Excerpts from Amnesty International: The State of the World’s Human Rights
Amnesty International has released their 410-page report The State of the World’s Human Rights (April 2025).
The Amnesty International report highlights the situation for human rights defenders in a dedicated section for Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras and Indonesia.
It also references the situation in Mexico, Nicaragua, Kenya, Nepal and Indonesia.
Furthermore it highlights issues of concern in other countries where PBI entities are present including the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway and Australia.
Key excerpts from their report include:
CANADA (page 119): “Four Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous land defenders were found guilty of criminal contempt of court for protecting Wet’suwet’en territory against the construction of a pipeline, including Likhts’amisyu Clan Wing Chief Dsta’hyl, who served a 60-day house arrest.”
COLOMBIA (page 134): In June the Ministry of Interior issued a call for applications to the restructured Comprehensive Programme on Security and Protection for Communities and Organizations in the Territories. This collective protection initiative was aimed at enhancing the capacity of communities and organizations, with a specific focus on safeguarding human rights defenders. In July the government and human rights organizations reactivated the Guarantees National Roundtable, designed to facilitate dialogue between state institutions and civil society regarding the protection and promotion of the defence of human rights. In November, human rights organizations announced that the Roundtable had not met again because of postponements by some high-ranking officers who should have participated in the meetings. Nevertheless, violence against human rights defenders remained widespread. The situation in departments and regions such as Antioquia, Arauca, Cauca, Magdalena Medio, Norte de Santander and Valle del Cauca was particularly concerning. The We Are Defenders Programme recorded 355 attacks against 318 human rights defenders between January and June, including killings, threats, arbitrary detention, torture, enforced disappearance, abduction and forced displacement a 24% decrease in aggressions compared with the same period in 2023. Between July and September the programme recorded 205 attacks against 190 human rights defenders, a 23% increase compared with the same period in 2023. Between January and November the OHCHR reported 186 allegations of killings of human rights defenders in Colombia, of which 80 cases had been verified, 11 were still under verification and 95 were inconclusive. In March the Inter-American Court of Human Rights found Colombia responsible for a campaign of persecution against the Lawyers Collective “José Alvear Restrepo”. The court determined that from 1990 to at least 2005 various Colombian institutions conducted arbitrary intelligence activities targeting the collective and its members, violating their right to defend human rights, among others.
GUATEMALA (page 186) Local organization Unit for Attacks on Human Rights Defenders in Guatemala registered at least 2,763 attacks on human rights defenders between January and October. The body responsible for the analysis of risks to human rights defenders, convened by the Ministry of Interior, was reactivated. At the end of the year, the public policy for the protection of human rights defenders was still pending approval, and the state had not ratified the Escazú Agreement.
HONDURAS (page 190) Honduras was the most lethal country in the world for defenders of land and environment, according to Global Witness. They faced stigmatization, intimidation, arbitrary detention and criminalization, most of which went unpunished. Attacks mainly occurred in the context of disputes relating to mining projects, land-tenure insecurity, and violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants, including Garifuna human rights defenders. Local organizations raised concerns over the weakness and ineffectiveness of the national protection mechanism for human rights defenders. In September, Juan López of the Municipal Committee for the Defence of Common and Public Goods of Tocoa was shot dead. In November, the Supreme Court of Justice confirmed sentences against eight men responsible for the murder of Indigenous defender Berta Cáceres in 2016. By the end of the year, the state had not signed the Escazú Agreement.
INDONESIA (page 198) At least 123 cases of physical assaults, digital attacks, threats and other forms of reprisals against 288 human rights defenders were reported during the year. Human rights defenders lacked adequate legal protection, leaving them vulnerable to threats and intimidation. Very few of those responsible for the attacks were brought to justice, with only a small number being convicted in court. On 17 July, Yan Christian Warinussy, a senior lawyer and human rights activist in Papua, was shot and injured by an unidentified person in Manokwari, West Papua province. The attack occurred after he attended a corruption trial involving local state auditors at the Manokwari anti-corruption court. By year’s end there was no known progress in a police inquiry.
MEXICO (page 254) Human rights defenders, journalists and protesters remained at risk of criminalization, excessive use of force, violence and death. Human rights violations by the military and National Guard continued, including possible extrajudicial executions; impunity persisted. Disappearances were a huge concern, but there were concerns that the government minimized the scale of the issue. Those searching for disappeared people were at serious risk.
NICARAGUA (page 276) Expulsions, deprivation of nationality and arbitrary detentions of dissenters and others continued, exposing them to severe vulnerability and violations of their rights. Authorities imposed strict restrictions on the media, threatening freedom of expression. Journalists were at risk of death and enforced disappearance. Indigenous Peoples remained at risk of displacement, enforced disappearance and attacks by pro-government armed groups.
KENYA (page 225) Sixty people were killed and hundreds injured when police used excessive and unnecessary force against people protesting a proposed Finance bill. Draft legislation threatened to impose further restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. More than 600 protesters were arbitrarily arrested and detained, and dozens were forcibly disappeared. Extrajudicial executions continued to be reported. The government forcibly evicted thousands of people from the Mathare and Mukuru Kwa Njenga settlements, amid heavy rainfall and flooding.”
NEPAL (page 272) Authorities used unlawful force against protesters and restricted freedoms of expression and assembly. A key step towards advancing transitional justice nonetheless contained significant gaps that could allow impunity. Violence against women and girls and caste-based discrimination persisted across the country. Forced evictions continued. Illegal recruitment of migrant workers continued.
The complete Amnesty International report can be read at The State of the World’s Human Rights (April 2025).
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