This statement was delivered by Human Rights Watch at the 63rd regular session of the UN Human Rights Council during a general debate on technical assistance and capacity building held on October 5, 2026.
Human Rights Watch is deeply concerned by the worsening human rights situation across Georgia. In the past two years authorities have adopted and enforced repressive laws targeting independent civil society, media, and government critics. Peaceful protesters and activists have faced detention and heavy fines, including for critical online expression. Meanwhile, police violence against peaceful protesters and journalists goes largely unpunished.
In Abkhazia and South Ossetia, restrictions on freedom of movement, arbitrary detention, continued "borderization," and the denial of displaced people's right to return remain serious concerns, compounded by the lack of access for international human rights monitors.
While longstanding concerns in Abkhazia and South Ossetia require continued attention, the significantly changed human rights context makes it essential that the Council also scrutinize developments in government-controlled areas throughout Georgia, including through comprehensive reporting by the High Commissioner.
We thank the High Commissioner for his report on technical assistance to Yemen. Unfortunately, the report, does not provide a comprehensive assessment of the human rights situation in the country, because the Council's resolution on Yemen did not request such an assessment. Yet violations of both international human rights and humanitarian law, have continued: all of Yemen's authorities continue to violate the rights of activists, journalists, and other members of civil society; authorities continue to arbitrarily detain and forcibly disappear people across the country; and fighting has ramped up with dire implications for civilians.
There is an urgent need for independent monitoring of human rights abuses-by all warring parties and by all authorities: this would also be a critical step to address Yemen's widespread needs, including for technical assistance, and a critical factor in achieving a sustainable future for the people of Yemen.
