Voices Under Watch: UN Warns of Surveillance and Reprisals Against Rights Defenders

The Secretary-General’s report covers cases involving 32 States between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, offering a troubling picture of the dangers surrounding cooperation with international human rights mechanisms.

For people trying to expose human rights abuses, speaking to the United Nations can put their own safety and their families at risk, according to a new UN report that describes persistent intimidation, growing digital surveillance and threats reaching across national borders. Human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, trade unionists and victims of abuses are among those targeted by State or non-State actors for sharing information with the UN or seeking its help.

The Secretary-General's report covers cases involving 32 States between 1 May 2025 and 30 April 2026, offering a troubling picture of the dangers surrounding cooperation with international human rights mechanisms. Its findings represent only part of the problem, because some victims were too afraid to report what happened, declined to have their cases included or agreed to appear only anonymously to reduce the risk of further retaliation.

Threats Follow People Beyond Their Home Countries

Moving beyond a country's borders does not necessarily remove the danger for those who speak out, with the report documenting a growing pattern of transnational repression affecting at least 43 individuals and four organisations. The recorded acts include arbitrary detention, physical attacks, surveillance, threats, online harassment, restrictions on movement, passport confiscation and intimidation directed at family members, extending the pressure beyond the person engaging with the UN.

Claudia Fuentes Julio, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights who leads the organisation's response to reprisals, warned that shrinking civic space and surveillance both online and offline are making cooperation increasingly difficult. Her message centres on a basic principle: people should not have to choose between telling the UN about human rights concerns and protecting themselves, their families or their communities from harm.

Digital Surveillance and Restrictive Laws Deepen the Pressure

Digital technologies are increasingly being used to monitor, intimidate and silence people seeking contact with international human rights bodies, creating risks that extend into the online spaces used for communication and advocacy. The report calls attention to the need for stronger digital protections, recognising that safe participation depends on addressing the ways technology can expose people to retaliation.

The misuse of counterterrorism, cybercrime and national security legislation remains another serious concern, with more than half of the States covered having applied, enacted or amended laws that criminalised or further restricted core civil society activities. Young activists, women, environmental defenders and Indigenous Peoples reportedly face heightened risks for engaging with the UN and defending their communities, lands and environment, according to Fuentes Julio.

Safe Access to the UN Requires Protection and Accountability

Obstacles can follow civil society representatives into UN processes themselves, including attempts to block or delay accreditation and harassment of participants on UN premises. The report describes attacks against independent human rights experts, including Special Procedures mandate holders, and warns that such actions can discourage other individuals and organisations from coming forward, weakening the UN's ability to hear from people affected by abuses.

Efforts across the UN system and among Member States include initiatives supporting safe participation on UN premises and measures to strengthen prevention, protection and accountability. The report urges States to stop intimidation and reprisals, hold those responsible accountable and protect everyone who engages with the organisation, stressing that meaningful contact with civil society is essential to the UN's ability to respond to people's needs and advance human rights.