THE RAPPORT – 16 February to 1 March 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/

Americas

• The failure to implement a law creating the creating the Minas Gerais Human Rights Memorial, a former torture centre under Brazil’s former military regime, engages the duty of the state to “preserve and transmit to current and future generations the memory of those violations, including the actions and responsibilities that led to them and the harm suffered by victims, in order to guard them from extinction and contribute to the prevention of their recurrence,” say the Working Group on enforced disappearance and the Special Rapporteurs on transitional justice and cultural rights. (BRA 7/2025)

• Military strikes conducted by the United States Air Force in Yemen on 17 April and 28 April 2025, resulting in the deaths of 142 people and the injury of 218 others, “raises serious concerns as to the United States’ compliance with its obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in the conduct of hostilities,” say the Special Rapporteurs on executions, terrorism, and the right to a healthy environment. (USA 43/2025)

• The investigation into the murder on 20 October 2025 of human rights defender Mr. Bernardo Bravo Manríquez — who had previously advocated against armed groups in Mexico’s Apatzingán Valley, which have imposed controls over the sale prices of lemons and avocados, the hiring of labor, and the use of packers — appears to have been inadequate and “may not have sufficiently considered the connection to his legitimate human rights work,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, executions, and freedom of assembly. (MEX 15/2025)

• The definition of terrorism provided at Article 391 of Guatemala’s Penal Code may not meet the requirements of legality and certainty established in international human rights law, says the Special Rapporteur on terrorism. (GTM 3/2026)

Africa

• Allegations of the use of disproportionate and unnecessary force by security forces during electoral campaigns leading up to the general elections in early 2026 engage Uganda’s obligations to ensure a “safe and enabling space for political dialogue” and threaten to undermine the legitimacy of those elections, say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of assembly, freedom of opinion, human rights defenders, and SOGI. (UGA 6/2025)

• The arbitrary detention and intimidation of Mr. Chrostophe Yoka Nkumu, a human rights defender and independent journalist who has been active in denouncing poor local governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, engage the state’s obligation under international and regional human rights law to guarantee the exercise of the right to freedom of expression, say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion. (COD 4/2025)

• The abduction and enforced disappearance of Mr. Amadou Diarra and Mr. Samakono Diarra in Bamako, Mali, by unidentified hooded individuals suspected of being Malian intelligence agents, and the subsequent inaction of the Malian authorities in searching for these individuals, violate the Guiding Principles for the Search for Disappeared Persons, which establish that the search for disappeared persons must be undertaken without delay and must respect the right of their families to participate, say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on Mali. (MLI 7/2025)

• The ongoing detention since 2018 of Ms. Hoda Abdel-Moneim, a woman lawyer and human rights defender in Egypt, and the poor conditions of her detention, engage the state’s duty of care to individuals in their custody, as established by Article 10 of the ICCPR, say the Working Groups on arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers, health, human rights defenders, and terrorism. (EGY 9/2025)

• The harassment and persecution of Mr. Pedro Domingos André, an Angolan human rights defender fighting repression in Angola, may amount to a violation of international human rights law and “lead to a significant chilling effect on civil society in Angola,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion. (AGO 4/2025)

• The arrest of at least 88 people in Egypt during and after peaceful demonstrations in Cairo and Alexandria in October 2023, expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people, “indicates a broader pattern of undue restrictions on civil and political rights, civic space and the use of counter-terrorism legislation to suppress peaceful dissent, contrary to international law,” say the Working Groups on arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, and Palestine. (EGY 8/2025)

• Serious allegations of systematic human rights violations against the Indigenous Batwa people of Burundi, including persistent discrimination and stigmatization embedded within domestic legislation, appear to disproportionately impact women and children, who require special protection from the state to realize their basic rights, say the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls and the Special Rapporteurs on Burundi, cultural rights, education, health, the independence of judges and lawyers, Indigenous Peoples, racism, and violence against women and girls. (BDI 2/2025)

• Death threats against Mr. Benedicto Kondowe, a human rights defender advocating for good governance and civic engagement in Malawi, occur in a worsening context “where the civic space is reportedly shrinking, and human rights defenders have been targeted with threats, attacks, and stigmatization, simply for exercising their rights,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion. (MWI 2/2025)

• Bill No. 6623, currently under review by Morocco’s parliament, which aims to provide the government authority responsible for justice a central role in the training, apprenticeship, and evaluation of lawyers, clearly diverges from the basic principle of self-regulation of the legal profession, as provided by the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, says the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. (MAR 1/2026)

