To Be Heard at the UN and Stay Safe: On the New Report on Reprisals
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.
The report says that reprisals are increasingly cross-border. At least 43 people and four organizations have faced arbitrary detention, physical attacks, surveillance, threats, online harassment, movement restrictions and the confiscation of passports. Family members have also been intimidated. Digital technologies are increasingly used to monitor and silence those who engage with international human rights mechanisms.
The second trend is the use of the law itself. More than half of the countries mentioned in the report have applied, enacted or amended laws that criminalize or restrict core civil society activities. Counter-terrorism, cybercrime and national security legislation are named among the tools most often misused.
For us, the most important case is the one reported by the Russian-language service of UN News, which gave more detail than the English version. It concerns Darya Egereva, a Selkup human rights defender and co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples' Forum on Climate Change. According to the report, she returned from the UN climate conference (COP30) in Colombia, was detained and charged under an article on participation in a terrorist organization, which carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years. In March 2026, UN Special Procedures mandate holders appealed to the authorities about her case. The Russian government, UN News says, replied that there are no bans on NGOs taking part in international forums, and that a preliminary investigation into Egereva's case is under way.
The same report notes that the Batani International Fund, which works with Indigenous peoples, was designated an "undesirable organization" in Russia.
The Russian-language UN News also cites two other cases. In Belarus, the KGB designated the Belarusian Association of Human Rights Lawyers an "extremist formation" in August 2025. The association files complaints with international bodies. Six lawyers linked to it were declared to be involved in extremist activity. The Belarusian authorities replied that their legislation complies with the Constitution and international law. In Turkmenistan, journalist Nurgeldy Halykov was released in June 2024 after serving a sentence. In January 2025, when trying to fly to Dubai, he learned that he was banned from leaving the country. In February 2026, a court upheld the ban.
The report is not exhaustive. Many people do not report violations for fear of further harm, and others asked that their cases be kept anonymous. The real picture is likely broader.
Claudia Fuentes Julio, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, leads the UN system's efforts to address reprisals. She called it "particularly alarming and entirely unacceptable" that young activists, women, environmental defenders and Indigenous Peoples reportedly continue to face heightened risks of being targeted for engaging with the UN and standing up for their communities, lands and environment.
"People must be able to cooperate freely with the UN. Safe and meaningful engagement with civil society is fundamental to advancing human rights worldwide," Fuentes Julio said, urging all States to protect those who engage with the Organization.
For Indigenous peoples of the North, this is not an abstract matter. Their voice at the UN is carried by the people who travel to these conferences and speak on behalf of their communities. If such a journey can end in a criminal case, the risk falls on everyone who goes next.
Sevr Nuu
Free Daria Egereva and Natalia Leongardt!
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