Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

Articles by Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

A representative of the Violations Documentation Centre in Syria accepts an award on Razan Zaitouneh's behalf, during the 'Francoise Giroud' Award Ceremony at the MK2 Bibliotheque, Paris, France, 30 January 2014, Kristy Sparow/Getty Images

Honouring women’s rights defenders on International Women’s Day

Razan Zaitouneh, Bayan Wehan and Nivin Hotary from Syria; Maryam Shariatmadari from Iran; Noha Al-Balawi and Maria Naji from Saudi Arabia, and other women human rights defenders throughout the region are honoured by GCHR as the organisation pledges continued support

A Saudi woman drives her car along a street in the coastal city of Jeddah, 27 September 2017, REEM BAESHEN/AFP/Getty Images

Saudi Arabia: UN Human Rights Council member blatantly violates human rights on a daily basis

The international human rights movement has been very disappointed to see Saudi Arabia regain its seat on the Human Rights Council.

Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (L) and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan during the inauguration of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum, 8 November 2017, KARIM SAHIB/AFP/Getty Images

UAE must implement UN recommendations on rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly

The United Nations Universal Periodic Review revealed a number of areas in which the UAE government has failed to deliver since its previous UPR took place in 2013.

People gather to protest over the high cost of living in Tehran, Iran on 30 December 2017, Stringer/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

MENA governments bent on shutting down political expression

In a month that included a malware surveillance campaign in Lebanon, Telegram being blocked in Iran and crackdowns in Tunisia, the release of Hisham Al-Omeisy was a welcome bit of good news.

A man walks in front of the Royal Opera House Muscat in the Shati Al-Qurm district of the Omani capital Muscat, 19 July 2016, Dominic Dudley/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Oman’s new penal code targets activists and public freedoms

The new law contains several vaguely-defined articles that could easily be used by the Internal Security Service (ISS), known for its history of human rights violations, to target human rights defenders and Internet activists, and to suffocate public freedoms.

Indonesian people hold a protest against air strikes in the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, in front of the Saudi Arabia Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, 11 October 2016, Jefta Images / Barcroft Images / Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Yemeni human rights activist Hisham Al-Omeisy missing for over 150 days

One of Yemen’s most prominent political analysts and activists has been held incommunicado by Houthi rebels since 14 August 2017.

Protest in front of the Medicine Syndicate in Cairo, Egypt, in solidarity with 22-year-old student and political prisoner Ahmed el-Khatib, 30 March 2017 , Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Life after sentencing for MENA’s political detainees

In December, MENA activists focused on the plight of political detainees serving lengthy and unjust sentences in obscurity.

A view of Abu Dhabi, 25 March 2013, Flickr/Fintrvlr, Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Emirati rights defender Obaid Al-Zaabi released

Obaid Al-Zaabi, now 60 years old, spent four years in prison since his arrest in December 2013.