Advocacy

Joint letter to the Tunisian government: do not extradite human rights defender Zakaria Hannache!
MENA Rights Group is joined by 16 human rights organisations in urging the Tunisian government not to extradite human rights defender Zakaria Hannache to Algeria, where he may face human rights abuses such as torture. Hannache is protected from refoulement by his refugee status, and the UN Committee against Torture has reiterated the Tunisian authorities' obligation to respect his international protection.

Solidarity statement with Egyptian poet Galal El Behairy on the 5th anniversary of his arbitrary arrest and his announcement of a hunger strike
MENA Rights Group joined 30 human rights organisations in signing a solidarity statement with arbitrarily detained Egyptian poet Galal El Behairy, who recently went on hunger strike. We urge the international community to pressure the Egyptian authorities into immediately and unconditionally releasing him.

Saudi Arabia: End Male Guardianship
On International Women's Day, MENA Rights Group joined 7 organisations in calling for the end of male guardianship in Saudi Arabia, which is particularly codified by the Personal Status Law.

Human rights organisations call on the Inter-Parliamentary Union to raise concerns on the human rights situation in Bahrain
MENA Rights Group joined 21 human rights organisations in urging parliamentarians to publicly raise concerns on the state of political freedom and human rights in Bahrain during the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in March. We issued a set of recommendations for the Bahraini government to undertake.

Human rights organisations launch "SANID" campaign in solidarity with prisoners of conscience in the UAE
MENA Rights Group joins five human rights organisations in launching a campaign in solidarity with detainees in the UAE. The SANID campaign, which stands for "Stand Up for UAE Detainees", began on March 1, 2023, and calls on Emirati authorities to release all prisoners of conscience.

Politically Motivated Extraditions Are Abetting Transnational Repression
INTERPOL and the Arab Interior Ministers Council play a major role in abetting transnational repression, illustrated by recent cases of politically motivated extraditions.

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.