Zhang Yi, a prominent pro-democracy activist, was formally placed in detention July 28 on suspicion of “inciting separatism” under China’s new Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity & Progress, which came into effect on the first of the month. The law states its aim as promoting “a strong sense of community” among Chinese people. Article 2 of the law dictates that this must be achieved by “upholding” the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership. Other articles aim to establish homogeneity in respect of culture, religion, language and written script. Critics contend that the legislation serves as a sweeping legal tool to impose forced assimilation and eliminate the distinct cultural identities of minority populations.

Notably, Article 63 establishes that the law extends beyond China’s borders, allowing charges against those even outside of the mainland territory who create “ethnic division” within the People’s Republic. Rights groups have criticized this as another attempt to exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction over diaspora communities, causing them to live in fear of retaliation from the Chinese government.

Zhang Yi was initially detained July 1—the day the Ethnic Unity Law took effect—during a visit to Sera monastery outside Lhasa, the Tibetan capital. There, he showed a Tibetan worshiper a photograph of the Dalai Lama on his phone, in an attempt to non-verbally communicate that he needed a prayer mat. This exchange was overseen by plainclothes police, who arrested him as he left the prayer room.

Prior to the law’s enactment, multiple rights groups warned of its far-reaching implications, stating that it puts activists at risk of persecution. Rights organization also criticized the “broad and undefined” nature of prohibitions on acts that “undermine ethnic unity or create ethnic division,” warning of the potential for arbitrary detentions.

According to rights group Tibet Watch, there have been at several detentions related to expression of cultural or religious identity in Tibet over the past months, including the enforced disappearance of two monks. The group warned of a heightened “pattern of oppression” against Tibetans.

Tibet has been under Chinese rule since 1951, with the ratification of the Seventeen Point Agreement between Lhasa and Beijing. However, many legal scholars and rights groups argue that the agreement was signed by the Lhasa government under duress, and that Tibet legally remains “an independent state” under Chinese occupation.

Rights groups say that China’s ongoing repression of the Tibetan community extends far beyond systematically erasing Tibetan culture from history textbooks and forcing young Tibetan children into state-run residential schools. The government has also sought to extend political control over the community by detaining and hiding the 11th Panchen Lama, Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, since 1995—apparently to set a precedent for control the selection of the next Dalai Lama.

The Panchen Lama is the second-highest authority in Tibetan Buddhism. By replacing the indigenously chosen Panchen Lama with a state-vetted proxy, Beijing has sought to permanently subordinate the religion to Communist Party rule, rights advocates say.

From JURIST, Aug. 6. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on the “Ethnic Unity Law.”

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Five South American countries on Aug. 6 announced completion of a two-week joint law enforcement operation targeting environmental crimes across the Amazon rainforest. The campaign, dubbed Operation Green Shield 2026, resulted in over 800 arrests and the seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars in timber, minerals and livestock.

The campaign was coordinated by the International Initiative of Law Enforcement for Climate (I2LEC), a project led by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched in 2023 jointly with the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) to help countries share intelligence and resources against environmental crimes. A 2024 UNODC resolution formalized new measures to crack down on crimes affecting the environment.

According to the announcement, law enforcement agencies from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru conducted raids throughout the Amazon Basin from July 15 through July 31. The raids mostly took place in remote areas that have long sheltered illegal mining camps, logging routes, and wildlife trafficking corridors. More than 3,600 officers were deployed in the campaign, resulting in the seizure of 280,000 cubic meters of timber along with several hundred tons of mining materials and livestock connected to unlawful land use.

Criminal prosecutions will now move through the domestic legal system of the country where the arrest occurred. Brazil’s Environmental Crimes Law lists offenses against wildlife, forests and natural resources, establishing both individual and corporate liability. Colombia’s Law 2111 of 2021 established provisions in the country’s penal code for offenses such as illegal deforestation. Peru and Ecuador have established similar provisions, with Ecuador’s lawincluding no statute of limitations for environmental damage claims.

