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	Human Rights Watch World Report 2026 by Philippe Bolopion Executive Director   The global human rights system is in peril. Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms.   To defy this trend, governments that still value human rights, alongside social movements, civil society, and international institutions, need to form a strategic alliance to push back.   To be fair, the downward spiral predated Trump’s re-election. The democratic wave that began over 50 years ago has given way to what scholars term a “democratic recession.” Democracy is now back to 1985 levels according to some metrics, with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under autocracy. Russia and China are less free today than 20 years ago. And so is the United States.   Of course, democracy is not a panacea for human rights violations; the US and other longtime democracies have their own histories of colonial crimes, racism, abusive justice systems, and wartime atrocities. More recently, authoritarian leaders have exploited public mistrust and anger to win elections and then dismantled the very institutions that brought them to power.   Democratic institutions are crucial to represent the will of the people and keep power in check. It’s no surprise that whenever democracy is undermined, rights are too, as evident in recent years in India, Turkiye, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Hungary.   In this context, 2025 may be seen as a tipping point. In just 12 months, the Trump administration has carried out a broad assault on key pillars of US democracy and the global rules-based order, which the US, despite inconsistencies, was, with other states, instrumental in helping to establish.   In short order, Trump’s second-term administration has undermined trust in the sanctity of elections, reduced government accountability, gutted food assistance and healthcare subsidies, attacked judicial independence, defied court orders, rolled back women’s rights, obstructed access to abortion care, undermined remedies for racial harm, terminated programs mandating accessibility for people with disabilities, punished free speech, stripped protections from trans and intersex people, eroded privacy, and used government power to intimidate political opponents, the media, law firms, universities, civil society, and even comedians.   Claiming a risk of “civilizational erasure” in Europe and leaning on racist tropes to cast entire populations as unwelcome in the US, the Trump administration has embraced policies and rhetoric that align with white nationalist ideology.   Immigrants and asylum seekers have been subjected to inhumane conditions and degrading treatment; 32 died in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2025, and as of mid-January 2026, an additional 4 have died.   Masked immigration enforcement agents have targeted people of color, using excessive force, terrorizing communities, wrongfully arresting scores of citizens, and, most recently, unjustifiably killing two people in Minneapolis, whose deaths Human Rights Watch has documented.   The US president of course has the authority to tighten US borders and enforce stricter immigration policies. The administration is not, however, entitled to deny legal process to asylum seekers, mistreat undocumented migrants, or unlawfully discriminate. In a well-functioning democracy, no electoral mandate should supersede domestic legislation, constitutional protections, or international human rights law. Trump’s team has repeatedly bypassed these guardrails.   The violations have not stopped at the border. The Trump administration used a 1798 law to send hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to an infamous prison in El Salvador, where they were tortured and sexually abused. Its blatantly unlawful strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific extrajudicially killed more than 120 people whom Trump claims were drug traffickers.   After the US attacked Venezuela and apprehended its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, Trump claimed the US would “run” the country and control its vast oil reserves. Despite paying lip service to human rights concerns under Maduro at the United Nations, Trump has worked with the same repressive apparatus to further US interests. Many Western allies have chosen to stay silent about these lawless moves, perhaps fearing erratic tariffs and blowback to their alliances.   Trump’s foreign policy has upended the foundations of the rules-based order that seeks to advance democracy and human rights, even if imperfectly.   Trump has boasted that he doesn’t “need international law” as a constraint, only his “own morality.” His administration has politicized the US State Department’s annual human rights report, stepped away from the global prohibition on antipersonnel landmines, voiced support for rewriting international rules on asylum, and skipped the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of the US’ human rights record.   His administration withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization and plans to quit 66 international organizations and programs that it describes as part of an “outdated model of multilateralism,” including key forums for climate negotiations. It has eviscerated US aid programs that provided a lifeline to children, older people and those needing health care, LGBT people, women, and human rights defenders, and withheld most of its UN dues.   Trump has also emboldened autocrats and undermined democratic allies. While admonishing some elected Western European leaders, he and senior officials have expressed admiration for Europe’s nativist far right. He has favored autocrats such as Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, while continuing decades of US support to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.   His administration has unjustifiably imposed sanctions to punish respected Palestinian human rights organizations, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor and many of its judges, a UN special rapporteur, and for several months, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and his wife.   