EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The main objective of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) is to foster a vibrant and safe civic space in which human rights defenders (HRDs) and other civil society actors are free to work for the protection and promotion of human rights. Throughout 2025, GCHR continued to support HRDs, including independent lawyers, journalists, academics and online activists, across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with an emphasis on the Gulf region and neighbouring countries, through its core activities of documentation and research, monitoring and publicising cases of HRDs at risk, capacity building and protection and assistance.

Throughout 2025, GCHR, alongside its local partners and international allies, played a vital role in ensuring that cases that might otherwise not receive the attention they deserve are brought to the fore in predominantly English-speaking media and advocacy circles. GCHR continued its work in coalitions with partner organisations on campaigns for imprisoned HRDs including its co-founder Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain and Advisory Board member Ahmed Mansoor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as women human rights defenders in prison in Iran and Saudi Arabia. 

In 2025, GCHR issued 56 appeals and seven urgent actions, joint statements and letters relating to WHRDs and HRDs across the region. GCHR also published 21 reports, either alone or jointly with partners, including reports on human rights in Lebanon, the US AI Action Plan, the protection of journalists, the systemic repression of human rights defenders in Jordan, an overview of human rights in Bahrain, freedom of expression on the internet and anti-cybercrime laws in the MENA region, the situation of women and women’s rights defenders in Syria, amendments to Kuwait’s nationality law, opportunities and challenges for women human rights defenders from the Middle East, submissions to the UN Universal Periodic Reviews (UPRs) on Lebanon and Oman, six periodic reports on Yemen and two periodic reports on Iraq.

We also organised and participated in events and carried out other advocacy at sessions of the UN Human Rights Council. GCHR provided advocacy, research and capacity-building grants to CSO partners, and emergency grants to W/HRDs at risk, and worked with UN and EU protection mechanisms, including ProtectDefender.EU and the EU Temporary Relocation Programme.

We marked important UN days such as International Women’s Day, World Press Freedom Day, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, International Women Human Rights Defenders Day and International Human Rights Day.

Once again, on 04 December 2025, GCHR, working with two dozen partners, organised the online Alternative Human Rights Expo – this year focusing on women human rights defenders.

INTRODUCTION

This annual report covers the period between 01 January 2025 and 31 December 2025. It summarises GCHR’s activities advocating on behalf of human rights defenders (HRDs), activists, academics, journalists, protesters and citizens so that they can exercise their human rights peacefully and free from oppression. In addition to documenting our advocacy efforts and activities, the report also covers the ways in which we have helped to strengthen the capacity of HRDs and other civil society actors working to peacefully promote and protect human rights throughout the region and neighbouring countries.

At the outset, GCHR wishes to recognise and pay tribute to its local, regional and international partners, including UN experts, with whom it has continued to enjoy fruitful relationships in our mutual work to amplify and support the work of HRDs and civil society organisations (CSOs) across the Gulf region and neighbouring countries.

Part I of this report summarises GCHR’s thematic and country-specific campaigns, advocacy before international organisations such as the United Nations and legal advocacy. Part II highlights the various thematic and country reports published by GCHR over the past year. Part III summarises the practical support GCHR has provided to HRDs and civil society actors throughout 2025. Part IV provides “snapshots” of the human rights situation in each of the countries we work in across the Gulf region and the report concludes with a regional human rights overview at Part V and recommendations for the coming year at Part VI.

This report is dedicated to all human rights defenders in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), particularly women and members of minority groups across the MENA region who are under severe stress and threats for their work, including those living in countries targeted by war and violence.

Read the full report here: