January 19-25, 2026: Week in Review

January 26, 2026

Explore Our Latest Publications

Birth Control Access & the Fight for Reproductive Rights Globally by Deanna Wilken and Becca Stachel

Persecution of Uyghurs in Xinjiang:Torture, Crimes Against Humanity, and Genocide by Hanh Vu, LLM

Gender Equality in China’s Legal Profession by Vivian Sun

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HRRC News Briefs

Iranian information blackout could continue indefinitely, cutting the country off from the world by Devin Windelspecht, MSc

Global use of capital punishment increased dramatically in 2025 by Peter Clarkin, MA

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Other Breaking Human Rights News

January 19, 2026

‘This Could End Very Badly’: A Human Rights Lawyer Fears a New Age of Impunity (The New York Times)

Guatemala declares 30-day state of emergency after prison riots (Al Jazeera)

Thousands march in US to back Iranian anti-government protesters (The New Arab)

Teenager among Iranian protesters sexually assaulted in custody, rights group says (The Guardian)

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January 20, 2026

What to know about the trial in Hong Kong against Tiananmen vigil organizers (AP News)

Kurdish forces withdraw from IS detention camp in north-east Syria (The Guardian)

A Venezuelan Political Prisoner Finally Comes Home (The New York Times)

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January 21, 2026

Australia's conservative opposition coalition splits again over hate speech laws (Reuters)

Israeli strike in Gaza kills three journalists, first responders say (BBC News)

Half of all Sudanese children not in education due to civil war (France24)

Israel's Netanyahu skips Davos over fear of arrest for Gaza war crimes (The New Arab)

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January 22, 2026

US government warns it will take action if Haitian politicians destabilize country (AP News)

Trump administration to block foreign aid from those promoting abortion, DEI and gender identity (AP News)

Resistance in occupied Ukraine 'under constant surveillance' (France24)

ActionAid to rethink child sponsorship as part of plan to ‘decolonise’ its work (The Guardian)

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January 23, 2026

'Half of my friends were killed' - the girls returning to a school caught up in war (BBC News)

UN rights body censures Iran's 'brutal repression' of protests (Asia One)

US judge extends deportation protections for migrants from Myanmar (Reuters)

Philadelphia sues Interior Department over slavery exhibit removal (The Hill)

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January 24, 2026

Pakistan sentences human rights activist to 17 years over anti-state posts (Asia One)

The man killed by a US Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis was an ICU nurse, family says (AP News)

Iran rejects UN rights resolution condemning protest killings (Al Jazeera)

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January 25, 2026

Venezuela frees dozens of political prisoners, human rights group says (BBC News)

As Bangladesh heads to the polls, human rights must come first (The Independent UK)

UN rights body censures Iran's 'brutal repression' of protests (Reuters)

Dozens supporting Palestine hunger strikers arrested at London prison (Al Jazeera)

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