News

Following its fourth Universal Periodic Review, Lebanon chose to accept 218 out of the 286 recommendations it had received. While the authorities accepted the majority of recommendations, they notably rejected calls to abolish the statute of limitations on torture and failed to receive any recommendation specifically addressing their role in transnational repression.

On the sidelines of the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, MENA Rights Group co-organised a side event bringing together human rights defenders and civil society representatives to discuss the death penalty in Saudi Arabia and highlight how its use amounts to torture and arbitrary execution, eroding international standards.

During Lebanon’s Universal Periodic Review on January 19, 2026, MENA Rights Group submitted an alternative report documenting torture, refoulement, and transnational repression. On the same day, MENA Rights Group and partners held a side event in Geneva to discuss these findings. The issues raised were reflected in several recommendations made to Lebanon by UN Member States.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights and MENA Rights Group have submitted the case of Yassine Chabli, who died in police custody in 2022, to the UN Committee Against Torture, citing evidence of torture and major flaws in the official investigation. The organisations denounce the authorities’ failure to classify the violence as torture and warn that the handling of the case undermines confidence in Morocco’s justice system.

MENA Rights Group joins 10 NGOs in calling on the UN Committee against Torture to hold Bahrain accountable for ongoing violations of the Convention against Torture ahead of its review on November 18-19, 2025.

26 June 2025 On the occasion of 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture- which symbolizes the global commitment to ending the practice of torture and other ill-treatment- we, the undersigned organizations, express our deep concern over the ongoing impunity for the crime of torture in Lebanon and the lack of […]

MENA Rights Group welcomes the United Nations (UN) Committee against Torture’s recommendations for Jordan to respect its obligations under the Convention against Torture. Jordanian authorities must work toward abolishing the practice of torture, holding perpetrators accountable, ensuring legal safeguards are afforded to all detainees, and prohibiting unlawful extraditions.   On November 6 and 7, 2024, […]

MENA Rights Group joins local and international NGOs in urging Lebanese judicial authorities to hold accountable the State Security officers who tortured Syrian refugee Bashar Abdel Saud to death.

MENA Rights Group joins 33 rights groups in their call on the Egyptian government to immediately lift the arbitrary travel bans and asset freezes imposed upon three directors of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, a prominent Egyptian human rights organisation.

Following the arrest and detention in Saudi Arabia of Egyptian peaceful protestor Ahmed Kamel, who faces the threat of extradition to Egypt, MENA Rights Group leads a coalition of 12 human rights organisations calling for his immediate release.

MENA Rights Group joins a coalition of 20 civil society organisations in urging Lebanese authorities to respect their international obligations, specifically to investigate cases of torture and ill-treatment and to halt the unlawful deportations of Syrian refugees.

MENA Rights Group joins 25+ civil society organisations in urging Bahraini authorities to release and provide adequate healthcare to human rights defender Dr Abduljalil al-Singace, who marks 1,000 days on a liquids-only hunger strike on April 3, 2024.