The Taliban’s oppression seeks to remove women from public life and steal futures from girls. My piece for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on why Australia should take the case to the ICJ:

The crises we face today are real. But we know in the communities closest to the harm is where we’ll find solutions. It’s heartening to be surrounded by leaders and community builders from every region of the world at UCLG World Congress. @open-society.bsky.social is proud to be your partner.

Universality was never meant to be uniformity. It does not require that the world speak with one voice. It is precisely the meeting of many traditions—cultural and legal, new and old, on every continent—that gives human dignity its true universality.

The rights we now take for granted—abolition of slavery, the vote for women, the end of colonial rule—were not granted from above. They were won from below, by people who organized, argued, persuaded, suffered defeats, and kept going.

Nearly a decade ago, an authoritarian leader forced CEU out of Budapest. You did not watch the closing of a society from a distance. You lived it, and you persevered. That leader is now gone. Your commitment to open societies continues.

Today’s advocates of dignity and justice understand that the law alone will not save us. I say this as a lawyer who knows that the first international convictions for rape as an instrument of genocide came because the survivors I worked with refused to let prosecutors look away.

To honor the freedoms we were once most proud of, we must defend democratic institutions, protect everyone’s dignity, and resist the lie that rights are zero-sum. One standard—for Gaza, Sudan, and Ukraine—because a standard applied selectively is no standard at all.

A multilateral system’s future depends on welcoming, not managing, a wider coalition—looking at who sits at the table, who sets the agenda. The same test falls on philanthropy: Support frontlines. Transfer power. Stand as allies, not saviors.

Recent events, including the fatal shooting at a mosque in San Diego and stabbings targeting the Jewish community in London, show how the demonization of faith communities can deepen divisions in society and lead to terrible violence.

Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate have flared across the west, with each rising to record levels. But, as I write in the @theguardian.com, these two hatreds have rarely been seen as related dangers—let alone confronted as a common threat to societies.

As I discussed on the @womensagenda.bsky.social podcast, we have to both defend women’s rights and advance them. Having women in leadership positions isn’t a trade-off—it’s win for everyone.

At @open-society.bsky.social, we just committed $300 million to defend freedoms and create economic opportunities for all in the U.S. We are partnering with people who are looking beyond the hard times of today to imagine an affirmative vision for the next generation.

The U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran was not just a war against the Iranian military. It was a high-speed, systematic assault on an entire society—with little prospect of accountability. We must effectively regulate this new, high-pace, mass-scale of warfare before it becomes the norm.

Prejudice, dehumanization, and violence against Muslims and Jews––fueled by deep injustices in the Middle East––have led to corrosive hate. This week, we were proud to announce a new $30 million, three-year initiative to address an alarming surge of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate.

We are living through a broader moment that demands we name what we are seeing. The organizations and institutions that protect our democracy are under sustained and coordinated pressure.

So great to speak with Dina Chaerani at @womendeliver.bsky.social about how bodily autonomy is the first right women need: “If women cannot control when they have sex, who they have sex with, when they have children, how many children they have—they cannot control their lives.”

Congratulations to Open Society President Binaifer Nowrojee @nowrojeeosf.bsky.social for being named one of Washington DC’s 500 Most Influential People of 2026 by @washingtonian.com!

Behind each social justice movement lies decades of organizing––women, LGBTQ+ communities, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, care workers, and informal workers building power from the ground up, often at great personal cost. @womendeliver.bsky.social

At Women Deliver 2026, I’ve been inspired by courageous feminists on the frontlines of the fight for gender justice, often in the most difficult situations. From grassroots movements to feminist approaches to tech, thousands of women leaders are moving power where it belongs. #WD2026

Today, I’m thinking of Makan Nasiri, the only child whose remains have still not been found two months after the horrific massacre that killed more than 165 students at the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran on February 28.

Today, we mark South African Freedom Day and pay tribute to the countless South Africans who made immense sacrifices fighting for their own liberation, inside the country and outside it.

The war in Sudan has devastated the country, but it has not broken its people. However, their resilience must not become an excuse for inaction. Courage cannot substitute for justice. Aid cannot replace peace. The world faces a choice.

We hope the ceasefire holds, but can't ignore that conflict continues in Lebanon. @open-society.bsky.social stands with this coalition in affirming our calls for the laws of war to be upheld, especially the protection of civilians, and accountability for those who violate international law.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” These were the words that Hansa Mehta, the Indian feminist and freedom fighter, added to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They affirmed that human rights are for everyone, everywhere.

I was honored to join the Faith and Politics Institute’s Congressional Pilgrimage to South Carolina to visit historic sites from slavery and the Civil Rights movement. We explored lessons from America’s past—particularly the unfinished struggle for freedom and equal opportunity.

