to be contrary to articles of the ICCPR protecting freedom of thought and equal protection of the law without discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, say the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion, cultural rights, and minorities. (WSM 1/2026)

• China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress “could entrench a uniform approach to ethnic relations across all regions of China, thereby potentially amplifying restrictions on minority rights,” say the Special Rapporteurs on minorities, cultural rights, development, education, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, housing, and religion. (CHN 5/2026)

Europe

• The absence of effective judicial investigation into crimes against humanity committed during the Francoist dictatorship in Spain stands in contravention of international human rights standards and domestic laws, including Law 20/2022 on Democratic Memory, say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on transitional justice, executions, and torture. (ESP 1/2026)

• Contaminated water supplies in southern Sweden may amount to a violation of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, which, per the ICJ Climate Change Advisory Opinion, “is essential for the realization of other human rights, and thus binding on states as a matter of international law,” say the Special Rapporteurs on toxics, environment, and independence of judges and lawyers. (SWE 2/2026)

• The criminalisation of lawyers and human rights defenders associated with Insan Hakları Derneğı, an organisation that defends the rights of prisoners in Türkiye, “appear to be directly linked to the exercise of their legal profession and to their legitimate exercise of the rights to peaceful assembly and association,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of assembly, health, independence of judges and lawyers, and terrorism. (TUR 1/2026)

• The potentially imminent extradition of Ms. Winnye Nayelia Bernard Canales from Switzerland to Nicaragua, where she would be at risk of enforced disappearance and torture due to her profile as a political opponent and her alleged participation in the social protests of 2018, would amount to a violation of the principle of non-refoulement, in violation of international human rights law, say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and peasants. (CHE 1/2026)

• The harassment of and threats against Ms. Alina Chiriac in relation to her urban planning advocacy implicates Romania’s obligation to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of human rights defenders, say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion. (ROU 1/2026)

• The deteriorating situation of human rights defenders in Sweden — particularly in respect of advocacy for Gaza, the rights of religious minorities, and the rights of persons with disabilities, among others — requires the state to take active measures to ensure that activists can operate in a safe and enabling environment without fear of reprisals or retaliation, say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and peaceful assembly. (SWE 3/2026)

Middle East

• Military strikes conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces on a port in Yemen on 20 July 2024, which reportedly resulted in the death of six port workers and the injury of more than 80 others, engages state obligations under international humanitarian law, including the customary rules on distinction, proportionality and precautions in attack, say the Special Rapporteurs on executions and terrorism. (ISR 2/2026)

• The systematic denial of access to legal representation for protesters arrested in Iran, coupled with arbitrary arrests and detention of lawyers, “reflect a broader pattern indicative of a crackdown on the legal profession and human rights advocacy” that create a serious chilling effect on those engaged in such work, say the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers and Iran. (IRN 2/2026)

Other

• Digital sexual violence against two women whose intimate images were illegally shared online without their consent is emblematic of “the potential and severe human rights violations that women and girls were reportedly subjected to in the context of the distribution of pornographic material” on Pornhub and its associated companies, say the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and girls and privacy. (CAN 7/2025, USA 40/2025, OTH 156/2025, OTH 9/2026, OTH 8/2026, OTH 7/2026, OTH 159/2025, OTH 155/2025, OTH 160/2025, OTH 157/2025)