Wednesday, February 25, 2026
The following is a statement delivered by ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on 23 February 2025.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A person walks past the Al-Radwan guest house, where a deadly shooting occurred, in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, Syria, July 25, 2025. © 2025 Khalil Ashawi/Reuters Syria is at a pivotal moment. After years of devastating conflict and decades of repression, the country’s transitional phase will determine whether it breaks with entrenched patterns of abuse or merely reproduces them. Decisions taken now about accountability and oversight will shape Syria’s human rights landscape and overall stability for generations.As the United Nations Human Rights Council…
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By Maria Elena Buslacchi, socio-anthropologue, chercheuse post-doc à L'Observatoire des publics et pratiques de la culture, MESOPOLHIS UMR 7064, Sciences Po / CNRS / Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-Marseille Université (AMU)
In a geopolitical landscape that is more and more fragmented, the European Capitals of Culture initiative and its evolving role in fostering diplomacy and unity are up for debate.
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By Preetish Kakoty, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Civil Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, UCL
Carlos Molina Hutt, Associate Professor, Structural & Earthquake Engineering, University of British Columbia
Modern engineering practices explicitly design concrete to be more resilient to earthquakes, but older buildings predate such practices. That makes them especially vulnerable.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Aimable Karasira. © Private Last week marked six years since Rwandan gospel singer and peace advocate Kizito Mihigo died in police custody. While his suspicious death remains unexplained, it clearly signaled the government’s deepening repression of free speech.A survivor of the 1994 genocide, Mihigo’s music centered on forgiveness and compassion. He was arrested in 2014 on charges of offenses against the state stemming from a song he wrote expressing solidarity with genocide victims and others killed in retaliatory violence. While authorities pardoned…
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By Elena Moore, Professor of Sociology, University of Cape Town
Dolly Mogomotsi Ntseane, Associate Professor, University of Botswana
Gwen Lesetedi, Senior Lecturer, University of Botswana
Vayda Megannon, Doctoral candidate, University of Cape Town
Zeenat Samodien, Researcher and Data Manager at Family Caregiving Programme for Older Persons in Southern Africa, University of Cape Town
The government of Botswana in southern Africa dramatically increased the universal old age pension for all citizens aged 65 and above from P830 (about US$63) to P1,400 (about US$106) per month in 2025. Headlines celebrated the near 70% rise in value. For many older citizens struggling with rising food and transport costs, it appeared to signal a new era of state recognition of elder care.
But if you look closer, the story is less straightforward.
A cash increase is something you can measure, and you…
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By Gabriella Penitente, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science, Sheffield Hallam University
When Olympian Alice Kinsella talks about returning to elite competition after giving birth, she isn’t simply planning a comeback; she’s pushing into territory that gymnastics has rarely explored.
Increasingly, athletes are returning to training and competition after childbirth, often sooner, stronger and with greater public visibility. This challenges the long-held…
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By Sarah Mills, Professor of Human Geography, Loughborough University
Yes or no? It’s a simple question that now drives more than US$13 billion (£9.7 billion) a month on prediction markets – companies like Polymarket, PredictIt and Kalshi.
These firms run digital platforms that use blockchain technology to let anonymous users gamble on uncertainty and place “predictions” rather than bets. Users can buy a yes or no “event contract” on anything from strikes…
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By Harsh Trivedi, Teaching Associate French, School of Languages, Arts and Societies., University of Sheffield
Most people think originality comes from endless freedom. The role playing game Dungeons & Dragons suggests the opposite. It gives players a small number of races, classes and backgrounds and somehow produces characters that feel endlessly distinct. A half-elf paladin might be an immediately recognisable type, yet no two half-elf paladins ever feel the same once play begins. This is because identity in Dungeons & Dragons is not created by escaping structure, but by working through it.
Nineteenth-century readers encountered something strikingly similar in the novels of the French novelist…
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By Robin Bailey, Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology, University of Cambridge
Some mental health conditions, such as anxiety, depression and ADHD, have become more accepted in society. People can now talk about them at work, at home and online and often be met with understanding.
This change matters. It makes it easier to ask for help and harder for employers and institutions to pretend mental health problems do not exist.
Public sympathy is uneven. Some conditions are widely understood, while others are still judged harshly.
As some conditions become familiar, they set the template for what mental illness is supposed to look like. Presentations…
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