On 25 September 2025, 11 States raised individual cases of intimidation and reprisal in 15 different countries and territories at the Human Rights Council‘s 60th session. The cases of Kadar Abdi Ibrahim (Djibouti) and Loujain Al-Hathloul (Saudi Arabia) were cited by States. Cases from ISHR’s 2022 and 2024 campaigns were also among the cases mentioned, as well as the case of Basma Mostafa (Egypt) facing transnational repression.
On 16 October 2025, at the Third Committee of the General Assembly‘s 80th session, specific cases and situations of intimidation and reprisal were raised again by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg during this dialogue with the Assistant Secretary-General. They raised the cases of Human Rights Center Viasna (Belarus), Chow Hang Tung (Hong Kong) and Pham Doan Trang (Viet Nam).
Additionally, 70 States joined the cross-regional statement on reprisals led by Ireland and Uruguay, delivered at the General Discussion on the promotion and protection of human rights (item 71) at the General Assembly’s Third Committee.
Travel bans, what does this mean in practice?
A travel ban may be less visible than a prison cell, but its impact is deeply damaging. It restricts defenders from attending UN meetings, carrying out their work, reuniting with family or seeking international protection. As reprisals evolve, what started as detention can turn into surveillance, harassment, or restrictions on movement. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2025/09/15/tomorrow-16-9-25-in-geneva-packed-with-courage-stories-of-human-rights-defenders-banned-from-travelling/]
This is what happened to Loujain and Mohamed, prominent human rights defenders from Saudi Arabia and Egypt respectively.
Meanwhile, Anexa, an Indigenous human rights defender, is unable to return to her home country of Nicaragua, and Kadar from Djibouti had his passport confiscated since 2018, preventing him from leaving the country and doing his work.
IThrough this campaign, we share their stories. These are not just cases of reprisals — they are real lives disrupted, silenced, and confined. But they are also stories of resilience and perseverance for social change.
Loujain Al-Hathloul
Loujain is an iconic figure in Saudi Arabia’s women’s rights movement. She has actively campaigned for women’s rights in the country and against the driving ban imposed on women. She has also publicly and consistently called for the dismantlement of the male guardianship system.
Mohamed El-Baqer is a human rights lawyer from Egypt. He is the director of the Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms, founded in 2014. It is a non-governmental, independent legal and human rights organisation with a focus on four Programmes: 1) Criminal Justice 2) Student Rights and Academic Freedoms; 3) Refugees; 4) and Minorities. All these Programmes are implemented through legal support and strategic litigation, research, monitoring and documentation, advocacy activities and capacity-building. [https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/a845697d-4b51-4e7f-b7d0-219c1e18ecd3]
Anexa Alfred Cunningham is a Miskitu Indigenous leader, woman human rights defender, lawyer and expert on Indigenous Peoples’ rights from Nicaragua. She defends the ancestral land and natural resources of Indigenous and Afro-descendant Peoples of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. She has also worked with Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities to investigate the many abuses they suffer and denounce them to the United Nations. These Peoples face attacks by armed groups who seek to take away their ancestral territory with the State’s approval.
Kadar Abdi Ibrahim is a human rights defender and journalist from Djibouti. He has drawn inspiration from historic figures in the human rights movement in the hopes of building a solid and lasting democracy in his country. From 2015, Kadar was the co-director and chief editor of L’Aurore, Djibouti’s only privately-owned media outlet. In 2016, the newspaper was banned following the publication of a story on one of the victims of the Buldhuqo massacre, crackdown by Djibouti security forces on a religious celebration and a meeting of the opposition on 21 December 2015 that left at least 27 people dead. Kadar is also the president of the political party Movement for Democracy and Freedom (MoDEL) since December 2021. Over the years, Kadar has been arrested several times by the police in an attempt to silence him.
#EndReprisals
Join our campaign by writing a letter to State representatives so they publicly raise the cases of Kadar, Anexa, Loujain and Mohamed at the General Assembly’s Third Committee in New York.
ISHR’s #EndReprisals database
In order to assist stakeholders with research, analysis and action on cases of reprisals and intimidation, ISHR launched an online database compiling cases or situations of intimidation and reprisals documented by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General between 2010 and 2024.
https://ishr.ch/campaigns/endreprisals2025
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.