Human rights defenders continue to face reprisals for engaging with the United Nations, despite formal commitments to protect them. The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) calls for stronger, concrete measures to ensure that cooperation with the UN is truly safe.
Geneva, 16 October 2025. As the Human Rights Council adopted its biannual resolution on cooperation with the United Nations (UN) this September, a deeply concerning reality was once again confirmed : human rights defenders who engage with the UN continue to face reprisals, from intimidation and surveillance to travel restrictions and the denial of re-entry into their own countries. FIDH welcomes the adoption of the 2025 resolution, which reiterates the UN’s commitment to safe and unhindered cooperation. Yet the persistence and evolution of reprisals show that stronger protection mechanisms are urgently needed.
Despite commitments : reprisals persist
The problem is well-documented. The 2025 report of the UN Secretary-General shows that reprisals remain widespread and increasingly sophisticated. Defenders face intimidation, surveillance, legal harassment and pressure on their families simply for engaging with UN mechanisms. It also notes a rise in anonymous submissions, reflecting increasing self-censorship due to fear. In many contexts, defenders are even targeted when they are outside their home country, showing that retaliation can be transnational in nature. These practices not only silence voices but undermine the effectiveness of the entire UN human rights system.
It is in this context that the Human Rights Council negotiated its biannual resolution on cooperation with the UN, one of the few formal opportunities to strengthen commitments against reprisals at the UN. FIDH welcomes the adoption by consensus of the 2025 resolution and the fact that it maintains important language on self-censorship and misuse of security legislation, while providing some useful clarifications, including a clearer reference to acts occurring beyond national borders and the need for better coordination within the UN.
However, member states should have gone further. The resolution does not establish stronger follow-up procedures, thus signalling that unresolved reprisals are tolerated rather than addressed. In addition, the text also fails to fully reflect the growing trend of transnational repression and does not include concrete protection measures, such as emergency visas or temporary relocation for defenders at risk. Lastly, it does not explicitly recognise the right to return to one’s own country, an essential element of freedom of movement, leaving a protection gap made painfully clear by recent cases, including that of Nassera Dutour.
The case of Nassera Dutour
Ms Dutour is the President of the Collectif des Familles de Disparu·e·s en Algérie (CFDA), who has dedicated her life to seeking truth and justice for hers and thousands of families affected by enforced disappearances in Algeria. For nearly three decades, she has consistently cooperated with UN human rights mechanisms. On 30 July 2025, shortly after a mission to the Council, she was prevented from entering Algeria and forcibly expelled to France, in violation of Article 12 of the ICCPR and Algeria’s own constitution. While officers refused to explain the decision, one reportedly told her : "But Madam, you work for an NGO". After decades of cooperation with the UN, this act clearly amounts to a reprisal. Rather than remain silent, she returned to Geneva last month, to raise her case with UN mechanisms and member states.
When a defender who has cooperated with the United Nations for nearly thirty years is barred from her own country after speaking at the Human Rights Council, the system must respond decisively. This concern is even more serious in light of Algeria’s membership to the Council. Council members must uphold the highest human rights standards, refrain from reprisals and ensure that cooperation with the UN is protected in both law and practice. If the Council is to remain credible, it must not only condemn reprisals but also ensure meaningful consequences.
FIDH’s call for action
FIDH urges UN member states, mechanisms, and agencies to move beyond political consensus and take practical steps to ensure the safety of those engaging with the UN. This includes regular, public follow-up on unresolved cases of reprisals until remedies are achieved, explicit recognition of cross-border forms of repression, inclusion of protection measures such as emergency visas or safe temporary relocation and stronger accountability for Council members who fail to uphold the highest human rights standards. When defenders are punished for cooperating with the UN, as seen in Algeria, Egypt, China and many other contexts, the credibility of the entire system is at risk. FIDH will continue to support human rights defenders facing reprisals and to advocate for stronger protection frameworks within the UN.
Meaningful, inclusive and safe participation by civil society is not only a fundamental right, it is essential to the legitimacy and effectiveness of the international human rights system.
