Advocacy

Human rights organisations call for gender parity in the next composition of the Committee Against Torture
MENA Rights Group, Amnesty International, World Organization against Torture (OMCT), the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), REDRESS, the GQUAL Campaign and the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) called for gender parity in the next composition of the UN Committee Against Torture.

Joint letter to UN Member States at the Human Rights Council urging their support for the consensus renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders
MENA Rights Group joined 168 human rights organisations in signing an open letter to the UN Human Rights Council and its member states, urging their support for the consensus renewal of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders.

Rights groups reiterate their call on Moroccan authorities to end the persecution of Taoufik Bouachrine, and other critical journalists
MENA Rights Group joined 41 civil society organisations in signing an open letter to the Moroccan authorities urging them to release, among other journalists and human rights defenders, Taoufik Bouachrine. The journalist is currently detained for simply exercising his right to freedom of expression.

French company Total faces legal action for human rights violations committed by UAE forces in Yemen’s Balhaf gas complex
MENA Rights Group is taking the French energy giant TotalEnergies to court for failing to comply with its due diligence obligation in relation to human rights abuses committed in a gas liquefaction plant in Balhaf, Yemen. The lawsuit seeks reparations for two torture survivors and demands the inclusion of the Balhaf site in Total’s Vigilance Plan to prevent the recurrence of abuses.

Joint letter to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for the reinstatement of Jim Cavallaro's nomination to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
MENA Rights Group signed an open letter to US State Secretary Blinken urging him to reinstate the nomination of human rights expert Jim Cavallaro to the Commission. The letter garnered over 450 signatures from organisations, civil society groups, academics, experts, and human rights advocates across the globe.

Joint letter to the Prime Minister of Morocco condemning the extradition of Hassan al-Rabea
On February 13, 2023, MENA Rights Group and over 20 human rights organisations sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Morocco condemning and seeking an explanation for the extradition of Saudi national Hassan al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia, where he risks serious human rights abuses including torture.

Joint letter to the Prime Minister of Morocco: do not extradite Hassan al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia
On February 6, 2023, MENA Rights Group joined human rights organisations in sending an open letter to the Moroccan Prime Minister, urging him not to extradite Hassan al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia, where he faces torture, ill-treatment and arbitrary detention.

Boats of death: Killing borders and lost justice
On the Global Day of CommemorAction for the Dead, Missing and Forcefully Disappeared at Sea and the Borders, a group of civil society organisations reminds all of the tragic fates suffered by migrants and refugees attempting to leave Lebanon, and calls on Lebanese authorities and the international community to take action.

Morocco should refrain from deporting Hassan Al-Rabea to Saudi Arabia
Joint letter supported by 9 human rights organisations calling on the Moroccan Government to release Saudi citizen Hassan Mohamed Al-Rabea and to refrain from deporting him to Saudi Arabia, where he would face torture.

Joint Letter: Free Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace after a year and half of hunger strike
To mark Al-Singace's birthday on January 15, 2023, MENA Rights Group joined NGOs in urging Bahrain authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally.

Human rights groups call on Belgium to open investigation into Saudi Crown Prince for crimes against humanity
Public statement on the submission of an expert opinion drafted by Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), MENA Rights Group, and the Freedom Initiative supporting a complaint filed in Belgium in December 2021 by the Open Society Justice Initiative against Saudi Arabia for crimes against humanity. The expert opinion highlighted “systemic and generalized violations of human rights committed against individuals who have peacefully criticized authorities or their policies”.

Egypt: Rights Organizations Stand in Solidarity with the Complaint Filed with the African Commission against the Egyptian Government on Behalf of Ramy Shaath and Celine Lebrun-Shaath
Solidarity statement with former political prisoner Ramy Shaath, and his wife Ms. Céline Lebrun-Shaath, in their complaint against the Egyptian government before the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.