On December 18, 2025, during its eightieth session, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in Syria.
The General Assembly welcomed the end of Asad regime in December 2024, as findings by UN bodies indicate that crimes against humanity and war crimes were committed in Syria. It noted that the Assad regime used widespread arbitrary detention, torture,...
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On December 11, 2025, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in Tsaava and Others v. Georgia, concerning the dispersal of a large-scale demonstration that took place outside the Georgian Parliament on June 20-21, 2019. The applicants, who included the demonstrators and journalists, alleged that law enforcement authorities used excessive force through the use of kinetic impact projectiles and that the subsequent investigations were ineffective. The case concerned Article 3 (prohibition...
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On December 16, 2025, the European Union (EU) and thirty-four states signed the “Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.” The Convention establishes the International Claims Commission as an independent administrative body within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe. The Commission possesses international legal personality and is mandated to review, assess, and decide claims for compensation arising from damage caused by internationally wrongful acts committed by the Russian Federation in or...
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed the transfer of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, a Libyan war crimes suspect, from Germany to its custody in The Hague, marking a significant development in efforts to hold perpetrators of atrocities in Libya accountable.
El Hishri is alleged to have been a senior official at Mitiga Prison in Libya, where thousands of people were detained for extended periods. The Office of the Prosecutor say he committed, ordered, or oversaw crimes against humanity and war crimes between February...
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The UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted a resolution directing an independent fact-finding mission to investigate reports of human rights violations including mass killings in El Fasher, North Darfur. The Council’s held its 38th special session to address the concerns over crimes against humanity and the potential risk of genocide in Sudan.
In its resolution (A/HRC/S-38/L.1), the Council condemned RSF and allied forces for killings, torture, executions, and widespread sexual and gender-based violence. UN experts reported...
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On November 6, 2025, Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision confirming 39 charges brought by the Office of the Prosecutor against Joseph Kony, founder and leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda.
The Chamber found substantial grounds to believe that Kony is responsible for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed between at least July 1, 2002, and December 31, 2005, in northern Uganda. It determined the existence of a non-international armed conflict during the...
On March 26, 2025, Germany’s federal government, the states, and the leading municipal associations signed an administrative agreement creating a new arbitral tribunal for Nazi-looted art. The agreement states the foundation for transforming the former Advisory Commission into a legally binding dispute-resolution body and strengthens Germany’s implementation of the Washington Principles.
Beginning December 1, 2025, victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs may unilaterally initiate proceedings before the tribunal, provided the cultural heritage institution has issued a standing...
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On July 9, 2025, the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court adopted by consensus Resolution ICC-ASP/S-1/Res.1, initiating a multi-year process to review the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression.
The resolution noted that, although 49 of 125 states parties have ratified the Kampala Amendments, no investigation into the crime of aggression has been conducted since the Court’s jurisdiction was activated. It also acknowledges that states parties remain divided: some view the current framework as...
A recent UN report reveals that Myanmar’s junta violence has disproportionately harmed persons with disabilities. At least 117 persons with disabilities were killed—wheelchairs, prosthetics, hearing aids often left or destroyed during attacks. Many are unable to flee quickly, and evacuation efforts are often physically inaccessible. As a result, persons with disabilities are frequently left behind during military operations, exposing them to a heightened risk of torture, ill-treatment, and lethal violence if discovered.
Under Article 11 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons...
On December 3, 2025, the Council of Europe opened for signature the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, which a regional treaty to criminalize a broad range of environmental harms. The Convention will enter into force after receiving ten ratifications, including at least eight by Council of Europe members.
The Convention implements commitments made in the 2023 Reykjavík Declaration to strengthen the Council of Europe’s work on the human rights aspects of the environment. It also responds to growing concern over the transnational...