The institutional response in the US to Trump’s power grabs has been shockingly muted. Much of Congress, controlled by his own party, has not challenged his supercharged expansion of executive power. The leaders of the US’ most powerful technology companies have made significant donations and sought to placate the president. Some big law firms and prestigious universities have made deals rather than assert their independence, and some media organizations seem afraid to attract the president’s ire.   Has the US switched sides on the human rights playing field? While US engagement with human rights institutions has always been selective, China and Russia have long pursued an illiberal agenda. They stand much to gain from a US government that now expresses open hostility to universal rights. China and Russia remain strategic rivals of the US, but all three countries are now led by leaders who share open disdain for norms and institutions that could constrain their power.   Together, they wield considerable economic, military, and diplomatic power. If they were to consistently act as allies of convenience to erode global rules, they could threaten the entire system. Already, a loose international network of countries such as North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Myanmar, Cuba, and Belarus work in concert with Russia and China. These leaders share very little ideologically but align in undermining human rights and promoting a regressive international agenda. In word and in practice, the US government is now helping them in this endeavor.   The US’ weakening of multilateral institutions also dealt a serious blow to global efforts to prevent or stop grave international crimes. The “never again” movement, born from the horrors of the Holocaust and reignited by the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, spurred the UN General Assembly to embrace the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in 2005. Meant to guide international intervention to prevent and stop atrocities in tandem with efforts to prosecute and punish serious crimes, R2P made a real difference in places like the Central African Republic and Kenya.   Today, R2P is rarely invoked and the ICC is under siege. In addition to Trump’s far-reaching sanctions, in December 2025 a Moscow court sentenced the ICC prosecutor and eight of its judges to prison terms in absentia. Moreover, despite being ICC fugitives, in 2025, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was welcomed by Donald Trump in Alaska, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Hungary, an ICC member state at the time, at Orban’s invitation.   Twenty years ago, the US government and civil society were instrumental in galvanizing a response to mass atrocities in Darfur. Sudan is burning again, but this time under Trump, with relative impunity. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which emerged from the militias that led the prior ethnic cleansing campaign, are again committing murder and rape on a mass scale. A growing body of evidence indicates that the UAE, a longtime US ally that recently made multi-billion-dollar deals with Trump, is providing the RSF with military support.   In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Israeli armed forces have committed acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, killing over 70,000 people since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel and displacing the vast majority of Gaza’s population. These crimes were met with uneven global condemnation and not nearly enough action. Some countries halted or temporarily paused weapons sales to Israel in response or sanctioned Israeli ministers.   Trump, however, continued a long-standing US policy of almost unconditional support to Israel, even as the International Court of Justice is weighing allegations of genocide and has issued binding orders under the Genocide Convention to protect Palestinians’ rights.   Trump announced in February an alarming US plan to transform Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” free of Palestinians, which would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing. As implementation of the 20-point Trump peace plan has stalled, the administration has further normalized the dispossession of Palestinians through its failure to publicly protest Israel’s regular killing of those approaching the “yellow line” that now divides Gaza, its ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes, and unlawful restrictions on humanitarian aid.   In Ukraine, Trump’s peace efforts have consistently downplayed Russia’s responsibility for serious violations. These include indiscriminate bombing, coercing Ukrainians in occupied areas to serve in the Russian military, systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and the use of quadcopter drones to hunt and kill civilians.   Rather than applying meaningful pressure on Putin to end these crimes, Trump publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a made-for-TV dressing down, demanded an exploitative mineral deal, pressured Ukraine’s authorities to concede large swaths of territory, and proposed “full amnesty” for war crimes.   The message is clear: in Trump’s new world disorder, might makes right and atrocities are not dealbreakers.   With the US undermining the global human rights system, who will rise in its defense? Despite rhetorical flourishes, many governments treat rights and the rule of law as a hindrance, rather than a benefit, to security and economic growth. The European Union, Canada, and Australia appear to hold back out of fear of antagonizing the US and China. Others are weakened by the way political parties displaying illiberal tendencies have skewed their domestic politics and discourse away from a rights-respecting approach.   In many parts of Western Europe, including the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, many voters gladly accept limits on the rights of “others,” whether immigrants, women, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBT people, or other marginalized communities. But as history shows, would-be autocrats never stop at “others.”   