THE RAPPORT – 6 July to 19 July 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

• The escalation of inter-communal violence affecting Fulani communities in Benin, stoked by “inflammatory and stigmatizing rhetoric” associating this group with terrorist organisations, engages the state’s obligation to “conduct investigations and take the necessary preventive measures” to protect the right to life, say the Working Groups on arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, housing, internally displaced persons, migrants, minorities, and torture. (BEN 1/2026)

Americas

• Allegations that the Executive Branch of the United States has sought to punish immigration lawyers whose views or actions, or the views of their clients, may not align with the government’s deportation and immigration priorities, “may amount to interference with the independence and work of the legal profession, which undermines the fairness of, and public trust in, the justice system,” say the Working Group on enforced disappearances and the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers, migrants, and trafficking of persons. (USA 14/2026)

Asia

• Decree 109/2026/NĐ-CP — which concerns broad administrative sanctions that may be imposed on lawyers in Viet Nam, including temporary deprivation of practicing certificates for vaguely defined professional conduct — erode professional independence in a way that is incompatible with the autonomy of the legal profession, as provided under international human rights law, say the Special Rapporteurs on the independence of judges and lawyers and human rights defenders. (VNM 2/2026)

• A draft bill in Bangladesh which aims to prevent and remedy enforced disappearances “may hinder Bangladesh’s efforts to effectively protect victims of enforced disappearance” by, inter alia, failing to provide for a fully inclusive participatory process in the bill’s drafting and providing a definition of enforced disappearance which does not accord with international standards, say the Working Groups on enforced disappearances and arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on executions and transitional justice. (BGD 3/2026)

Europe

• Excessive use of force, the misuse of counter-terrorism and national security charges, and administrative restrictions against members and supporters of the “Holy Struggle” protest movement in Armenia may amount to a violation of the duty to respect the right to life provided under the ICCPR, say the Working Group on arbitrary detention and the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, executions, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly, and independence of judges and lawyers. (ARM 1/2026)

• The risk of eviction and potential forced homelessness of around 400 people currently residing at the Prosfygika housing complex in Athens, Greece, may amount to a violation of the right to adequate housing, which is defined as housing that should “provide legal security of tenure, ensure availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, be affordable, habitable, accessible, in a location that allows access to services and facilities, and be culturally adequate,” say the Special Rapporteurs on housing, food, migrants, and extreme poverty. (GRC 3/2026)

• The increase of state pension age for women in Great Britain from 60 to 65 under the Pensions Act 1995, which affects approximately 3.9 million women, “may amount to gender-based discrimination against women born in the 1950s, an already vulnerable group of older women, undermining their equal rights to pension compensation in retirement,” say the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls and the Special Rapporteur on international solidarity. (GBR 7/2026)

• A new offence criminalising the “glorification of terrorism” under Article 376(2) of the new Criminal Code raises serious concerns regarding its compatibility with Belgium‘s obligations under the ICCPR, and in particular the requirement of legal certainty and the right to freedom of expression, say the Special Rapporteurs on terrorism, freedom of opinion, and human rights defenders. (BEL 1/2026)

• Italy’s Bill No. 1869 on immigration and international protection “could potentially limit the rights of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants rescued at sea, while also obstructing Search and Rescue activities carried out by civil society organisations and human rights defenders in the Central Mediterranean,” and will significantly impact the rights of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants in the process, say the Special Rapporteurs on trafficking in persons, freedom of assembly, health, human rights defenders, international solidarity, and migrants. (ITA 1/2026)

• Draft Law No. 691, which will establish a presumption of self-defence for law enforcement officers in the performance of their duties, “raises serious concerns regarding its compatibility with France’s international obligations relating to the protection of the right to life and the principle of non-discrimination,” says the Special Rapporteur on executions. (FRA 8/2026)

Middle East

• Intersecting discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, and disability against a 60 year old woman in the context of divorce proceedings in Qatar, which have reportedly resulted in forced eviction from a home she paid for, “may stem from deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes and gender stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and, in particular, regarding property ownership,” in violation of international human rights standards, say the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls. (QAT 1/2026)

• Expropriation measures targeting the archaeological site of Sebastia in Israel, which “aim at and result in cutting the longstanding cultural, social and economic ties between the local Palestinian community and the site,” jeopardises the exercise of the cultural rights of the local Palestinian population, in violation of Article 15 of the ICESCR, say the Special Rapporteurs on cultural rights and Palestine. (ISR 7/2026)

• The Special Rapporteur on transitional justice has offered his views on Syria’s draft Law on Transitional Justice, and in particular on its personal and temporal scopes and its provisions on sanctions and impunity. (SYR 3/2026)