Johannes Icking

This was Russia today Wednesday, October 22, 2025 — Meduza

Earlier this week, ICE grabbed another Russian dissident, in this case a decolonization activist from the Buryat community. If his case goes the way of Artyom Vovchenko and Leonid Melekhin, he could soon be deported and left to rot in a Russian prison. meduza.io/en/brief/202...

German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds Normalisation of far-right stances likely to affect success of such parties at ballot boxes across Europe, say researchers

"German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds.
Normalisation of far-right stances likely to affect success of such parties at ballot boxes across Europe, say researchers" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

UN experts urge Germany to halt criminalisation and police violence against Palestinian solidarity activism GENEVA – UN experts* today urged Germany to stop criminalising, punishing, and suppressing legitimate Palestinian solidarity activism.“We are alarmed by the persistent pattern of police violence and a...

UN experts urge Germany to halt criminalisation and police violence against Palestinian solidarity activism

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

HRC decision asks: Nicaragua, come back At its 60th session, the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a decision addressing Nicaragua’s non-cooperation with the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.

🌎 The Human Rights Council called on #Nicaragua to resume its cooperation with the #UniversalPeriodicReview
🇺🇳 The consideration and adoption of the country's UPR report has been postponed until #HRC63 in the hope for resumed participation
Read more here:
upr-info.org/en/news/hrc-...

All five regional groups fielded only as many candidates as there were seats available, turning the vote into a pure formality.

#HRCelections2025

These are the 14 new members elected to the UN Human Rights Council:

Africa: 🇲🇺(181 votes)🇿🇦(178)🇪🇬(173)🇦🇴 (179)
Asia & the Pacific: 🇵🇰(178)🇮🇶(175)🇻🇳(180)🇮🇳(177)
Latin America & Caribbean: 🇨🇱(173)🇪🇨(171)
Western Europe: 🇮🇹(179)🇬🇧(161)
Central & Eastern Europe: 🇸🇮(176)🇪🇪(171)

#HRCelections2025

The flag of Germany flying from the top of a building against a blue sky background.

Hearing disturbing news that German-based Egyptian WHRD Basma Mostafa continues to be subjected to threats by supporters of an Egyptian state agent who attacked her in Berlin & who was recently arrested in London for his threatening behaviour. (1/2)

Niemand in Deutschland sollte in extremer Armut leben müssen. Die teilweise oder vollständige Streichung von Sozialleistungen für Menschen in Not ist ein klarer Verstoß gegen #SozialeMenschenrechte.

www.forum-menschenrechte.de/ueberpruefun...

UN Working Group report sheds light on enforced disappearances of defenders of land, natural resources and environment GENEVA – The Working Group on enforced and involuntary disappearances today warned of an alarming global trend of enforced disappearances targeting individuals defending land, natural resources, and t...

The disappearance of #HRDs destroys families, communities & strikes at the heart of human rights struggles to clear the way for plunder & profit. States & businesses should pay close attention to this report, including key points on climate change & a just transition

www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

US-Regierung will nach Kirk-Mord NGOs an den Kragen Die US-Regierung nutzt den Mord an Charlie Kirk, um gegen missliebige Organisationen vorzugehen. Bei einer Sonderaufzeichnung der "Charlie Kirk Show" im Weißen Haus machen Vizepräsident Vance und sein...

Eine lebendige, kritische Zivilgesellschaft pauschal zu verleumden oder gar zu kriminalisieren, ist eine gängige autoritäre Praxis, die die Meinungsfreiheit mit Füßen tritt. Leider erleben wir ähnliche Tendenzen auch in Deutschland.
www.n-tv.de/politik/US-R...

FIDH Denounces Heinous US Sanctions Against Leading Palestinian Human Rights Organisations The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) denounces in the strongest terms the heinous designations imposed by the United States on (…)

FIDH denounces heinous US Sanctions against leading Palestinian Human Rights Organisations and calls on states to act in the strongest terms, including the EU, which needs to activate its Blocking Statute.
www.fidh.org/en/region/no...

@fidh-official.bsky.social

On the frontline of Cambodia’s environmental battles In July 2024, Cambodia jailed five activists from the award-winning environmentalist group Mother Nature Cambodia for plotting against the government, after they had sounded the alarm about river poll

#Cambodia: Documentary screening and panel discussion - On the frontline of Cambodia’s environmental battles - September 4, 7pm at FCCT Bangkok www.fccthai.com/events/533

Trump Administration Seeks to Elude Human Rights Scrutiny by Not Participating in UN Human Rights Review The UPR is one of the few processes where every government, including our own, has an opportunity to both report on its progress and hold others to account.

Unprecedented.

The United States might be on track to become the first country to fully walk away from the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a regular, important human rights related review.

www.amnestyusa.org/press-releas...

Submit Information to an Annual Report The Special Rapporteur submits two thematic reports each year on the situation of human rights defenders. HRDs, civil society, States, businesses, intergovernmental organisations and others are invite...