To fill this vacuum, there is an urgent need for a new global alliance to support international human rights within a rules-based order. Individually, these countries may be easily overwhelmed by the global influence of the US and China. But together, they could become a powerful political force and substantial economic bloc. The obvious participants in such a cross-regional alliance would be established democracies with significant economic and geopolitical clout, including, but not limited to, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, and the UK, as well as the EU as an institution and many of its member states.   It’s critical to look beyond the usual suspects. The multilateral order was built brick by brick by states from all regions over decades. Countries such as Costa Rica, Ghana, Malaysia, Mexico, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Vanuatu have played important roles on specific human rights initiatives in key international forums.   Creative diplomats from smaller states such as Liechtenstein and The Gambia have been instrumental in advancing international justice. And it should be recognized that support for human rights has never come just from powerful democracies or countries with the strongest domestic rights records.   In theory, India, long considered the world’s largest democracy, could be a key member of this global alliance, considering its prior role in opposing apartheid in South Africa and defending minority rights in Tibet and Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, under a Narendra Modi administration that actively promotes Hindu majoritarianism, India can hardly hold itself out as a human rights champion. As the Indian authorities oppress political opponents, target minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, censor independent voices, ban books, and commit atrocities in counterinsurgency operations, it is unlikely, for now, to see value in bolstering a system that might one day be used against it.   However, India has also been targeted by the Trump administration for its purchase of Russian oil and regards China, with which it has clashed over their shared border, as a strategic competitor. The Indian government, which has historically chosen “nonaligned” status, might find that cleaning up its human rights record to join with other democracies could help protect it from the aggressive great powers.   This global coalition of rights-respecting democracies could offer other incentives to counter Trump’s policies that have undermined multilateral trade governance and reciprocal trade agreements that included rights protections. Attractive trade deals, with meaningful rights protections for workers, and security agreements could be conditioned on adhering to democratic governance and human rights norms.   Democracy already comes with benefits. While autocracies have generally fostered conflict, economic stagnation, or kleptocracy, as evidenced in multiple academic studies, including the work of the Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, democratic institutions reliably yield economic growth.   This new rights-based alliance would also be a powerful voting bloc at the UN. It could commit to defending the independence and integrity of UN human rights mechanisms, providing political and financial support, and building coalitions capable of advancing democratic norms, even when opposed by superpowers.   Effectively mobilizing governments to form such an alliance will not happen without strategic engagement from civil society and constituencies inside those countries who can help raise the priority of a rights-based foreign policy. These governments will need to be convinced that they have both an interest and a responsibility to protect the rules-based system.   Projects of this nature are bubbling up. Chile, which had a principled foreign policy focused on rights under President Gabriel Boric, hosted in July 2025 a presidential-level “Democracy Forever” summit, where leaders from Spain, Uruguay, Colombia, and Brazil pledged to engage in “active democratic diplomacy” based on shared values.   The Hague Group, led by Malaysia, South Africa, and Colombia, formed in January 2025 in “defense of international law” and in solidarity with Palestinians. Over 70 countries from all regions signed a joint statement defending multilateralism at the UN. Earlier, in 2017, former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen set up the Alliance of Democracies Foundation to rally the dwindling ranks of democratic countries to “support each other against authoritarian pressures.”   Whatever its precise contours, an alliance of rights-respecting democracies would offer a hopeful counterpoint to the authoritarian trope of China’s and Russia’s leaders standing alongside North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, observing military hardware in a parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in September. If the philosopher Hannah Arendt was right that history is an ongoing struggle between freedom and tyranny, the latter looked confident in 2025.   Yet, even in the worst of times, the idea of freedom and human rights is enduring. People power remains an engine for change. In the US, “No Kings” marches have drawn millions, protesters in Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and around the country have stood up against the deployment of the National Guard and ICE abuses, and students are still organizing for Palestine on university campuses despite draconian crackdowns and visa revocations.   Buoyed by popular resistance, South Korean parliamentarians impeached their president to prevent him from grabbing power through martial law. Grassroots aid efforts by Sudan’s emergency response rooms, Hong Kong’s fire relief, Sri Lanka’s cyclone relief community kitchens, and Ukrainian mutual aid and solidarity collectives represent the best of this trend.   