India, June 18 -- Attacks against human right defenders have reached record levels over the past year, according to a new report issued on Wednesday by the UN human rights office, OHCHR.
Preliminary data indicates that around 950 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists were killed or forcibly disappeared worldwide in 2025, more than double the number a decade ago.
These and other alarming trends are highlighted in 'Human Rights Count 2026', OHCHR's latest global dataset documenting attacks on defenders, civilian deaths in conflicts, patterns of discrimination worldwide and the state of institutions tasked with protecting universal human rights.
Every 10 hours, a human rights defender, journalist or trade unionist is kille...