Watch as our CEO, @uzraz.bsky.social , introduces Bach's vital contributions to the fight for climate justice in Vietnam and hear from Bach's wife, Thao, as she accepts the Baldwin Medal of Liberty on his behalf. #FreeBach #StandwithBach #4YearsTooLong youtu.be/08l6GHZw7BE

First up in the series is an explainer on the #Leahy Laws, with an emphasis on how they compare to #GlobalMagnitsky sanctions and the role civil society can play in triggering action under both programs. Read our explainer below👇

100+ civil society organizations are calling on @USDOL to restore $500M in funding to combat forced labor & child labor. These funds are essential to protect children and to end #humantrafficking. These cuts put lives at risk. #ForcedLabor #ChildLabor stopchildlabor.org/civil-societ...

Today @humanrights1st launched a new comparative chart on how Magnitsky-style sanctions are used to hold human rights abusers & corrupt actors accountable in the U.S., U.K., EU, Canada, and Australia. Learn more: humanrightsfirst.org/library/what...

[email protected] & @transparencyusa.bsky.social condemn the Trump admin for lifting Global Magnitsky sanctions on sr Hungarian official Antal Rogán. This delisting raises grave concerns that the US is undermining an important corruption accountability tool. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

@amandalstrayer.bsky.social: “Human rights, democratic norms and the rule of law have all but disappeared in #ElSalvador. The United States should be holding Bukele’s government accountable for these serious violations..." www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/u...

"The two-page memo, which was obtained by The Associated Press, does not allege any criminal conduct by Khalil" "Rather, Rubio wrote Khalil could be expelled for his beliefs." Free this man immediately. apnews.com/article/mahm...

Read our factsheet here. It discusses key arguments against the sanctions and what they do & do not cover, and includes perspectives condemning the sanctions from human rights activists in countries the #ICC has ongoing investigations. humanrightsfirst.org/library/u-s-...

“These cuts mean that [more] children will be forced to work in extremely hazardous conditions in brick kilns, slave-like conditions in seafood processing centers and palm oil processing, and in forced online sex exploitation...” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

They are disappearing people off the streets They are disappearing people off the streets They are disappearing people off the streets They are disappearing people off the streets They are disappearing people off the streets

Four survivors of Japan’s “hostage justice” filed a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court on March 24. This lawsuit marks a courageous stand by survivors seeking an end to the abusive practice of hostage justice, a first of its kind in Japan.

Trump authorized sanctions against the #ICC, but what does this mean? @humanrightsfirst.org, @adamofkeith.bsky.social and I explain what the sanctions do & do not cover and why they threaten the court's vital work in supporting justice & accountability for the world's worst int'l crimes. Link below⤵️

This is going to have significant consequences for immigration law. The State Department Human Rights Report is presumptively reliable and cited in asylum decisions all the time. If it's gutted completely (it was moderately gutted under Trump), it'll erase a major evidentiary tool for asylum cases.

In our latest periodic report, @humanrights1st.bsky.social tracked how the U.S. gov't used #Magnitsky-style sanctions and visa restrictions to hold human rights abusers and corrupt actors accountable in the second half of 2024. humanrightsfirst.org/library/us-g...

We @humanrights1st.bsky.social welcome the news that former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant for extrajudicial killings in the country’s so-called “war on drugs.” humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

Utterly outrageous. This is un-American. The forced disappearance of Mahmoud Khalil for nothing more than constitutionally protected speech is a clear assault on first amendment rights and a blatant act of authoritarianism. Khalil must be released. apnews.com/article/colu...

“Soon after the press conference finished last night, the city was rocked by a series of large explosions. A hospital was hit, along with a supermarket and various residential buildings. Local news reported a dozen casualties.”

Trump’s new EO borrows much of the language from past efforts to sanction the ICC & is the latest in a series of disgraceful attempts to shield Israel from accountability for its atrocities in Gaza. @adamofkeith.bsky.social & I break down some of its impacts: humanrightsfirst.org/library/what...

@ninamorpol.bsky.social and I would welcome feedback on this paper.

Important to situate the ICC sanctions within the Trump admin's broader assault on the rule of law. Favored groups such as Jan 6 rioters and Israeli officials should be above the law. Whereas those who seek to hold them accountable for actual crimes should be punished. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Follow us @humanrightsfirst.bsky.social to learn more about our work and learn how you can take action to defend civil and human rights.

As ex-Sen. Menendez faces an 11-year sentence for bribery & acting as a foreign agent of Egypt, the Egyptian officials apparently involved have yet to face accountability. Human Rights First has urged the US government to impose #Magnitsky sanctions to show such corruption will not be tolerated.

Courageous letter from Ukrainian human rights NGOs and war crimes documenters urging @kajakallas.bsky.social and the EU to protect the ICC against U.S. sanctions. "Imposing sanctions...would be a devastating and unacceptable act of a political attack against the system of international justice."

It is great to finally be able to announce that Dang Dinh Bach, the courageous and imprisoned Vietnamese climate rights activist and lawyer, is the winner of Human Rights First's 2024 Baldwin award for an outstanding human rights defender.

Today #HumanRightsFirst calls for #Magnitsky sanctions against an #Egyptian official & US co. allegedly involved in Egypt's shocking scheme to bribe one of the most powerful politicians in DC. Too often the US fails to hold abusive security partners to account - it must act now. tinyurl.com/y2a7aa23

We at Human Rights First celebrate Human Rights Defenders Day today. I’m lucky to work alongside these HRDs in Kharkiv on Ukraine’s northeastern front. vimeo.com/1037478566?s...

ICYMI watch @adamofkeith.bsky.social & @billbrowder.bsky.social testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning on how the Global #Magnitsky sanctions program has been implemented since its creation. www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/imp...

Tomorrow Human Rights First’s @adamofkeith.bsky.social and Sir @billbrowder.bsky.social will testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the implementation of Global #Magnitsky sanctions. Watch it live at 10:30am here: www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/imp...

Yesterday, the U.S. government announced new Global #Magnitsky sanctions targeting 3 former government officials of #Uzbekistan for their role in #HumanTrafficking & #GenderBasedViolence against children in a state-run orphanage. home.treasury.gov/news/press-r...

Statement from Human Rights First opposing the threats of U.S. sanctions in response to the arrest warrants in the ICC's Palestine investigation. humanrightsfirst.org/library/huma...

ICYMI, check out this recap of last week's incredible #MagnitskyMonth panel on mobilizing action for #politicalprisoners & hostages, with Evgenia Kara-Murza of the Free Russia Foundation, Angelita Baeyens of RFK Human Rights, & Richard Ratcliffe of the #FreeNazanin campaign. tinyurl.com/hrf-magmonth

Tomorrow! Join us to hear from Brad Brooks-Rubin of Arktouros, Chloe Zoeller of PADF, Natalia Kubesch of REDRESS, & our own @amandalstrayer.bsky.social, on the Biden admin's use of #Magnitsky sanctions & what we can expect from the next administration. humanrightsfirst.org/events/2024-...

In our latest for @justsecurity.org, @amandalstrayer.bsky.social, Suchita Uppal & I argue that the U.S. gov't should extend the use of Global #Magnitsky sanctions to address all cases of #humantrafficking, including those without physical abuse. The examples are many - read below for more.