“There should be no returns to an unsafe Afghanistan and no deportations built on deals with the Taliban. If EU countries engage at all, their focus should be human rights, not migration control." Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan Researcher, Human Rights Watch.

Analysis: Why is Saudi Arabia executing so many people, especially foreign nationals, for drug-related offences? Saudi Arabia has a long history of strict drug control laws and using the death penalty for drug-related offences. Yet even by historical standards, the current surge in executions is dramatic.

Executions carried out by #SaudiArabia's authorities under King Salman have now surpassed 2000.

Our latest analysis piece looks at the troubling rise in executions, particularly of foreign nationals, convicted of drug-related offences.

www.alqst.org/en/post/anal...

Beijing-Pyongyang Thaw Leaves North Koreans No Escape Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi traveled to Pyongyang for his first visit since 2019. During the trip, he met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hu...

This month Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi traveled to Pyongyang for his first visit since 2019. As the relationship between China and North Korea deepens, North Koreans trying to escape across the border face even greater risks of forced return. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

It really doesn't matter who issues the invitation or where the meeting is held - these talks should not happen, if the EU wants to maintain its moral standing when it comes to Afghanistan - and more broadly, human rights and accountability

It pens a yearly resolution that recognizes the gravity of the ongoing human rights crisis, yet it wants to discuss deporting Afghans back to Afghanistan - with the same de facto authorities whose policies continue to force people to flee the country.

The hypocrisy is strong with this one.

The EU leads at the UN to ensure accountability for crimes committed by #Taliban, yet invites them for talks in Brussels.

www.euractiv.com/news/exclusi...

Vilma Núñez and Khurram Parvez Re-elected as Deputy Secretaries-General of FIDH On 28 March 2026, the International Bureau of FIDH re-elected Vilma Núñez and Khurram Parvez to the positions of Deputy Secretaries-General, roles (…)

#Kashmir #Nicaragua: FIDH's Intl Board recently re-elected Vilma Núñez and Khurram Parvez to the positions of Deputy Secretaries-General. Mr. Parvez is imprisoned, while Ms. Núñez, stripped of her citizenship, is stateless and vulnerable in her own country
www.fidh.org/en/about-us/...

China: Pressure on Catholics Escalates Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official church.

The Chinese government has intensified ideological control, surveillance, restrictions on religious activities, and foreign ties of Catholic in China. The 2018 agreement with the Holy See has helped Beijing to escalate pressure on underground communities.

www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

🛑 La France bloque le visa de Shawan Jabarin président de l'ONG @alhaq.bsky.social, malgré son rendez-vous avec le ministère des affaires étrangères !

Il n'a pas pu témoigner devant la commission que je préside.

@jnbarrot.bsky.social doit impérativement revenir sur cette décision !

Parliament to host a debate with Iranian opposition voices | News | European Parliament On Wednesday at 14.30, MEPs and advocates for a free Iran will discuss the events unfolding in the country.

Parliament to host a debate with Iranian opposition voices

On Wednesday at 14.30, MEPs and advocates for a free Iran will discuss the events unfolding in the country.

WHERE: Room 3C50 SPAAK building, Brussels.

Details ⤵️
www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pres...

#Thailand: we @fidh-official.bsky.social with our Thai members Union for Civil Liberty, Internet Law Reform Dialogue and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights urge the new government to prioritize 10 long-standing human rights issues in an open letter to PM Anutin Charnvirakul

www.fidh.org/en/region/as...

We are deeply concerned about his wellbeing and urge the Chinese authorities to ensure his immediate release after serving his sentence, allow him to reunite with his family in Beijing, and guarantee his ability to freely exercise his human rights

#China: Human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng is expected to be released on 13 April after completing a 3-year sentence following his baseless conviction for “inciting subversion of state power”.

www.fidh.org/en/region/as...

New PRC Ethnic Unity and Progress Law enforces assimilation of Tibetans, contradicts national and international law Accordingly, the Constitution of the PRC provided the highest legal guarantee to “minority” ethnic communities by mandating that “[r]egional autonomy is practiced in areas where people of minority ethnicities live in concentrated communities; in these areas organs of self-government are established to exercise the power of autonomy.”

ICYM: our member @savetibet.bsky.social has published a must-read analysis of #China 's newPromoting Ethnic Unity and Progress law (passed by the NPC in March) and how it will impact Tibetans & other minorities. The law will come into force on 1 July.
Read it here: savetibet.org/new-prc-ethn...

J&K's Vanishing Lakes: CAG Says No One is in Charge A CAG performance audit of Jammu and Kashmir’s lakes reveals a systemic collapse in conservation, with 315 of 697 natural lakes having vanished and 203 more significantly shrunk between 1967 and 2020. Despite a draft law pending for over 22 years, there is no dedicated legislation, no single nodal authority, and responsibilities are scattered across nine under-resourced institutions that have failed to survey, demarcate, or protect most water bodies. Only six lakes receive any structured conservation funding, encroachments and construction have been allowed on hundreds of hectares of lake land, and even flagship projects like Dal Lake’s restoration are marred by malfunctioning sewage treatment plants, incomplete projects, and unproductive expenditure, underscoring a governance vacuum that is accelerating ecological loss.

