Secretary General of “Friends of the Earth Norway”, Maren Esmark, speaks of how human activity ‘has exceeded the tolerance limits of our planet’. Despite winning the European Green Capital Award for 2019, Norway is Western Europe’s largest oil producer, which continues to draw much …

The Kyrgyz Republic has eradicated statelessness in just 5 years from over 13000 to zero. Marin Roman, Regional Protection Officer for statelessness for the UNHCR, describes the impact of the #IBELONG campaign …

Ananas Girmai, founder and director of PROCS (Protection, Respect and Opportunity for Children on the Street) talks about the importance of taking working children off the streets of Addis and providing them with full- time education. Formed in 2001, PROCS teaches children how to play …

Every morning, millions of people queue up under the scorching sun in India’s sixth largest city of Chennai to fill up their cans and pots with water from trucks dispatched by the state. It is the first major city in India to be left without water in the worst heat wave in the country’s history that …

Investigative journalist and filmmaker Benjamin Best exposes the plight of Nepalese migrant workers in Qatar in his latest documentary. “Trapped in Qatar”. He uncovers the death of 1,426 Nepalese workers mainly employed in Qatar’s construction industry racing to build the …

Shiva Mahbobi – Human Rights Advocate, Spokesperson for Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran and former political prisoner speaks out against the Dutch government’s decision to invite Iranian authorities to The Netherlands for talks while other countries call for political prisoners to …

Oxfam Country Director in Ethiopia, Gezahegn Kebede Gebrehana, describes the evolution of Oxfam’s work since it set up operations in Ethiopia in 1974 to manage the famine crisis- highlighted by Live Aid in 1985- until today, where Oxfam works to empower women and landless youths, to …

IOHR joined Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and tens of thousands of people across the UK to protest against Donald Trump’s policies and his state visit to London. His policies ranging from the executive order that restricts entry to the US from certain countries, to the wall with Mexico and …

Thirty years after the Tiananmen Square protests, the world except China remembers the brutal crack down on students and activists. Thousands of people lost their lives while demanding democratic reforms. Yang Jianli was one of the students protesting in Beijing. He recalls his …

The Oslo Freedom Forum returned to the Norwegian capital for it’s 11th year, bringing the world of human rights together to debate under the banner of “Unite”. The forum gave a platform to the oppressed, such as Uyghur advocate Nury Turkel and offered solutions to sanction …

After years of criticism, the Canadian Museum for Human Rights has now recognised the plight of Indigenous Peoples in Canada as an act of genocide. To what extent can the word genocide be used? How can genocide related trauma impact Indigenous communities today? Laith Marouf …

The unprecedented Venezuelan crisis is the biggest crisis in the hemisphere. For more than two years and due to ongoing political turmoil a regular stream of Venezuelans have crossed the borders to Colombia. 40% of Venezuelans in the country reside with no legal status. At least 3,290 newborns …

The World Press Freedom Day annual event organized by the UN took place in Ethiopia in recognition of the extraordinary turn around of press freedoms in the country following the election of Dr Abiy Ahmed. 110 is the position of Ethiopia on the annual global World Press …

In 2015, David Hyde, an unpaid United Nations intern, was unable to complete his internship programme because he couldn’t afford Geneva’s high rents. He ended up living in a tent on the street. 67% of all unpaid UN interns come from high-income countries …

After South Sudan’s independence in 2011, the world’s youngest country plunged into conflict again in 2013. This film by the Thomson Reuters Foundation tells the story of South Sudan’s young artists battling for peace with the music, film and poetry.

Actor George Clooney and his wife, prominent British lawyer Amal Clooney, launch TrialWatch, an initiative to monitor courtrooms worldwide in partnership with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, The American Bar Association, Columbia Law …

A rare and vivid insight into the shadowy, brutal world of human trafficking. Through candid interviews a Mexican family of former sex traffickers reveal their dark past.

“Give Women a Choice” was the main chant at the protest organized by IOHR outside the Iranian Embassy in London. Dozens of protesters came out to call for the release of women jailed in Iran for protesting against the compulsory hijab (veiling law) forcing …

“Come see for yourself.” says H.E. Mr Fesseha Shawel Gebre, Ethiopian Ambassador to the UK as he describes the new reforms under the new leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in February 2018. Since then, Ethiopia released 7000 prisoners and today …

Inspired by Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ART for The World engages art to highlight the most captivating human rights issues of our time. Founder Adelina von Fürstenberg speaks about the importance of the relationship between …

Shaparak Shajarizadeh is an avid supporter of the #WhiteWednesdays movement, which encourages Iranian women to remove their headscarves on Wednesdays or wear a white shawl as a way to oppose compulsory hijab laws in Iran. She was jailed, tortured and …

Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad started the White Wednesdays movement in 2017 to encourage Iranian women to wear white headscarves on Wednesdays to protest the compulsory hijab (veiling) laws in Iran. After the 1979 revolution, Iranian women have been …

Jemma Levene, Deputy Director of Hope Not Hate, speaks about the charity’s vital role in monitoring and uncovering far-right groups and individuals online in a bid to prevent the deadly violence. A dramatic increase in far-right extremism in western Europe has left …

The International Committee of the Red Cross, a top humanitarian institution and three-time Nobel Prize Laureate operates in 90 countries to help people affected by conflict and armed violence, and promoting the rules of war. The work they do to save victims of war includes …

The Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy brought together diverse speakers: dissidents, human rights victims, politicians and families of political prisoners from around the world to advocate for freedom, rule of law at a time of a global need for human rights advocacy. Families of innocent prisoners jailed in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and China…

Julie Ward a member of European Parliament shares her efforts to counter human rights violations in Turkey. An advocate for refugees, women’s rights, and freedom of expression Ward explains how she was arrested in Turkey in 2016 as she arrived to attend a conference on human rights in a country where more than 200 journalists…

Although Islamist extremism remains a serious threat in the UK, the rise in far-right violence has started to make headlines across the country, Europe and the world. As this occurs, both groups feed off each other’s rhetoric and community support becomes essential to the government’s efforts to tackle their ideologies.

IOHR brought families of children whose parents joined militant groups in Syria to the London School of Economics to understand their plight and discuss processes put in place to bring their innocent grandchildren back home. The panel included human rights barrister Usha R Sood, former Al Qaeda member and founder of Active Change Foundation Hanif…

A grandmother challenges the Belgian government to bring her six grandchildren aged from 11 months to seven years back to Belgium from Syria. Between 2013 and 2014 her son Noureddine and his wife Tatiana, as well as her daughter Bouchra, and her son-in-law, flew to Syria to join militant groups with their young children. Less…

IOHR launched its women’s rights campaign, #ItsNotAMatch at the Million Women Rise march open to women only in London. The campaign aims to deter online sex trafficking and raising awareness against this worldly crime. A number of IOHR ambassadors joined the march which had a diverse group of women protesters from all around the world…