Asia

• Physical violence and intimidation against human rights defender Ms. Selly Selegani, apparently in connection to her advocacy against the Wabu Block gold mining project, may further chill the work of those in Indonesia’s West Papua region, “where defenders, activists, and civilians have been facing intimidation and violence, and worked in a restrictive environment with heavy police and military presence for several years,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion. (IDN 10/2025)

• The criminal prosecutions of Ms. Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Mr. Hadi Ali Chattha, two lawyers who have represented persons accused of blasphemy and victims of sexual violence in Pakistan, apparently in connection to their “anti-state” social media posts, “appears to be an arbitrary use of the legal system as an instrument of harassment and intimidation, in retaliation to their work as lawyers seeking to advocate for victims of alleged human violations,” say the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, human rights defenders, and terrorism. (PAK 17/2025)

• The significantly deteriorating health of Ms. Zhang Zhan, a journalist and human rights defender who has been arbitrarily detained for being critical of the government’s early handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the imposition of the national security law in Hong Kong, are “indicative of a broader pattern of repression aimed at silencing journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and other individuals engaging in activities perceived as critical of the authorities” in China, say the Working Groups on arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion, and the independence of judges and lawyers. (CHN 22/2025)

• The arbitrary arrest, detention, prosecution, repeated sentencing and ill-treatment of woman human rights defender Ms. Cấn Thị Thêu, her husband, and her sons, in apparent retaliation for advocacy for land rights for farmers in Dương Nội, Vietnam, constitutes a “sustained and systematic pattern of repression by the authorities against the Trịnh family” which sends a chilling message and suppresses legitimate dissent, say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, and health. (VNM 8/2025)

• Recent amendments to Bangladesh’s Anti-Terrorism Act 2009 and the International Crimes (Tribunals) Act 1973, banning the Awami League and introducing “legislative measures enabling the suspension, dissolution or asset-seizure of organisations,” may amount to unnecessary and disproportionate interferences with the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly, expression, and to participate in public affairs, as protected under international human rights law, say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism and the independence of judges and lawyers. (BGD 6/2025)

• Indonesia’s draft Presidential Regulation on the Duties of the Indonesian National Army in Combating Terrorist Acts risks expanding the role of the military in countering terrorism during peacetime in a manner that is overbroad, ill-defined, and counter to international human rights norms that discourage over-securitization, say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, freedom of assembly, human rights defenders, independence of judges and lawyers, and minorities. (IDN 1/2026)

Europe

• Improper institutional practices inherited by Spain from the Franco dictatorship — including, inter alia, amnesty and pardon laws that continue to benefit those convicted of committing grave human rights abuses — “hinders accountability, effective investigations, comprehensive reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition,” in violation of international obligations, say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on transitional justice and executions. (ESP 4/2025)

• The so-called “Lawyer’s Monopoly” draft bill presently before Russia’s parliament — which would, inter alia, expand the authority of the Federal Chamber of Advocates and regional Chambers over professional conduct and governance and expand the role of the Ministry of Justice over these activities — “may substantially undermine the independence of lawyers and the right to a fair trial and due process guarantees for all people in the Russian Federation,” say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers, human rights defenders, terrorism, and Russia. (RUS 13/2025)

• An amendment to Greece’s Migration Code — adopted on 5 February 2026, pursuant to EU Directive 2024/1233, which aims to reform how third-country nationals can enter EU countries — places “unfair restrictions on the work of NGOs working in the field of migration in Greece, while criminalising their activity of defence of human rights … [and] undermin[ing] humanitarian and civil society work,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of assembly, international solidarity, migrants, and trafficking of persons. (GRC 1/2026)

Middle East

• The alleged widespread and systematic description of housing in Gaza since 7 October 2023, rendering the majority of the population homeless, engages Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law and international criminal law and, inter alia, necessitates the need for full reparations to affected Palestinians, say the Special Rapporteurs on housing, internally displaced persons, and Palestine. (ISR 25/2025)

• Serious human rights violations committed in the context of nationwide protests in the Iran since 28 December 2025, including extrajudicial killings, mass arbitrary arrests, and attacks on hospital facilities, engage the state’s obligations not to violate the rights to life and liberty and the prohibition against torture, says the Special Rapporteur on Iran. (IRN 1/2026)