Operation Green Shield is the latest in a string of multilateral police actions in the Amazon rainforest. In early 2026, the European Union, through its EL PAACTO 2.0 program, brought INTERPOL and a Dutch police unit together for “Operation Guyana Shield,” with nearly 200 individuals arrested in a coordinated effort to address illegal gold mining.

However, judicial bodies have frequently clashed with executive branches over resource exploitation, including past federal court interventions that explicitly blocked orders permitting commercial mining exploitation inside protected rainforest reserves.

The Belém Declaration, signed on Aug. 8, 2023, acted as the political foundation for cross-border enforcement by unifying the eight member nations of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) with the goal of tackling cross-border crime and protecting the rainforest.

From JURIST, Aug. 6. Used with permission.

Photo: WAM

The report, titled “Lifting the Lid: Internal documents expose Shell’s negligent oil operations,” examines company records that appear to confirm the long-standing complaints of residents of the Niger Delta. Amnesty reports that the documents also loan weight to concerns raised by the Nigerian army over neglectful conduct and “complicity” in oil theft that has led to spills. Amnesty is the first group to report on these disclosed documents following legal proceedings in the UK last summer.

Isa Sanusi, director of Amnesty International Nigeria, stated:

Shell has long blamed oil theft and sabotage for pollution in the Niger Delta. But these documents cut through years of denial and raise grave questions about what Shell knew, what it allowed to continue, and whether it then sought to walk away from the costs of its toxic legacy. The scandal was not simply illegal ‘bunkering’ or oil theft. The real scandal is Shell’s pursuit of profit at the expense of people’s rights.

Shell was approached by Amnesty International with the findings, and responded in a statement: “The characterisation and portrayal of Shell in your letter is not one we recognise. Shell is committed to honesty, integrity and respect for people, and to conducting business in an ethical and transparent manner.”

A 2022 UN General Assembly resolution recognized the right to a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment. This right includes such substantive elements as the right to clean air, to safe water, to healthy food, and to non-toxic environments to live and work in.

From JURIST, July 30. Used with permission.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated: “The Thai authorities should urgently and impartially investigate online attacks, including death threats, against Angkhana, Anchana, and Romadon, who have been widely recognized for their work defending human rights in Thailand’s deep south… Those responsible for serious threats should be brought to justice, regardless of their affiliation, to demonstrate Thailand’s commitment to protecting human rights defenders.”

The HRW statement came as Angkhana filed a police complaint under the Computer-Related Crime Act after an online disinformation campaign called for her extrajudicial killing, portraying her a sympathizer of the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), and falsely claiming that she was a supporter of the deadly militant ambush in Narathiwat province on July 22. Similar claims were shared about Anchana and Romadon. HRW stated that the abusive social media posts were part of a broader state-orchestrated initiative, with accounts being traced back to the Thai government’s information operations.

Angkhana, a senator and former commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, has long been the target of a state-sponsored campaign of intimidation for her frontline work in advocating for the rights of Thailand’s Muslim community. The Muslim community in Thailand—which is concentrated in the Deep South, specifically the provinces of Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun—is extremely vulnerable to arbitrarily detention under local emergency decrees, torture while in custody, and systematic discrimination aimed at forced assimilation.

Thailand’s military has a documented history of human rights abuses, including during the 2010 Red Shirt Protests, which saw the army deployed under a strict state of emergency, leading to over 80 fatalities. However, military repression in the Deep South rarely receives the same level of publicity compared to other provinces in the country, due to severe political neglect, the framing of abuses as counter-terrorism measures, and geographic marginalization. This has resulted in the scale of abuses in the Deep South being effectively invisible, with minimal investigations conducted into such cases.

Angkhana’s husband, Somchai Neelaphaijit, a prominent human rights lawyer, was last seen being pushed into a car by a group of men against his will in early 2004. He has been missing ever since, leaving behind his wife and five young children.

