Marcos Uzquiano Howard, a Bolivian park ranger and defender of the Amazon, has always held a deep respect for nature, learning to value biodiversity from his mother and grandmother. Despite his commitment to protecting the environment, he has faced harassment, threats, and persecution from institutional bodies like the National Service of Protected Areas (SERNAP) due to his opposition to illegal mining and deforestation. Although he won a ruling for his reinstatement, he still awaits protective measures to continue his work. In a significant development for environmental justice, Bolivia held its first public environmental hearing under the on April 23, 2025, focusing on the protection of the jaguar and environmental defenders like Uzquiano.
OHCHR
Launched in 2019, Photography 4 Humanity is a global initiative that uses powerful imagery to spotlight the fight for climate justice. As the photography platform of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance—with UN Human Rights as Global Partner and Fotografiska as Presenting Partner—it highlights climate change as a critical human rights issue. This online exhibition, held during the 2025 , features winning images from the global contest. The photos illustrate the human impact of the climate crisis—climate displaced persons, at-risk communities, Indigenous peoples, and women disproportionately affected—while also celebrating resilience and the efforts of people working together for a sustainable future.
With calls for reparations for the historical legacies of enslavement and colonialism growing louder, this year's held a session titled "Africa and People of African Descent: United for reparatory justice in the age of artificial intelligence”. Participants emphasised that the injustices of colonialism and systemic racism continue to affect African nations and people of African descent. They highlighted that reparative justice should include formal apologies, truth-telling processes and various forms of reparations, in order to foster reconciliation, justice, equality and solidarity in society.
The Darien jungle, located on the border between Panama and Colombia, is a dangerous and humid passage for migrants and asylum seekers heading towards North America. While the natural environment poses challenges, the greatest threats come from traffickers and criminals exploiting vulnerable individuals. Thousands, including children and those with disabilities, undertake the perilous journey, with significant increases in migrant crossings reported in recent years – from 8,594 in 2020 to a record 520,085 in 2023. However, this number dramatically decreased to only 2,831 between January and March 2025. To address the human rights violations migrants face, the , alongside Panama and Costa Rica's Ombudsman's Offices, developed a to gather data and respond effectively to these issues.
In Egypt’s Nile Delta and beyond, young activists are leading efforts to combat toxic waste and climate threats, demanding environmental justice and sustainable solutions to protect communities and human rights.
Manuel Calloquispe Flores, a journalist for 15 years, has extensively investigated illegal gold mining in La Pampa, Peru, where criminal gangs exploit the region's biodiversity. Despite mining being prohibited due to its environmental impact, the area faces severe deforestation and mercury pollution. Calloquispe raises awareness about disappearances linked to mining and advocates for affected families, transitioning from business studies to journalism upon witnessing the mining crisis. Despite facing multiple assaults and death threats, he continues to report on these issues. Since 2022, UN Human Rights Peru has supported him, documenting numerous attacks against journalists and ensuring his safety through protective measures. His work highlights the significant dangers journalists face when exposing crime and environmental issues.
In the 1970s, the Bajo Aguán region of became the focus of agrarian reform, with hundreds of families relocated to its fertile lands. However, this area has since become plagued by violence and corruption, leading to land dispossession and murders, as noted by Bardia Jebeli from the . Legislative changes in the 1990s facilitated land purchases by agro-industrial entrepreneurs, further exacerbating these issues. Rural poverty is , with many affected individuals being small-scale farmers facing systemic discrimination and human rights challenges. Despite this, communities in Bajo Aguán, led by women and youth, resist these adversities, viewing their land as a vital life project. International support, especially from UN Human Rights, has provided hope and solidarity, emphasizing the importance of their role as allies in the fight for justice and equity in land rights.
The journey of Viany Nguemakoue Djouffa — a former domestic worker turned entrepreneur, activist, and community leader - is one of defying expectations, reclaiming dignity, and building networks of support that transcend nationality and circumstance. Djouffa’s story began like many migrant workers’ in . She arrived from Cameroon in 2015 seeking work to support her family, entering into Lebanon’s kafala system — a sponsorship-based labour structure that often leaves migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. However, unlike many who remain trapped within the system, Djouffa found a way to carve out her independence. Drawing on her skills as a trained tailor, she launched her own workshop, creating a sustainable livelihood outside the confines of domestic work.
Maryam was forced to record a message for her parents while in detention, facing a mock execution for protesting against systemic discrimination against women and girls in Iran. Despite her fear, she expressed determination, saying she would die with purpose. Two and a half years after the protests began, women and girls in Iran still face severe persecution. A recent UN Human Rights confirms that Iranian authorities are implementing new restrictions on their rights and intensifying crackdowns on supporters of the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement. The report was recently presented to the in Geneva.
“The so-called War on Drugs has destroyed countless lives and damaged entire communities. These policies are simply not working, and we are failing some of the most vulnerable groups in our societies,” UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said at a on global drug policies. For decades, governments have adopted a largely punitive approach to control narcotic drugs. UN experts say the results have been catastrophic, and cite some of the : Mass incarceration rates, increased drug-related crimes and violence, record numbers of drug-related deaths, growing illegal production of drugs, and stigmatization and discrimination of entire communities. However, positive changes are emerging, as countries like the Philippines, Ghana, Pakistan, and Colombia shift towards drug policies that prioritize public health, dignity, and human rights over punishment.
Sanela Bešić, a Roma woman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Irma Velásquez Nimatuj, a K’iche’ Maya woman from Guatemala, were both born into communities facing systemic racism. Despite their differing backgrounds, their experiences with racial discrimination were parallel. Bešić recalls being the only Roma child in her elementary school, facing exclusion and mistreatment, while Velásquez Nimatuj felt out of place in a private school environment, aware of the discrimination around her. The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle against racism. Despite progress over the past six decades, racial inequalities continue to affect many lives worldwide.
Hawa Ba, Mauritanian journalist, advocates for women's rights, challenges gender stereotypes, and raises awareness about gender-based violence, collaborating with the Mauritanian Journalists’ Network and UN Human Rights.
supports climate-affected communities, advocating for international standards on housing, food, water, and reparation rights.
The Garifuna are an Afro-Indigenous community in Honduras, numbering between 50,000 and 100,000, primarily relying on fishing and subsistence agriculture. They face historical and structural barriers leading to inequality, discrimination, and rights violations. Despite three favorable rulings from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding the titling of their ancestral lands, corporate land grabs and inadequate enforcement hinder their rights. In February 2024, the Honduran government established a high-level commission (CIANCSI) to facilitate the restitution of ancestral lands for communities like Triunfo de la Cruz. reports that land-related conflicts contribute to violence, displacement, and food insecurity, with nearly a third of the 308 human rights defenders attacked in 2023 being indigenous or Afro-Honduran.
“When I came here, I saw others, I listened to their stories, and it gave me power to convert weakness into strength,” said Swastika Mali, a Nepalese paralegal and activist at Advocacy Forum Nepal, whose father was disappeared over 20 years ago. Co-organized in Geneva, Switzerland, by the , the (CED), the , and UN Human Rights, the united 720 participants from more than 120 countries and 1,392 attendees online. The event, which primarily gathered relatives of the disappeared, provided a platform to share experiences, challenges, and best practices. It also marked a crucial step in shaping a collective path toward justice, truth, reparation, and the prevention of future disappearances.