HRF Brings UN Attention to Rights Abuses in Three Countries

NEW YORK (Oct. 23, 2025) — This month, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted formal contributions to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Mozambique, Niger, and Singapore. 

“Niger, Mozambique, and Singapore remind us that the struggle for freedom knows no borders,” said HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González. “When governments suppress speech, dismantle civic institutions, and consolidate unchecked power, they betray the foundation of human dignity and democratic legitimacy. Yet in every nation, courageous voices endure. It is our collective duty to ensure they are heard and protected.”

In its submission on Mozambique, HRF raised concerns regarding the regime’s alarming crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly, particularly in the aftermath of the disputed 2024 elections. The regime’s intensified use of surveillance, censorship, and intimidation has drastically eroded civic space, enabling the state to stifle dissent with near-total impunity. Politically motivated arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings continue at alarming rates, with no meaningful accountability for perpetrators.

HRF called on the regime to take immediate steps to uphold rights to freedom of expression and assembly; end the use of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killing; and ensure all perpetrators are held to account. 

In its submission on Niger, HRF condemned the regime’s assault on fundamental freedoms following the July 2023 coup. The regime has enacted widespread censorship, subjecting journalists to harassment, arbitrary detention, and violence, suspending independent media outlets, and attacking critical reporting with broadly defined cybercrime laws. Pro-democracy activists and civil society leaders have been subjected to bans on assembly, judicial harassment, and prolonged pretrial detention in degrading conditions. The former president and members of his administration remain detained without due process. 

HRF urged the junta to cease its campaign of repression, take immediate steps to uphold freedoms of the press and peaceful assembly, and fully comply with its international human rights obligations.

HRF’s submission on Singapore highlighted the regime’s ongoing suppression of fundamental rights, including systemic censorship, restrictions on peaceful assembly, and judicial harassment of activists, journalists, and dissidents. Nearly all mainstream media is controlled by the regime, while independent outlets and reporters face suspensions, financial penalties, and criminal prosecution under broad laws. Human rights defenders, opposition figures, and civil society groups have been subjected to invasive investigations, charges under the Public Order Act, and prolonged legal proceedings for exercising basic freedoms.

HRF called on the Singaporean regime to end its repression of peaceful dissent, guarantee the independence and safety of the press and civil society, and align domestic laws with international human rights standards. 

Read the individual submission for Mozambique here.

Read the individual submission for Niger here.

Read the individual submission for Singapore here.

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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