📣 Human rights defenders: we want to hear from you! Please respond to the questions at the following link to help inform my final report to the Human Rights Council next March. I am hoping to get an understanding of how you are managing in these very challenging times
srdefenders.org/submit-infor...

Philippines: detention and continued criminalisation of woman human rights defender Salome Crisostomo Ujan (joint communication) This is the summary of a joint communication sent to the Government of the Philippines about the arrest, detention and continued criminalisation of WHRD Salome 'Sally' Crisostomo Ujano.

Now public: I wrote to the Government of the #Philippines about the arrest, detention & continued criminalisation of woman human rights defender Salome “Sally” Crisostomo Ujano. Regrettably, the Government did not respond.
srdefenders.org/philippines-...

Ich habe öfter von Journalisten gesagt bekommen: Aber die Menschenrechte, die nach 1945 verabschiedet wurden stammen aus einer anderen Zeit, heute sei eine Mehrheit der Bevölkerung gegen universale Rechte für alle.

Aber gab es 1948 (AEMR), 1950 (EMRK) und 1951 (GFK) Mehrheiten für Menschenrechte?

🌐 🔎 This new ICNL guide clarifies how states can comply with the Financial Action Task Force (#FATF) Recommendations while also promoting an enabling a positive environment for #CivilSociety - including concrete examples of good practices and strategies:www.icnl.org/post/tools/p...

I feel this scoop did not get all the attention it deserves yet:

🚨 UN spokesperson condemns US sanctions on #Israel #Palestine expert @franceskalbs.bsky.social

“The imposition of sanctions on special rapporteurs is a dangerous precedent…The use of unilateral sanctions against special rapporteurs, or any other UN official or expert, is unacceptable.”

'It is the role of justice to deal with this man': How the trial of Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie shook the world In July 1987, the "Butcher of Lyon" was sentenced to life in prison by a French court. Four years earlier, the BBC reported on how France felt about this reckoning with its dark past.

"That Barbie had prospered in South America, while working for various intelligence agencies... cast a spotlight on Western governments' complicity and their willingness to ignore violence to civilians and human rights violations in the face of geopolitical calculations." www.bbc.com/culture/arti...

The United States says that directly engaging with the ICC in efforts to investigate nationals of a non-State Party is a gross infringement of sovereignty justifying unilateral sanctions.

Putin must be pleased.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for

Haibatullah Akhundzada, Supreme Leader of the Taliban, and

Abdul Hakim Haqqani, Chief Justice of the Taliban,

for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds.

www.icc-cpi.int/news/situati...

Historically, perhaps the most important question deciding the fate of democracy has been: Will mainstream conservatives and centrist elites hold the line against the extreme Right - or give themselves permission to accommodate and support the extremists as a way of consolidating their own power?

Young activists risk all to defend Cambodia’s environment One year ago, Cambodia jailed five activists from the award-winning environmentalist group Mother Nature Cambodia for plotting against the government, after they had sounded the alarm about river poll...

#Cambodia: The Clearing - Mother Nature’s young activists risk all to defend the environment - Must-see @mongabay.com video news.mongabay.com/video/2025/0...

go.bsky.app/EGNUpd3

📢 The #GlobalTortureIndex is LIVE

🧭 A bold, data-driven tool exposing the risk of torture in 26 countries — from police stations to prisons, protests and beyond.

💬 “A barometer of the rule of law in times of growing authoritarianism,” says OMCT’s Secretary General.

🔗 www.omct.org/en/global-to...

Infographic PHILIPPINES: FREE EXPRESSION UNDER ATTACK Key Findings Red-tagging: Used by state officials to vilify human rights defenders, students, and media * Journalists murdered: 4 killed under Marcos Jr.; 117 in 30 years, only 10 resolved (UNESCO) Arbitrary Detention: Young journalists like Frenchie Mae Cumpio held for over 5 years • Censorship: Websites blocked, press self-censors 4A Impunity & inaction! No serious reforms yet, slow judicial processes Recommendations Abolish the red-tagging task force (NTF-ELCAC) Release arbitrarily detained civic actors Decriminalise libel & reform Anti-Terrorism Act Enshrine media protections in law The logo of Human Rights Index at the bottom right

#HRC59, @irene-khan.bsky.social warns:

Silencing civil society 🚨
Journalists, activists detained without reason ⛓️
People killed; no one held responsible ⚖️
Websites blocked 📵

End harassment. Reform laws. Protect press freedom & civic space in the Philippines 📢

🔗 www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...

Urgent support needed for the UN Treaty Bodies The undersigned civil society organisations issue this statement at a time of profound crisis of the UN, and the human rights mechanisms in particular. The international human rights treaties are an…

Urgent support needed for the UN Treaty Bodies 📢
On the occasion of the 37th annual meeting of the chairpersons of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies, civil society organisations made a joint call to preserve this ‘essential part of the UN’s human rights ecosystem’.
ishr.ch/latest-updat...

Großartig! Die Lageberichte des Auswärtigen Amtes müssen veröffentlicht und dürfen nicht zurückgehalten werden. 👍