Human Rights Foundation (HRF)

We promote and protect democracy & human rights around the world, with a focus on authoritarian regimes.

👉 Attend our human rights conference: @osloff

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Today, HRF released “Manipulation of Sustainable Development: Framing of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by Authoritarian Regimes.”

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

When authoritarian regimes control access to money, financial freedom can become a matter of survival.

Activists, journalists, and nonprofits need practical tools to keep their work moving when traditional financial systems become restricted or inaccessible.

Join @AnyaChekhovich, HRF’s Freedom Tech education lead, Ben Perrin, BTC Sessions educator, and @wkkaung, HRF’s head of Global Bitcoin Adoption, for a free 3-day Bitcoin education series starting Sept. 21.

Learn how to use Bitcoin to navigate financial censorship and build greater financial resilience.

Secure your seat for the 3-day training series. Register today: https://t.co/a5etrIMg47

[Berta Valle @bertavalle]

The Tyranny Tracker will be at @Georgetown University at 3 p.m. on Sept. 18!

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Explore the full report and the evidence behind these findings: https://t.co/LbEIAlwOB7

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Today, HRF released “Manipulation of Sustainable Development: Framing of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by Authoritarian Regimes.”

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Through case studies from Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Iran, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, the report finds that in repressive contexts, the SDGs are used for control, propaganda, and international legitimation — not genuine development.

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

In a joint statement, five local civil society organizations expressed concern about repression targeting political opponents and dissenting voices following Zambia’s disputed Aug. 13 election. The groups decried a pattern of abusive practices, including unlawful and prolonged detention, denial of access to legal counsel and family members, and inhumane and degrading treatment. https://t.co/oQbAn3q39B

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

HRF condemns the Zambian regime's arbitrary cancellation of the passports of six government critics along with the stripping of nationality from two others. HRF calls for these grave abuses of administrative powers—imposed without due process—to be lifted immediately and for Hakainde Hichilema’s regime to end its ongoing, politically-motivated crackdown on dissent.

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Authorities have also stripped Sishuwa, a respected historian and senior lecturer at Stellenbosch University, and opposition politician and lawyer Celestine Mukandila of their citizenship. Mukandila has filed a legal challenge to the measure. A petition calling on the Zambian regime to reinstate the passports has garnered more than 1,400 signatures. https://t.co/yGqPou89Af

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Boloetse filed a complaint with the police and publicly spoke about the attack before subsequently going into hiding for his own safety. However, in a press conference on Sept. 13, Police Commissioner Borotho Matsoso declared that investigations were stalled due to Boloetse’s unavailability. Police have ignored eyewitness testimonies casting suspicion on state security services. https://t.co/p9648vz9oS

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

HRF calls on the Lesotho Mounted Police Service to carry out a thorough and credible investigation into the alarming abduction and torture of prominent journalist and human rights activist Kananelo Boloetse. Authorities must guarantee his safety and bring the perpetrators to justice to ensure the attack does not cast a chill on freedom of expression in the country.

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

On Sept. 5, three unknown assaillants broke into the home of Boloetse, editor of the independent Newsday Media, in the capital Maseru and took him to an unknown destination. Boloetse—who is also the co-founder of civic movement—said the men interrogated him about his work in journalism and human rights advocacy and brutally assaulted him before dumping him on the outskirts of Maseru. He claimed that his attackers threatened to return and kill him if he reported the attack.
https://t.co/fFlBqT3EVf

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Beijing’s treatment of critics and ethnic national groups — both in and beyond its jurisdiction — shows how the party-state exercises authoritarian power. HRF and fellow signatories remain firmly committed to standing in solidarity with all communities unjustly targeted by the Chinese government. We will continue to monitor and expose the CCP’s human rights violations. https://t.co/OPbqtiwd05

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Leading up to Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Washington, D.C., his first visit since 2015, HRF joins @CHRDnet, @theCFHK, @hrichina, and 25 other NGOs to urge Xi to immediately release all prisoners of conscience, end transnational repression, and commit to repealing abusive laws before his planned visit on Sept. 24. https://t.co/OPbqtivFax

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Xi and Trump are expected to meet at APEC and G20 convenings later this year. At Xi’s 2023 visit for APEC in San Francisco, peaceful protestors were harassed, intimidated, and violently assaulted by pro-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) actors; the open letter seeks Xi’s pledge that his delegation will refrain from such transnational repression during his upcoming visit.

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

Read the full report: https://t.co/IhvasAswoS

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

China's regime already uses a new generation of AI to automate censorship at home. Now Venezuela is poised to import it.

[Human Rights Foundation (HRF) @HRF]

A new HRF-sponsored report from @ASPI_org maps out the deal, the infrastructure awaiting it, and the narrow window to stop it.

[EPP Group @EPPGroup]

The EPP Group has nominated lawyer, human rights activist and politician Mr Tundu Lissu as a candidate for the Sakharov Prize.

After surviving a 2017 assassination attempt, Mr Lissu returned to Tanzania to continue advocating democratic reform, only to face arrest, treason charges and exclusion from the 2025 presidential election, while his party was barred from participating.

His case reflects the wider erosion of democratic pluralism and political competition in Tanzania.

For the EPP Group, Mr Lissu represents a powerful combination of personal courage, democratic conviction and geopolitical relevance. His nomination affirms that Europe stands with those defending constitutional democracy and political freedom in Africa and in other partner countries of the EU. Mr Lissu embodies the defence of democracy, political pluralism, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms at extraordinary personal cost.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought is the highest tribute paid by the European Union to human rights work.