At the UN Human Rights Council, a call to free Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt raised a wider question: who chooses Indigenous representatives, and can independent voices speak without fear of persecution?

On 6 October 2026, the UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia for another year. The role is held by Mariana Katzarova, who, together with other UN experts, has already raised the prosecution of Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt with the Russian authorities.

On 8 October 2026, the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) published a submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a healthy environment. It was prepared to inform her forthcoming report to the 64th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

A review of Yana Tannagasheva and Olga Kostrova’s Swissinfo opinion piece.

On 16 September, UN News wrote about a new report by the UN Secretary-General on reprisals against people who cooperate with the Organization on human rights. The document covers the period from 1 May 2025 to 30 April 2026 and highlights cases from 32 States. The victims include human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, trade unionists and victims of rights violations. All of them were targeted for cooperating, or seeking to cooperate, with the UN.

On September 24, Yana Tannagasheva, a representative of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia (ICIPR), addressed the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Her statement was delivered during an interactive dialogue with the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP) under agenda items 3 and 5. The main focus of her statement was the connection between historical injustice against Indigenous Peoples in Russia and the c

The discussion at the UN Human Rights Council was specifically devoted to the rights of Indigenous women and girls. The Russian delegation used the discussion to draw attention to violations in other countries and the consequences of Western colonial policies, while not mentioning the problems faced by Indigenous women in Russia that have already been brought before UN mechanisms.

At the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, German representative Nikola Gillhoff spoke during a discussion of the UN Secretary-General’s report on intimidation and reprisals against individuals cooperating with the United Nations.

On September 9, the Human Rights House Foundation published a joint appeal by international human rights organizations calling for the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia. The document itself is dated September 4.