HRF Brings UN Attention to Rights Abuses in Four Countries

NEW YORK (April 1, 2025) — Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted contributions to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review regarding Belarus, Honduras, Libya, and Malawi.  

“Although these four countries span the globe, they share a troubling commonality: regimes that disregard democratic principles and violate fundamental human rights protected under international law,” HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González said. “From mass arbitrary detentions to the exploitation of migrants, the systemic repression of dissent is alarming. We must continue to support those living under these regimes by exposing these violations and demanding accountability.”

In its submission on Belarus, HRF highlighted the regime’s crackdown on fundamental freedoms and dissent following the rigged 2020 presidential election. The regime has systematically suppressed peaceful protests and laws restricting freedom of expression, assembly, and association have been used to silence civil society organizations and human rights defenders. HRF emphasized the regime’s negligence in preventing forced disappearances, as well as its refusal to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment in detention. HRF urged the regime to adopt immediate measures to release all prisoners of conscience and uphold Belarus’ international obligations.

Despite initial hopes for improvement following the presidential election of 2021, Honduras remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for human rights defenders, environmental and LGBTQ+ activists, and journalists. HRF emphasized the regime’s harassment and persecution of government critics, empowered under the national state of emergency, which has been extended repeatedly without clear justification or following proper procedure. HRF called upon the Honduran government to tackle misconduct by public officials and to address the barriers to freedom of expression and assembly currently curtailing civic and political rights.

HRF’s submission on Libya reflected the country’s worsening human rights conditions, exacerbated by the political instability caused by Libya’s two rival administrations. Libya has become a major port of departure for refugees seeking to cross the Mediterranean, and both the Tripoli-based and Benghazi-based regimes have been complicit in migrant abuse and exploitation, including enslavement, sexual violence, and murder. The regimes have also weaponized the use of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance to retaliate against dissidents. HRF urges both regimes to engage in a national dialogue to establish a sustainable solution to the ongoing conflict and ensure peace and protection of human rights within the country.

Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, has been governed by former opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera since a 2020 rerun election, following the Constitutional Court’s annulment of the contested 2019 “Tipp-Ex” election. Despite this political shift, the country continues to witness persistent violations of fundamental freedoms, including the rights to assembly, expression, and free press. In its submission, HRF highlighted the regime’s use of torture as a form of punishment and to extract confessions, as well as the widespread inhumane and degrading treatment in detention centers. HRF called on the regime to take all necessary measures to put an end to ill-treatment and improve conditions in detention centers, as well as to repeal provisions that criminalize dissent.

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies.

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