Human rights

Ukrainian flags are displayed in the town square on September 29, 2022 in Balakiya, Ukraine. Balakiya was under Russian occupation for six months, the mayor collaborated with Russians, sparing the city from major destruction. © Paula Bronstein /Getty Images

“Justice is Costly, but Also Priceless.”

Head of Nobel peace prize winning NGO tells IWPR that Ukraine must win a “fundamental battle of values”.

7 Oct 22

A screenshot from Belarus' state Channel One shows the trial of human rights activists from Viasna, the country's oldest human rights advocacy group. Authorities outlawed it in 2003, but it continues to operate in exile. Viasna is one of the rights’ groups which has called on the Belarusian legislators not to pursue the withdrawal from a UN Human Rights body. © Belarus' state Channel One

Belarus to Leave UN Human Rights Body

Belarusian citizens denied justice at home may no longer be able to appeal to a last resort committee.

6 Oct 22

Russia Targets Crimean Tatar Community

Military mobilisation seen as latest tactic in ongoing campaign of repression.

4 Oct 22

Andrey Kolioglo came out in March 2018 and faced widespread harassment. Since March 2022 he lives in France, where he was granted asylum in the wake of the discrimination he faces in his native Moldova.

Coming Out in Gagauzia’s Conservative Society

“Living life with a constant feeling of fear; this is what you have to get used to here if you are gay.”

15 Sep 22

Tajikistan’s New Round of Media Repression

Detentions come amid a crackdown on street protests in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region.

30 Jun 22

Lilit Martorysyan is Armenia's most propminent transgender activist. In 2019 she addressed the Parliament, calling for protection and respect for her community. Her brief and healt-felt speech prompted political and diplomatic arguments, but it also marked a landmark step for LGBTI rights in the country. © Mania Israyelyan

Armenia: “I Was Born in a Body That Was Not Mine”

Country’s most prominent transgender activist describes her struggle to protect her community from discrimination and violence.

31 Mar 22

Larisa Kalik, 24, left her native Transnistria in spring 2020. Her book "The Youth Year", which describes the dire conditions young men face in the mandatory military service, attracted the ire of the authorities in Moldova's breakaway region. © Photo courtesy of Larisa Kalik

The Transnistrian Dissident Who Fled to Ukraine

A young activist who documented the dire conditions in the Transnistrian army found herself in Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion.

30 Mar 22

An internally displaced woman from Abkhazia hangs laundry from the window of her room in Kartli. © David Mdzinarishvili

Georgia: IDP’s Death Reopens Debate Over Housing

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been living in dire conditions for decades.

22 Mar 22

Counter protesters celebrated by dancing and singing in front of parliament, where they tore down the US and EU flags and replaced them with a black iron cross. © Davit Mdzinarishvili/IWPR

Georgia: LGBTI Activists Fear Far-Right Alliances

Could a toxic partnership be developing between mainstream politics and extremists?

23 Feb 22

Beatings and torture, long an issue of concern, have become commonplace in Belarus since people first rose up to protest the elections in August 2020. © Andrew Keymaster/Unsplash

Belarus: Police Violence Continues

Beatings and torture, long an issue of concern, have become commonplace since the August 2020 uprising.

22 Feb 22

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