THE RAPPORT – 2 March to 15 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

• “Structural and systematic repression of political dissent” in Cuba — including the enforced disappearance of Mr. José Daniel Ferrer García and his torture while in detention, and the 15-year prison sentence imposed on Mr. Yosvany Rosell García Caso for his role in peaceful demonstrations against poor living conditions — constitutes a violation of customary international law, including the rights to personal liberty, due process, and the prohibition on arbitrary detention, say the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of assembly, cultural rights, freedom of opinion, and human rights defenders. (CUB 3/2025)

• The approval without debate of amendments to Articles 247 and 248 of the Provincial Constitution of the Province of Chubut in Argentina — which generally establish immunity for state authorities, legislators, judges, and trade union leaders — “does not conform to human rights standards, as it may affect the institutional independence of justice officials in the Province of Chubut and place at risk the guarantee of a fair trial for residents of the province, by undermining judicial independence,” says the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. (ARG 1/2026)

• Argentina’s proposed reform of Law No. 26/639 (Minimum Environmental Protection Regime for the Preservation of Glaciers and the Periglacial Environment), which would introduce substantive restrictions to the law’s scope of protection without adequate consideration of human rights ramifications, poses a threat to access to drinking water for mountain communities, in violation of the state’s obligations to protect the right to life, say the Working Group on business and human rights and the Special Rapporteurs on environment, Indigenous Peoples, and water and sanitation. (ARG 2/2026)

• The United States’ National Security Presidential Memorandum on Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence — which commits the United States to develop a strategy to investigate and disrupt primarily “anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, and anti-Christianity” organisations and organisations that demonstrate “hostility towards those who hold traditional American views on family, religion, and morality” — does not specify any clear legal basis for its targeting of “domestic terrorism” and “political violence,” and therefore “could be misused to target non-violent ideologies and viewpoints, particularly left-leaning ones, with which the Government disagrees, including legitimate expression, association and peaceful assembly that is protected by international human rights law and under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution,” say the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, executions, freedom of assembly, human rights defenders, and privacy. (USA 7/2026)

• A number of laws in Ecuador addressing terrorism, intelligence, and states of emergency may not fully comply with the state’s international human rights obligations, particularly regarding the principle of legality, the right to an effective remedy, the right to privacy and protection of personal data, and the independent oversight and accountability of intelligence and military activities, say the Working Groups on enforced disappearances and peasants and the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, executions, freedom of assembly, independence of judges and lawyers, Indigenous Peoples, and privacy. (ECU 2/2026)

Africa

• Alleged assassination attempts against five lawyers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, stemming from their work in representing victims of assassinations in Uvira, engage the state’s obligation to conduct independent and impartial investigations to protect the inherent right to life, say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and the independence of judges and lawyers. (COD 5/2025)

• The United Kingdom’s colonial Double Taxation Arrangement with Sierra Leone, signed in 1947 while Sierra Leone was not a sovereign nation, “creates incoherence between the United Kingdom’s tax treaty policy and its international development commitments” by significantly limiting Sierra Leone’s taxing rights, thereby reducing domestic revenue mobilization and directly affecting Sierra Leone’s capacity to fulfil its human rights obligations, says the Special Rapporteur on foreign debt. (GBR 1/2026, SLE 1/2026)

• The arrest and ongoing detention of lawyer and human rights defender Ms. Sarah Bireete, who had recently been advocating for greater transparency and accountability in Uganda’s electoral processes, “appear to be part of a broader trend of silencing critical voices and violations against human rights defenders engaged in election monitoring,” say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders and freedom of opinion. (UGA 1/2026)

Asia

• The arrest and detention pending trial of human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists Ms. Chow Hang-Tung and Mr. Lee Cheuk-Yan in China appears to stem from their “expression of their political opinions, legitimate human rights work and pro-democracy activities, in blatant violation of their human rights,” say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, and independence of judges and lawyers. (CHN 23/2025)

• Alleged extrajudicial killings, detentions and excessive use of force by Nepalese security forces during the September 2025 youth-led demonstrations against corruption raise significant concerns not only about the use of lethal and disproportionate force, but also regarding the stifling of discussion and debate among youth, in violation of Nepal’s obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil the rights to education and academic freedom, say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on education, executions, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, and human rights defenders. (NPL 1/2025)

• Denialist and revisionist statements by Indonesian state officials glorifying the rule of President Soeharto “could further strengthen impunity and distort the historical truths of human rights violations, abuse of power, corruption and suppression of dissent during the Soeharto presidency,” say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on transitional justice, cultural rights, and education. (IDN 11/2025)

• The suspension of Mr. Zabil Gahramanov’s licence to practise law, along with a criminal case against him, appears to be tied to his denunciation of corruption and abuse of power in Azerbaijan and may have a chilling effect on other lawyers, “who may be discouraged from taking on cases involving human rights violations, leaving victims without the vital legal support,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of opinion, and independence of judges and lawyers. (AZE 2/2026)

Europe

• Ireland’s recent purchase of double-strength pepper spray, reportedly used in the 4 October 2025 pro-Palestine demonstrations in Dublin, may amount to a violation of the United Nations Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement, which stipulates that “even less-lethal weapons must be employed only when they are subject to strict requirements of necessity and proportionality,” say the Special Rapporteurs on freedom of assembly and torture. (IRL 3/2025)

• Oil extraction in Turkana, Kenya, by a British company without the free, prior, and informed consent of Turkana Indigenous Peoples engages the United Kingdom’s obligations to protect human rights from abuses by business enterprises abroad, say the Working Group on business and human rights and the Special Rapporteurs on Indigenous Peoples, climate change, environment, health, human rights defenders, and internally displaced persons. (GBR 21/2025)

• The operations of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a (now defunct) body registered in Switzerland which reportedly operates under the Israeli military’s control and which uses private military companies to facilitate aid distribution within Gaza “without any supervision, appropriate training on human rights and IHL or without or lacking previous experience on humanitarian work and distribution” — appear to be “contributing significantly to the worsening the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the human rights violations in the Gaza strip and in the Occupied Territory,” say the Working Group on mercenaries and the Special Rapporteurs on food, health, housing, internally displaced persons, and Palestine. (CHE 9/2025, OTH 163/2025)

Middle East

• The killing of Ms. Iftihan Al-Mashhari, the director of the Cleaning and Improvement Fund in Taiz, Yemen, is “emblematic of a systemic pattern of intimidation and political violence against women in leadership positions,” say the Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and girls and executions. (YEM 1/2026)

Other

• The termination of employment of trade union leader and human rights defender Mr. Erik Helgeson at Gothenburg RoRo Terminal AB, following a temporary blockade against the handling of all military material going to and coming from Israel in Swedish ports organized by the Swedish Dockworkers Union in the beginning of 2025, appears “to be a way to stigmatize and silence him and other human rights defenders through the use of vague or exaggerated security narratives and deter future human rights activism by trade union workers,” say the Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly. (OTH 5/2026)