In 2025, Gen Z protests against corruption, inadequate public services, and poor governance in Nepal, Indonesia, and Morocco brought to the forefront the need for governments to listen to their youth and tackle corruption and inequality. But as the difficulties of restoring rights in Bangladesh after years under an authoritarian government illustrates, gains won through public mobilization can easily be lost unless democratic participation and free expression remain unassailable.   In this more hostile world, civil society is more critical than ever. It’s also increasingly endangered, particularly in an environment where funding is scarce. In 2025, Human Rights Watch was labeled “undesirable” and banned from operating in Russia. For partners in Egypt, Hong Kong, and India, these tactics are all too familiar.   Restrictions on civil society and protest have become more commonplace in Europe, including the UK and France. And now, for the first time, many worry about risks associated with their operational presence in the US, where the Open Society Foundations, a major donor, have already been threatened, and the administration is preparing a list of “domestic terrorists” under overbroad guidance that could be interpreted to include the work of many progressive groups.   Breaking the authoritarian wave and standing up for human rights is a generational challenge. In 2026, it will play out most acutely in the US, with far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world. Fighting back will require a determined, strategic, and coordinated reaction from voters, civil society, multilateral institutions, and rights-respecting governments around the globe.   http://www.hrw.org/world-report/2026 Visit the related web page
	The commodification and privatisation of water by UN Special Procedure Holders   Social protection is our most effective tool for eradicating poverty - UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter.   The rolling back of protections for people living in poverty has created fertile ground for far-right movements across the world, warned the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, in a new report presented to the United Nations General Assembly today.   “Welfare reform in the name of austerity and efficiency has alienated millions of people living in poverty and played into the hands of a far right looking to exploit discontent,” De Schutter said.   “Government restructuring of welfare systems has led to increasingly harsh conditions linked to receiving benefits and the ramping up of digital surveillance. Programmes once designed to provide basic security to all in times of need now shame and punish the very people they are meant to support.”   The report details how, rather than reducing poverty or cutting public expenditure, modern welfare systems stigmatise claimants, forcing them into unsuitable jobs under the threat of sanctions, subjecting them to algorithms that falsely flag fraud, and even penalising families by removing children when poverty is misclassified as ‘neglect’.   “These punitive welfare systems increase economic insecurity, erode trust in public institutions and leave millions feeling humiliated and abandoned by mainstream politics,” the expert said, citing a study that found that a one-point increase in income inequality corresponded almost exactly to a one-point increase in support for populist parties.   “It is in this void that far-right populists thrive, presenting themselves as champions of those left behind by the ‘elite’,” he said. “But their agenda is not to empower people in poverty – it is to further dismantle protections for their own gain. Once in power, they work to maintain the privileges of the very economic elite they denounce in their speeches, slashing food assistance, healthcare and other life-saving services, and further deepening poverty and exclusion.”   The report highlights deep cuts to social spending in countries ranging from Argentina to the United States, depriving millions of basic healthcare or income support, even as tax cuts shift wealth from the poorest households to the richest.   “These are the politics of exclusion: a deliberate decision to cut off lifelines to the poor while rewarding the richest echelons of society, often in the name of protecting public budgets from ‘outsiders’ or the so-called ‘undeserving poor’,” De Schutter said.   The Special Rapporteur called on governments to shift away from narrowly targeted benefit schemes and towards investing in universal, rights-based social protection to counter the rise of the far right. He urged governments to reframe the welfare state not as a cost to be reduced, but as part of a strategy that has been proven to deliver security and wellbeing for all.   “Social protection is our most effective tool for eradicating poverty. It is not charity, nor is it a favour granted under strict conditions; it is a human right that should be provided to all willingly and with respect,” the expert said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a80138-far-right-populism-and-future-social-protection-report-special http://www.srpoverty.org/2025/10/01/far-right-populism-and-the-future-of-social-protection/ http://docs.un.org/en/A/80/138 http://thewire.in/communalism/global-rise-of-right-wing-populism-olivier-de-schutter-un-special-rapporteur   UN expert deplores continued targeting of health workers and medical facilities   A UN expert today deplored continuing attacks on health care and warned that peace is a fundamental pre-condition for human social and economic development.   “I regret that attacks on healthcare, the destruction of facilities, the killing of health and care workers and large-scale displacement in conflict affected areas continues”, said Tlaleng Mofokeng, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health. “A functioning health system, which encompasses the protection of health and care workers is vital to the enjoyment of the right to health.”   In her report to the UN General Assembly, Mofokeng focuses on health and care workers as oath takers and defenders of the right to health and explores the essentiality of the right to health for the realisation of peace, security and sustainable development.   Putting the right to health into practice is essential for a life of dignity, Mofokeng said, highlighting the key role that health and care workers play in making this right a reality.   “Health and care workers have been the target of violence, and perpetrators of these attacks are not held accountable,” the Special Rapporteur said. “The practice of medicine is not a crime.”   Mofokeng said that States must ensure people have access to basic health facilities, goods, and services, especially in areas affected by ongoing or past conflict, constant military presence, or occupation.   “Health facilities, goods and services should be in line with medical ethics, including the principle of medical impartiality in the treatment of the wounded, as mandated by international humanitarian law,” the expert said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-expert-deplores-continued-targeting-health-workers-and-medical-facilities   Administrative measures to counter terrorism must respect human rights: UN expert   Governments must stop the rampant abuse of administrative counter-terrorism measures, including where they are weaponised to stifle civil society, human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents, a UN expert warned today.   “Administrative measures, from security detention to listing individuals and groups as “terrorist”, are proliferating globally. They profoundly affect many human rights and often have fewer due process and judicial protections than under the criminal law,” said Ben Saul, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.   “Without essential safeguards, they are ripe for abuse in democratic and authoritarian States alike. Their abuse also counter-productively undermines national security by fuelling grievances and alienation.”   In his report to the General Assembly this week, Saul recommended best practices to protect human rights while using administrative measures.   The report sets out general principles to guide their responsible use before focusing on four common measures: (1) restrictive orders, such as limits on movement, communication and association, (2) listing of individuals and organisations as terrorist, to seize assets or criminalise behaviour, (3) administrative security detention, and (4) compulsory preventive interventions to reform behaviour.   “Given the risks involved, such measures should be only used exceptionally and where strictly necessary to prevent terrorism and proportionate to that aim, and applied on a non-discriminatory basis,” the Special Rapporteur said.   “The grounds for issuing them must be clearly defined in law and based on an underlying definition of terrorism that meets international standards. Measures must also be time limited,” he said.   The report calls for rigorous procedural safeguards, including adequate disclosure of evidence, accessible judicial review, and prompt and effective remedies, including compensation where rights have been violated.   “Administrative measures should not normally substitute for criminal prosecution where feasible or be misused to circumvent the stronger protections of criminal trials,” Saul said.   The Special Rapporteur cautioned against imposing administrative measures based on unreliable risk assessment tools, including those powered by artificial intelligence.   The special needs of vulnerable groups must be taken into account, including persons with disabilities or mental health conditions, victims of terrorist groups and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence. Measures should only be exceptionally applied to children.   “Administrative security detention is particularly dangerous, since it can too easily enable arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and arbitrary deprivation of life,” the expert said. “Recent abuses of administrative detention in armed conflicts are testament to these risks.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/administrative-measures-counter-terrorism-must-respect-human-rights-un   Repression of climate activists undermines a just transition: UN expert   The climate crisis is a human rights crisis and those calling for their governments to mitigate its impacts must be protected as human rights defenders, a UN expert told the UN General Assembly today, urging States to end the consistent pattern of attacks against those calling for climate action.   “In their struggle to keep control of the narrative around climate action, States are repressing the voices of the exact people they should be working alongside. Journalists, women human rights defenders, indigenous and traditional peoples are at particular risk, including those in the communities feeling the brunt of climate impacts so far,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.   In her report to the UN General Assembly, Lawlor urged States to take radical action on climate change to avoid a human rights catastrophe. “People all around the world have been calling for climate action for decades. As they have been ignored, and the climate crisis has spiralled, they have found new ways to organise and advocate, including through civil disobedience.”   The expert said that instead of engaging constructively, States have resorted to criminalisation, repressive laws, police violence, and surveillance.   “We are seeing a backlash in every region of the world, with the repression particularly prevalent in historically high-emitting States and places where fossil fuel infrastructure is being expanded,” she said.   The Special Rapporteur highlighted the role human rights defenders play in fighting deforestation and ensuring the transition from the fossil fuel economy does not come at the expense of human rights, particularly the rights of those already most discriminated against in our societies.   She called on States to work for a transition that respects, protects and preserves the possibility of the true realisation of human rights for a   “There will be no ‘just transition’ if the current extractive model of energy production is copied and pasted onto the shift from fossil fuels,” the expert said.   “Human rights defenders are calling for the change we need, a turn towards respect, protection and realisation of all human rights for all,” she said.   