On October 13, the UN General Assembly elected Brazil, Burundi, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Nepal, Nigeria, Moldova, Ukraine, Uruguay and Zambia to its Human Rights Council for January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2029. Of the 15 countries elected, five—fully one-third—criminalize consensual same-sex relations. Ten do not, but freedom from criminalization is only the starting point for equality. Just four have established marriage

October 13, 2026 The African Human Rights Coalition (AHRC) strongly condemns the Trump administration's latest assault on refugee protections, announced through a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule that dramatically reduces the time available for refugees to defend themselves against the termination of their lawful refugee status. The new rule reduces the response period from 30 days to just 10 days following a Notice of Intent to Terminate refugee status. It is a

They promise drivers, mechanics, security, kitchen, or other support jobs away from the front. Thousands of Africans from over 36 countries have been recruited to fight for Russia through fraudulent job offers. These fraudulent recruitment campaigns advertise non-combat roles as safer options. But after you sign up, the assignment is changed. A job sold as safe service can still put you in danger on the front line. The job you were promised is not the job you will do. The job

Forced anal examinations are pseudo-medical procedures used in some countries that criminalize consensual same-sex conduct in an attempt to obtain purported physical “evidence” that a person is LGBTQI+ . This matters because medicine is being enlisted not to treat a patient, but to assist the state in investigating and potentially prosecuting intimate consensual conduct.

AHRC is Meeting an Unprecedented Need - Evidence Protecting Against Cruel Policies of these TimesIncluding sending people to countries where they are strangers without meaningful connection September 08, 2026. Dear Friends and Colleagues, We could not have imagine that this is where our work would lead - to meet the moment. I want to tell you about an extraordinary change in the work of the African Human Rights Coalition, and why we urgently need your help to sustain it. Sinc

By Melanie Nathan, Aug 18, 2026 In June 2026, Ghana hosted the Fourth African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family, Sovereignty and Values in Accra, bringing together parliamentarians and conservative “pro-family” actors from across Africa to coordinate regional opposition to LGBTQI+ rights, abortion, gender-related rights and other policies characterized by participants as foreign interference in African cultural and religious values. The conference culminated in the ad

By Melanie Nathan, August 13, 2026. There is a tendency to report Africa's expanding anti-LGBTQ laws one country at a time. Uganda passes a brutal law. Ghana advances another. Senegal increases its penalties. Burkina Faso criminalizes same-sex relations. Niger follows. Mali follows. Each becomes a headline for a day or two. Then the world moves on. I cannot look at these developments that way. For years, my work through African Human Rights Coalition and as a country-conditio

By Melanie Nathan, July 31, 2026 - Country Conditions Expert on Ghana UPDATED AUG 01, 2026: Parliament has adjourned sine die, bringing the second meeting of the second session of the Ninth Parliament to a close without reconsidering the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, 2026. Parliament has adjourned sine die, bringing the second meeting of the second session of the Ninth Parliament to a close without reconsidering the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill,

Melanie Nathan, Executive Director , JULY 28, 2026 Today marks the 75th Anniversary of the 1951 Refugee Convention, one of the most important human rights instruments ever adopted. Born from the devastation of the Second World War, the Convention embodies a simple but profound promise: that no person should be denied protection simply because they have been forced to flee persecution. For seventy-five years, that promise has stood as the cornerstone of international refugee p

By Melanie Nathan, July 20, 2026 Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, who has died at the age of 94, was a remarkable Ugandan clergyman who chose conscience over comfort. At a time when evangelical hatred was helping propel Uganda’s first “Kill the Gays” bill, he stood almost alone among senior Christian leaders, publicly declaring that LGBTQ people deserved dignity, compassion, and God’s love—not persecution. For that unwavering faith, he paid a heavy personal price, yet he never re