I spoke with Bernd Riegert at Deutsche Welle about the work of @open-society.bsky.social and the values behind it. Our approach is simple: support those working to defend human rights, strengthen democracy, and keep societies open.

On this International Women’s Day, I feel it's important to recognize that the anti-gender and anti-rights movement should, in some ways, be understood as a reaction to progress:

The Open Society Foundations condemn the arbitrary detention and denial of entry of our managing director of Programs, Brian Kagoro, by authorities in Kenya. No formal charges were presented, and no written reasons were provided to him.

Rights are not just given. They are always fought for. In this moment, we’re being called on to fight for them.

More women now are graduating from university than men, and ever more women are taking up leadership roles in many spaces. As the role of women in society, we’ve seen attempts to push women back into “traditional” roles, as I said in at a @munsecconf.bsky.social event.

As a teenager in Kenya, I witnessed firsthand the consequences of a government whose authority thrived on brute force and fear. Over my career, I’ve been a student of the mechanics of repression: vulnerable populations demonized, allied communities targeted, and unpunished abuse normalized.

As the current administration transforms immigration enforcement into a tool of cruelty that undermines the rule of law, and as migrants are blamed for problems they didn’t create, communities are banding together to defend their neighbors.

.@open-society.bsky.social supports the right of free speech and organizations’ constitutional rights to organize themselves, including through peaceful protest. We’ll fight to ensure those rights are upheld, including going to court if needed. My @theguardian.com interview https://bit.ly/48C9laH

I am deeply honored to receive this award. It is a recognition of a shared commitment to something larger than ourselves—that the rule of law must also mean the defense of human rights, the advancement of justice, and the importance of accountability.

We owe our fundamental freedoms to human rights defenders. I recently spoke @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social about the important work of protecting them, and standing by them as they don’t just defend rights but also advance them.

Next week I am headed to #COP30, where @open-society.bsky.social will continue conversations from UNGA and NY Climate Week. Ten years since the historic Paris Climate Agreement, the world is on track to exceed the 1.5°C limit. Just when multilateral cooperation is needed most, it is fraying.

We are witnessing what we are calling a youthquake all around the world—young people who haven't even grown up in democracies beginning to articulate and ask for societies that uphold human rights, equity, and justice. This is what democracy with dignity could look like.

My upbringing shaped my belief that philanthropy must always center those closest to the challenges we aim to solve, and that pursuing justice isn’t always the easy path. But it’s always the right one.

From our origins as a philanthropy during the Cold War to confronting today’s multiple crises, our Senior Vice President Leonard Benardo explores our history, present, and future with Peter Slezkine of the Stimson Center: https://www.stimson.org/2025/leonard-benardo-reexamining-the-open-society/

Attacks against @open-society.bsky.social are not about us, but about the United States slowly losing its democracy, as we have seen in different parts of the world. We remain true to our values to promote rights, equity, and justice. My interview with NPR: n.pr/3VE54wr

Our statement in response to reporting that the Trump Administration is directing investigations without evidence into our operations.

We have to learn from these successes, to interrogate the obstacles, and to push forward with models that work for people, not just for markets or narrow interests, explains @open-society.bsky.social President @nowrojeeosf.bsky.social in her opening remarks at Climate Week NYC. bit.ly/4p94eoV

At #UNGA80, I joined the side event “From Ezulwini to an Equitable World Order.” 80 years since the UN’s founding, Africa still has no permanent seat on the Security Council.

Looking forward to the discussion on Global South leadership in ensuring an inclusive green development agenda.

Attempts to silence speech undermine our democracy and harm all Americans. We’ve signed a letter with 120+ organizations to stand for this fundamental freedom: osf.to/FundamentalF...

The Open Society Foundations have unequivocally condemned the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk. Our thoughts are with his family and all who are mourning his loss. A free and open society depends on people being able to express their views without fear of violence.

Women’s leadership can deliver meaningful change. Women are at the heart of many liberation movements, as I emphasized in my recent lecture in Mexico City: osf.to/4n7sZA2

Today we’re launching a series of initiatives to promote social and economic well-being in Latin America by focusing on people’s real needs: access to services, care, a healthy environment, quality jobs, and security.

“Palestinians are being intentionally starved to death. Although signs of the coming horrors were clear within months of the war’s onset, many governments averted their eyes. Now, they are failing in their duty to prevent and stop a genocide.”

We at @open-society.bsky.social have always invested in young people in Africa. Our roots go back 45 years to the height of apartheid in South Africa, when our founder, George Soros, undertook his first major act of philanthropy by funding scholarships at the University of Cape Town.