Human Rights Foundation (HRF)
We promote and protect democracy & human rights around the world, with a focus on authoritarian regimes.
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- As Thailand approaches its general election and constitutional referendum, we, the Human Rights Foundation, ARTICLE 19, Fortify Rights, FORUM-ASIA, and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (...)
- (...) express deep concern that restrictions on freedom of expression have precluded meaningful discussion of human rights issues from public debate.
- On Feb. 8, Thai voters will elect a new government and vote whether to replace the military-drafted 2017 constitution with one that enshrines political rights and civic freedoms.
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View full threadWe call on Thailand to respect freedom of expression. Read our full joint statement: hrf.org/latest/joint...
- HRF condemns the Burkina Faso military regime’s decision to dissolve all political parties. This audacious power grab is an affront to the Burkinabè people’s decades-long struggle for political pluralism.
- On Jan. 29, Burkina Faso’s military regime dissolved all political parties by decree and abolished all laws regulating political organizations, citing the need to “rebuild the state” and safeguard national unity.
- The move follows similar actions taken by neighboring juntas ruling Mali and Niger in 2025. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/...
- Since seizing power in a 2022 coup, the military regime has consolidated authoritarian control by suppressing political opposition, silencing critics, and manipulating information to cover up its abuses and obscure the country’s worsening insecurity crisis. www.cfr.org/articles/cul...
- HRF welcomes ASEAN’s decision not to recognize Burma's recent elections. These elections were widely viewed as the junta's attempt to seek international legitimacy.
- The Burmese junta borrowed the sham election blueprint directly from the dictator’s playbook. After three stages of voting held in December 2025 and January 2026, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party claimed victory. apnews.com/article/asea...
- Major opposition parties, including the National League for Democracy, were barred from participating, and dissent was severely repressed in the lead-up to the vote. Moreover, a quarter of parliamentary seats were reserved for the military.
- The junta orchestrated a one-horse race as human rights violations continue under military rule. HRF calls on ASEAN to stand by its decision to promote regional peace. hrf.org/latest/south...
- As negotiations continue, Russia is pushing a new narrative: that peace in Ukraine can be achieved if Kyiv cedes the Donbas. Yet this war was never just about territory. It has always been about destroying Ukrainian sovereignty.
- When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Putin claimed his goal was to "denazify" the country, accusing Kyiv of genocide, fascism, and threatening ethnic Russians. But these lies were aimed at justifying regime change, not defending the Donbas.
- Putin's deeper aim? To erase Ukrainian identity, restore a "Russian world," and block Ukraine from joining the West. Russian state media even claimed the war would return Ukraine to its "natural state" as part of Russia.
- Russia’s war is about power, control, and erasing Ukraine’s independence. Giving up territory in the Donbas won't bring peace — it would reward aggression. Read the full op-ed by Casey Michel for The Moscow Times: www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/01/30/d...
- We're hiring! HRF is looking for a Research & Editorial Specialist to lead original work at the intersection of human rights and emerging technologies. From Bitcoin to AI, your writing will expose repression and elevate solutions.
- If you're interested in leading the creation of rigorous, accessible content that reaches human rights defenders, journalists, and policy experts around the world, apply here: hrf.org/career/freed...
- HRF, together with its partner the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), urges the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) to intervene in the case of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj.
- Mehraj has spent more than 1000 days in pretrial detention without a start date for his trial or a decision on his bail application. His case exemplifies India’s practice of "trial by jail," whereby the legal process itself becomes the punishment.
- Mehraj worked as a journalist for major international and local news outlets, and as a researcher for the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).
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View full threadHRF and FORUM-ASIA call on the UNWGAD to declare Mehraj’s detention arbitrary under international law and demand his immediate release. Read HRF’s full statement: hrf.org/latest/hrf-u...
- While welcoming the release of more than 100 prisoners of conscience, HRF calls on the Delcy Rodríguez dictatorship to immediately and unconditionally release the remaining 600 innocents who remain wrongfully imprisoned, many of whom have endured torture.
- World democracies must increase the pressure on Rodríguez's de facto regime for all prisoners to be freed and for a transition to democracy to follow.
- Over the weekend, the NGO @ForoPenal confirmed the release of more than 100 prisoners of conscience, bringing the total number of those released since Jan. 8 to 266. However, more than 600 prisoners of conscience remain unlawfully behind bars. www.reuters.com/world/americ...
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View full threadWhile this release is welcome news, some Venezuelan prisoners of conscience are not yet free. Rocio San Miguel, a prominent human rights defender who was recently released, remains barred from speaking publicly as a condition of her release imposed by the regime. www.infobae.com/venezuela/20...
- HRF strongly condemns the prosecution of Hong Kong activists for commemorating the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Framing peaceful remembrance as a threat to national security is a grave assault on both historical truth and freedoms of expression and assembly.
- Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho are accused of “inciting subversion” under Hong Kong's national security law for organizing annual vigils to remember the 1989 Tiananmen massacre. They could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. www.bbc.com/news/article...
- HRF stands in firm solidarity with those who refuse to forget Tiananmen Square. Preserving memory and truth is not a crime. Hong Kong’s courts must not be used to enforce Beijing’s campaign of repression and historical erasure.
- We're hiring! HRF is looking for a Legal Associate to join our struggle for freedom at the global level. If you have experience in international human rights law, litigation before the UN or regional bodies, and are passionate about defending dissidents, we'd like to hear from you.
- If you're interested in helping lead submissions to the UN Special Procedures, draft legal briefs & policy memos, and support advocacy for political prisoners worldwide, apply here: hrf.org/career/inter...