Lawlor called for the safe and meaningful participation of human rights defenders in the Conference Of Parties (COP) on climate, detailing the litany of abuses defenders have faced when trying to intervene at the conference in the past, and highlighting the particularly repressive environment in recent years.   “What we are seeing is completely unsustainable,” the Special Rapporteur said. “There must be change, and that change must have human rights and human rights defenders at its core. There is far too much to lose.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/repression-climate-activists-undermines-just-transition-un-expert   UN expert calls for model law on neurotechnologies to protect right to privacy.   Regulation of neurotechnologies is vital to ensure an ethical approach and protect the right to privacy in an increasingly digital age, a UN expert said today.   In a report to the UN General Assembly, Ana Brian Nougreres, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, called for the development of a model law on neurotechnologies and neurodata processing from the perspective of the right to privacy.   “Rapid development of neurotechnology poses challenges to physical and mental integrity and the safeguarding of human rights,” Brian Nougreres said. “The international community needs to develop a set of recommended guidelines for applying the existing human rights framework to the conception, design, development, testing, use and deployment of neurotechnologies.”   The report acknowledges the advances in neurotechnologies and their impact, both positive and negative, on society and identifies key fundamental pillars that are important to consider when developing a regulatory framework, taking into consideration the right to privacy and human dignity.   “A robust national legal framework that guarantees the right to privacy including the principles of informed consent, ethics in design, the precautionary principle and non-discrimination is crucial to ensure a balance between technological innovation and the protection of human rights,” the Special Rapporteur said.   To ensure the proper treatment of neurodata, which is highly sensitive personal information, the expert stressed that there is an urgent need to establish guidelines taking into consideration ethical practices and to oversee such practices, preventing any misuse that could compromise privacy or lead to discrimination.   “We need greater awareness and education on the risks associated with neurotechnologies to enable people to better understand their impact, make informed decisions about their neurodata, and demand respect for their rights in this new technological era,” Brian Nougreres said.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-expert-calls-model-law-neurotechnologies-protect-right-privacy   UN expert demands global action to democratise water governance and protect human rights. (OHCHR)   Governments must abandon market-driven models and embrace democratic, rights-based approaches that recognise water as a common good essential to life, dignity and social cohesion, a UN expert said today.   In a report to the UN General Assembly, Pedro Arrojo Agudo, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, called for a “paradigm shift” in global water governance.   “We are not facing a crisis of scarcity that can be resolved with technology alone,” said Arrojo Agudo. “We are facing a democratic crisis. Billions of people are not simply lacking water—they are impoverished and marginalised, living near rivers or polluted aquifers, while powerful interests exploit their water sources.”   The report challenges the commodification and privatisation of water, warning that financialisation strategies, such as public-private partnerships and speculative water markets, undermine human rights and environmental sustainability.   “Managing water through speculative futures markets puts human rights at risk,” Arrojo Agudo said. “Water must be governed as a common good, accessible to all but not appropriable by anyone.”   He said water governance must be rooted in the principles of equality, non-discrimination, participation, accountability, sustainability, and legality. He calls for the recognition of customary and Indigenous water tenure and for the empowerment of communities—especially women—as central actors in water management.   “Democratic governance must be participatory and non-discriminatory,” he said. “It must promote the equal participation of women and respect the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and peasants.”   The report also addresses the climate emergency, advocating for a “water transition” to complement energy transition strategies. This includes restoring aquatic ecosystems, protecting aquifers and wetlands, and implementing inclusive hydrological and urban planning to reduce vulnerability to droughts and floods.   “Aquifers are the water lungs of nature,” the expert said. “They store 30 times more water than surface flows and are vital for managing the extraordinary droughts that climate change is making increasingly frequent.”   The Special Rapporteur called for targeted public subsidies and soft financing mechanisms to ensure affordability and sustainability, especially in rural and impoverished areas.   “The scarcity of water or public funds does not justify ignoring or relegating the priority of guaranteeing human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation,” he said. “Governments must prioritise these rights in their budgets. The priority for women from the poorest families is bringing water to their homes. Governments should follow their example.”   The expert called on states, multilateral institutions, and civil society to reject the commodification of water and embrace democratic governance models that protect both people and ecosystems.   “The billions of people without guaranteed access to safe drinking water do not represent a business opportunity,” he said. “They represent a global democratic challenge.”   http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/10/un-expert-demands-global-action-democratise-water-governance-and-protect Visit the related web page
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