From JURIST, Aug. 2. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: Front Line Defenders

The UN experts say that approximately 57 Bahá’ís are currently detained or imprisoned in Iran. They report claims of arbitrary and incommunicado detention, physical and psychological abuse, and coerced confessions. Some detainees were reportedly subjected to mock executions to pressure them into making confessions that were subsequently broadcast throughout Iranian state media.

The prosecutions have reportedly focused on national-security charges, including “propaganda against the state,” “acting against national security,” and espionage. Human rights groups and Bahá’í representatives say that peaceful religious and community activities are being treated as security offenses, which allows criminal law to become a tool of religious repression.

The EU Agency for Asylum finds that risk varies among Bahá’ís depending on their circumstances. Those who participate in protests, publicly identify as Bahá’í, hold community leadership roles, or have previously been targeted may face heightened risk.

The allegations may constitute violations of Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which the Islamic Republic is a party. The ICCPR protects freedom of religion and belief, due process and fair trial rights, and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The current allegations form part of a much longer pattern; under the Pahlavi dynasty (1925–1979), Bahá’ís faced state-backed discrimination, including bans on religious literature, closure of Bahá’í schools, and exclusion from public-sector employment. In the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, more than 200 Bahá’ís were reportedly killed or executed, and thousands faced imprisonment, torture and exclusion from education and employment.

By the 1990s, persecution had shifted toward systematic exclusion. A 1991 government memorandum has been cited by Bahá’í organizations as evidence of a state policy intended to prevent the community from developing as a “viable entity” in Iran. Restrictions have since reportedly extended to university education, employment, businesses, religious gatherings, and burial sites.

The latest UN warning follows reports by the Bahá’í International Community and Human Rights Watch of more than 750 incidents involving arrests, home raids and imprisonment between June and November 2025.

From JURIST, July 31. Used with permission.

See our last report on persecution of the Baha’i.

Photo: Baha’i followers in Brazil protest repression in Iran. Via Wikimedia Commons

In announcing its decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the Venezuelan government described the move as “irrevocable,” and argued that the ICC has demonstrated political and geographic bias by disproportionately investigating countries in Africa and Latin America. Officials also asserted that Venezuela’s judicial system is capable of handling investigations without international intervention.

The UN Fact-Finding Mission expressed “grave concern” over the withdrawal, saying the decision raises serious questions about Venezuela’s commitment to accountability for human right abuses. The mission said Venezuela should continue cooperating with the ICC while strengthening credible domestic investigations into alleged crimes against humanity.

The ICC has been investigating allegations of crimes against humanity in Venezuela since 2021. Although the withdrawal process will take one year to become effective pursuant to Article 127 of the Rome Statute, the court can continue investigating crimes that occurred while Venezuela was still a party to the Rome Statute.

Recently, countries such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn from the Rome Statute over claims that it is a neo-colonialist institution that was interfering in their domestic affairs. In light of the wave of turbulence impacting the ICC, including the removal of prosecutor Karim Khan, critics contend that the court is facing an unprecedented legitimacy crisis, with a widening gap between its mandate and its internal structural stability.

From JURIST, July 29. Used with permission.

Note: The US is now actually seeking to dismantle the ICC.

Photo: Tony Webster via Wikimedia Commons

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Meanwhile, the US and Saudi Arabia have launched joint strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq (the Popular Mobilization Forces); Iran (or the Houthis) have hit Egypt, Kuwait and Jordan, where three US soldiers were killed in an attack on a military base; and the US also carried out what it called a “heavy wave” of attacks on Iran, with Tehran saying three civilians—a couple and their child—were killed on Qeshm island.

The US Senate failed to pass a War Powers Resolution (after similarly failing to pass one in March), while the Iran regime apparently sees it as in its political interest to extend the conflict on at least a minimal basis. Nonetheless, it appears to be quickly spiralling out of control.

From The New Humanitarian, July 31. Lightly edited.

Image: Pixabay

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the measures July 24 following a clashthat day that left four Palestinians and two Israeli settlers dead at the village of Tal, near Nablus. Mosques, farmland and vehicles were set afire during the settler attacks that sparked the clash.

