Blog Post Oct 24, 2023 The Silent Chains of Saudi Arabia: My Fight for My Daughter and Our Freedom In 2011, while working in Tunisia, my life completely changed. I witnessed the start of the Arab Spring and fall of Tunisia’s dictator, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, due to a popular uprising against injustice.
Press Release Oct 9, 2023 HRF to UN: Do Not Elect Dictatorships to Human Rights Council On Oct. 10, 193 member states of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) face the crucial task of filling 15 of the 47 seats of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Op-Ed Sep 12, 2023 Hold Iran to account for Mahsa Amini’s murder (and other horrors) when UN meets next week The first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s murder on Sept. 16, 2022, couldn’t come at a better time: It coincides with the commencement of the UN General Assembly’s 78th session— the perfect time to hold Iran’s feet to the fire.
Announcement Aug 31, 2023 Human Trafficking & Authoritarianism: Read HRF’s Latest Reports Human trafficking, considered a modern form of slavery, impacts tens of millions and exists in every region of the world. In 2023, an estimated 28 million individuals were trapped in modern slavery and 22 million trapped in forced marriage globally.
Reports Aug 30, 2023 New Arabic Edition of “Framing Justice in Syria” Today, on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and The Syria Campaign (TSC) published the Arabic edition of the report, “Framing Justice in Syria: The Road Toward Comprehensive Justice,” which provides a comprehensive overview of domestic and international judicial avenues to prosecute the crimes against humanity that have been committed in Syria.
Reports Aug 25, 2023 New HRF Report: Human Trafficking in Saudi Arabia Today, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) published a new report, “Saudi Arabia’s Human Trafficking Mechanisms,” as part of its ongoing series exploring the links between human trafficking and authoritarianism.
Blog Post Aug 4, 2023 How Authoritarianism Fuels the Middle East’s Captagon Problem Captagon, commonly known as the “poor man’s cocaine,” has recently re-emerged as a popular recreational drug and is rapidly spreading throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Reports Aug 1, 2023 Human Trafficking in Saudi Arabia Report Saudi Arabia has a vast and varied track record of human rights violations. As an absolute monarchy, the King- dom has established laws and practices that serve to maintain the ruling family’s hold on power.
Reports Aug 1, 2023 Arabic Edition of “Human Trafficking in Saudi Arabia” Saudi Arabia has a vast and varied track record of human rights violations. As an absolute monarchy, the Kingdom has established laws and practices that serve to maintain the ruling family’s hold on power.
Announcement Jul 21, 2023 New Arabic Edition of Qatar Human Rights Report Coinciding with the start of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) has recently published the Arabic edition of its 2022 report, “Qatar’s Human Rights Record in the World’s Spotlight: White Paper with Policy Recommendations.”
Press Release Jul 10, 2023 UN Calls For Release Of Saudi Women’s Rights Activists Last Friday, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) released a decision on the cases of Salma al-Shehab and Nourah al-Qahtani. It finds their detention to be arbitrary and calls for their immediate release.
Publication Jun 8, 2023 Rattle and Hum – HRF x The Signal After the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in custody, following her arrest by Iran’s Guidance Patrol—the morality police—for “improperly” wearing her hijab head covering, fierce protests spread across the country.
Blog Post Apr 7, 2023 Like, Tweet, & Torment: Authoritarian Troll Farms “They were attacking him basically every single day, threatening him, trying to silence him. So Jamal felt the whole country was against him – and that was hurting. He said sometimes ‘I feel like I don’t want to talk about anything, I don’t want to expose my opinion.’ “
Blog Post Mar 28, 2023 Women at the Forefront of Democracy: Combatting Oppressive Laws in Saudi Arabia As authoritarianism persists throughout the Middle East and North Africa, it’s crucial to recognize the women’s rights activists who have stood up against these dictators despite severe repercussions. In Saudi Arabia, one of the region’s most repressive regimes, advocating for human rights comes with a high risk.
Blog Post Mar 22, 2023 World Water Day: Water Insecurity in the MENA Region Fresh, clean drinking water — directly or indirectly — impacts every aspect of our lives. It’s undeniably fundamental to our health and wellness and is critical to sustaining all life on Earth, which is why World Water Day serves as a reminder of its importance.
Blog Post Feb 15, 2023 Crises Compounded in a Forgotten Dictatorship The combination of a 12-year conflict caused by a dictator who glorifies and celebrates his atrocities, a global pandemic, and now a natural disaster would surely have the world concerned and anxious to help. But, this has not been the case.
Op-Ed Feb 9, 2023 ‘Women, life, freedom’: Chants of protest in Iran Forty-four years after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Tehran is once again feeling the wrath of its citizenry. Then, it was the Shah and his “modern ideals” the people sought to, and successfully did, overthrow. Now, a different regime — the Islamic Republic — is in power and in the people’s crosshairs.
Blog Post Jan 9, 2023 From Egypt, Sisi’s Long Arm of Repression Targets Americans Too While Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi received star treatment during President Joe Biden’s US-Africa Leaders Summit, an American citizen and vocal critic of the Egyptian regime, Sherif Osman, languished in an Emirati prison for 46 days on spurious charges.
Blog Post Dec 21, 2022 Champion of Freedom: The Fearless Women of Iran & Afghanistan The condition of women and girls is a significant indicator of the democratic status of a country and 2022 proved that, in many places around the globe, the diagnosis isn’t good: The systematic assault on women’s rights under authoritarian regimes was illuminated time and again, especially in the Middle East and South Asia.
Reports Nov 18, 2022 Qatar’s Human Rights Record in the World’s Spotlight Qatar, a country ruled by a monarchic authoritarian government, is hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Hosting the top global football tournament is the result of a decade-long project by the government of Qatar to strategically exploit the prestige and popular appeal of sports to grow its global influence, cultivate a favorable image in popular culture, and boost its economy.
