Human rights

Marchers wave rainbow flags and carry colourful banners at a Pride parade celebrating LGBTQ+ equality and visibility. © Mercedes Mehling/Unsplash

Georgia’s LGBT Community Faces Stark Choices

Many fear that they will be forced to choose between asylum or emigration if Georgian Dream wins election.

24 Oct 24

Women within the Roma community face significant challenges due to discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. © S Gallup/Getty

Empowering Roma Women

IWPR partner supports Roma women in Moldova in community activism and peacebuilding.

20 Sep 24

Women cover their faces when walking down a street on August 14, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan. © Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images

Afghanistan: Weaponising Sexual Harassment

The lack of legal protection under the Taleban means that harassment and discrimination are effectively forcing women out of the workplace.

23 Jul 24

On December 26, 2021, five young men - Tawfiq Mohamed, Seif Swala, Edwin Kunambi, Hemed Abass, and Rajabu Mdoe - went missing after they left for a beach party in the Kigamboni suburb of Dar es Salaam. © Ali Mkumbwa/unsplash

Tanzania: Police Under Scrutiny Over Disappearances

“The issue inflicts immense anguish upon families left not knowing whether their loved ones are alive, suffering, or dead.”

25 Mar 24

Karine (not her real name) was 15 when she realised that the male body she was born into was not hers. She moved from the rural community she grew up in to the capital Yerevan to be free to be herself. Unlinke many people in her community she was able to find a stable job as a hairdresser and manicurist. © Anahit Zakaryan

Life in the Shadows for Armenia’s Transgender Community

Recent murder highlights widespread discrimination and violence against LGBTI people.

13 Nov 23

On September 13 Belarus' opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya presented the project of the new "alternative" Belarusian passport to the European Parliament. A new decree requires Belarusians to return to their home country to obtain or renew key documents, leaving opposition politicians and human rights activists in exile at risk. © tsikhanouskaya.org

Belarusians Abroad Face Document Limbo

A new decree requires citizens to renew passports in-country, putting exiled government critics at risk.

3 Oct 23

Azerbaijan: Opposition Figure Remains in Detention

Economist had announced launch of UK-based education fund before his arrest.

9 Aug 23

Adverts seeking surrogate mothers abound in Georgia, one of the few countries where commercial surrogacy is legal. The government is working on a law that would ban the fee-based practice and limit it only to prospective parents from Georgia.

Georgia Set to Ban Commercial Surrogacy

A draft law will strictly regulate the sector, prohibiting foreign couples from accessing services.

8 Aug 23

Concerns are growing over the health of prominent Azerbaijani activist Bakhtiyar Hajiyev, imprisoned on charges his defence team and rights groups state are politically motivated. © BBC News Azərbaycanca

Azerbaijani Hunger Striker Denied Bail

The 40-year-old faces up to five years in prison following an arrest many see as directly related to his criticism of the interior ministry.

27 Jan 23

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev (right) with Vasif Talibov (left), now former governor of Nakhchivan in an official meeting in 2017. On December 21, 2022 Talibov resigned from his ruling position in the country’s remote enclave after 27 years. The 62-year-old cited health concerns, but rumours had been circulating that the central government in Baku sought greater control on the region. © Azerbaijan’s Presidential Press and Information Office

Azerbaijan: “The Sultan” Steps Down

Longtime ruler of autonomous enclave resigns on health concerns, but observers maintain his exit was on Baku’s orders.

24 Jan 23

Support local journalists

DONATE