Netanyahu ordered the establishment of new settler “outposts” and announced a process to “legalize” several existing outposts. He simultaneously announced new Israeli military operations on the West Bank. Hundreds have since been arrested in sweeps of Palestinian villages.

Guterres reiterated that all settlements, including so-called outposts, “have no legal validity and constitute a flagrant violation of international law,” calling them a major obstacle to achieving the two-state solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace. Israel disputes the international position that its West Bank settlements are illegal, maintaining that most are legal under its own domestic law.

In a separate statement, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) voiced alarm over escalating violence across the West Bank. Since July 23, at least eight Palestinians, including a child, have been killed and many others injured. At least 10 Palestinian families have been displaced.

OCHA also reported that Israeli forces have tightened restrictions on Palestinian movement across many areas of the West Bank, preventing thousands from accessing emergency medical care and other essential services. Since January, OCHA has documented more than 1,330 incidents involving Israeli settlers that resulted in casualties, property damage, or both. According to OCHA, Israeli forces or settlers killed 77 Palestinians this year as of July 25, of whom 18 were children, while three Israelis had been killed by Palestinians in the same period.

The UN, the International Court of Justice, and most of the international community consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank unlawful under international law. In a July 2024 advisory opinion, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s settlements breach the Fourth Geneva Convention and that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful.

Guterres issued a similar warning in February after Israel announced a package of measures expanding Israeli authority in the West Bank, including the resumption of land registration; and in June, six governments announced sanctions targeting individuals enabling settler violence, following a similar move by the European Union. Human Rights Watch on July 24 also decried the settler violence at Tal. The UN and its partners have called for the urgent protection of civilians, strict respect for international humanitarian law, and accountability for perpetrators.

From JURIST, July 28. Used with permission.

Photo: Wikipedia

Amnesty International condemned the July 15 decision of Delhi’s lieutenant governor to invoke Section 3(2) of India’s National Security Act (NSA), which effectively grants police the power to hold individuals in administrative detention without procedural guarantees.

The decision to invoke this section of the NSA comes amid mass youth protests in India, led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding accountability over apparent examination paper leaks that affected millions of students. The protests began in May after the answers to India’s medical school entrance exam, known as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test—Undergraduate (NEET-UG), were leaked, leading to more than 2 million students needing to re-take the test.

Following extension of the invocation of Section 3(2) of the NSA until Oct. 18, Aakar Patel, chair of Amnesty International India, stated:

This deeply concerning move is an affront to human rights that risks enflaming the situation in Delhi even further. It grants the police a host of discretionary powers to detain people for entirely arbitrary reasons for up to 12 months. Fair trial rights guaranteed under international human rights law are essentially suspended, as detainees are denied legal representation and do not have to be informed of the grounds of their detention for up to 15 days.

Delhi police claim that this a routine administrative measure, but Patel pointed to previous times Indian police have abused this power, such as during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2020 and the 2026 workers’ protests in Noida. The examination paper leaks have resulted in extreme distress among test-takers who had spent years preparing for the grueling exam, leading to at least 20 students committing suicide.

The CJP protests ultimately forced the government to accede to their demands, including a five-point exam reform charter and adequate compensation to the affected families. At the height of the protests on July 20, Delhi police used tear-gas and batons against protestors as they attempted to march towards India’s parliament.

The movement emerged after the Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, made derogatory remarks about student protesters, dismissing them as “unemployed youths…who attack the legal system,” and even going so far as to call them “cockroaches.”

Under the NSA, police can detain persons without charge based on the suspicion that they might carry out an activity that undermines public order or national security. Once detained, such individuals have no right to legal representation before the three-member Advisory Board that reviews the grounds on which their detention was ordered.

The NSA has been widely criticized as a contravention of Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to liberty and security of person, as well as Article 14 of the ICCPR, which guarantees the right to fair trial.

From JURIST, July 27. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on the Gen Z revolutions.

Photo: Pelph Hoters via Wikimedia Commons