Attacks against human rights defenders, journalists, and trade unionists have reached record levels, according to a new report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The report, Human Rights Count 2026, found that preliminary data indicates around 950 human rights defenders, journalists, and trade unionists were killed or forcibly disappeared worldwide in 2025 — more than double the number recorded a decade earlier. Since 2015, at least 5,995 defenders have been killed.
The report highlights several alarming global trends:
- A human rights defender, journalist, or trade unionist is killed or disappeared approximately every 10 hours.
- A child dies in armed conflict approximately every hour.
- One in five people reported experiencing discrimination in the past year.
The findings were released as the United Nations Economic and Social Council began its annual humanitarian affairs segment, bringing together governments, UN agencies, humanitarian partners, and the private sector to discuss the future of humanitarian action.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher warned that humanitarian organizations are facing a widening gap between rising needs and declining resources, as well as increasing challenges in delivering aid safely.
He stressed that respect for international humanitarian law and protection of aid workers are essential for effective humanitarian response, emphasizing that the future of humanitarian action requires cooperation from governments, conflict parties, donors, development actors, and the private sector.
The UN said strengthening protection for defenders and aid workers is critical at a time when conflicts, discrimination, and humanitarian crises are intensifying worldwide.