Jammu and Kashmir has no law dedicated to protecting lakes and water bodies, no single authority responsible for their conservation, and active conservation programmes for only six.

kashmirtimes.com/news/jks-van...

#Iran: we @fidh-official.bsky.social & our member org LDDHI strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest of prominent Iranian human rights lawyer & #SakharovPrize laureate Nasrin Sotoudeh.
--> we call on the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release her

www.fidh.org/en/region/as...

Bangladesh: Urgently Pass the National Human Rights Commission and Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinances - Robert & Ethel Kennedy Human Rights Center We strongly urge the Government of Bangladesh to enact the National Human Rights Commission Ordinance 2025 and the Enforced Disappearance Prevention and Remedy Ordinance 2025.

#Bangladesh: @fidh-official.bsky.social joins 11 orgs to urge the new government to urgently pass the NHRC & enforced disappearances ordinances - which are set to lapse tomorrow. Failing to do so would be a tremendous setback

Read the full statement: kennedyhumanrights.org/our-voices/b...

Trump has openly threatened to commit genocide and war crimes in #Iran - the EU and member states must make it clear that this is unacceptable and that he and his administration will be held accountable for violations of international law.

On 30 March 2026, the Israeli Parliament adopted new amendments expanding the use of the death penalty.

FIDH and its member organisations call on the international community to respond in the strongest terms.

www.fidh.org/en/region/no...

Israel: FIDH condemns Knesset approval of capital punishment for Palestinians The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation B’Tselem, strongly condemn new legislative amendments adopted by (…)

#Israel: @fidh-official.bsky.social & its member B'Tselem strongly condemn new legislation that vastly expands use of #deathpenalty + discriminates against Palestinians
www.fidh.org/en/region/no... #AbolitionNow

Infographic highlighting the discrepancies between the best and worst practices observed in Thai prisons in 2025

Beyond the statistics though, what we found is that the gap between the best and worst practices is huge. Although these "best" practices are still below intl standards, lifting conditions in all prisons to this level would mark an important step towards improving Thailand's prison conditions

Also:
--> 84% of prisons operating above max official capacity
--> 70% of prisoners incarcerated for drug-related offenses
--> 43% of recidivist prisoners

BUT there have also been negative developments:
--> 7% increase in total prison population
--> 13% increase in # of prisoners under death sentence
--> 15% increase in # of drug-related cases brought before first instance courts
--> 4% increase in # of inmates incarcerated for drug-related offenses

Not all is bad:
--> availability of proper treatment & medication for chronic illnesses
--> availability of gender-affirming hormone therapy in at least 1 facility
--> investigations into preferential treatment afforded to certain inmates

Thailand: New report highlights wide discrepancies in conditions among prisons The Thailand annual prison report 2026, produced by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in cooperation with the Union for Civil (…)

#Thailand: our @fidh-official.bsky.social 2026 annual prison report is out! The key takeaway: prison conditions remain poor and well below international standards, with huge discrepancies between different prisons. Read it here:
www.fidh.org/en/region/as...

India: Kashmiri journalist and human rights defender Irfan Mehraj held for three-years in pre-trial detention As journalist and human rights defender Irfan Mehraj marks three years in arbitrary detention tomorrow, the Observatory for the Protection of (…)

#Kashmir: @fidh-official.bsky.social + 32 other orgs call on the #India authorities to immediately & unconditional release HRD and journalist Irfan Mehraj, on the 3 years of his arbitrary detention
www.fidh.org/en/region/as...

EU-India: Crucial partners must prioritize human rights at forthcoming summit – European Institutions Office Amnesty International urges the European Union and India to work together to counter global attacks on human rights.

It’s time for the EU & India to:

➡️Get their houses in order on human rights

➡️Deliver on their promises and

➡️Counter mounting global attacks on human rights www.amnesty.eu/news/eu-indi...

👉EU member states have rolled back respect for rights & the rule of law, affecting the rights of people, including refugees & migrants, across Europe & at its borders

👉Rights defenders, activists & civil society increasingly face restrictions, smear campaigns & criminalization

👉India weaponizes repressive laws against peaceful dissent, harassing & detaining rights defenders, journalists & civil society

👉Abusive, discriminatory laws & policies persist alongside punitive demolition of Muslim homes despite a Supreme Court ruling & calls by UN experts

Today, India's foreign minister Jaishankar meets his EU counterparts, shortly after the EU-India summit & signing of the free trade agreement.

Both sides committed to strengthen the partnership "based on shared values & principles" but as ties deepen, human rights deserve more than a token mention.