Putin Told: Ukraine War Is Top Human Rights Issue — 20 Kids Sent Back to Russia

Russia’s human rights commissioner directly told President Vladimir Putin that the war in Ukraine is her office’s main priority, revealing that about 20 children have been returned to Ukraine from Russia while seven others were brought into Russia [147469]. The commissioner’s statement underscores how the conflict now dominates Russia’s domestic human rights agenda, with child exchanges becoming a key part of ongoing negotiations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, in a separate development, United Nations human rights experts have accused Indian authorities of violating international law in Jammu and Kashmir after counter-terrorism operations launched following an attack in the Pahalgam area in April [12511]. The experts cited arbitrary arrests, property demolitions, communication blackouts, and forced expulsions, arguing these collective punishment measures target Muslim minorities and breach international human rights standards.

In Turkey, the women’s rights group EŞİK declared that the Istanbul Convention is still legally in force despite Turkey’s 2021 withdrawal, vowing to continue its struggle until the convention is fully implemented [147060]. The Convention, a Council of Europe treaty targeting violence against women and domestic violence, remains a flashpoint in Turkey’s human rights landscape.

In the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian man was forced to exhume his father’s body just hours after burial by Israeli settlers, an act the United Nations human rights office described as “appalling and emblematic of the dehumanisation of Palestinians” [146359]. No injuries were reported, and the Israeli military did not immediately comment.

In India, the Supreme Court declared menstrual health and hygiene a fundamental right, linking it to constitutional rights to life, equality, and non-discrimination, though advocates warned that laws alone won’t end the stigma [79316].

Across Africa, historian Achille Mbembe told the Africa Forward Summit that the rule of old leaders — gerontocracy — has ended “in the minds of the people,” signaling a deep psychological and social shift even as official institutions move slowly [147157]. Separately, a landmark case before the Africa Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights could set a precedent for climate displacement, as people forced from Tanzania’s Rufiji Delta by rising sea levels argue the government failed to protect them [115873].

In Nigeria, the National Association of Seadogs urged authorities to close long-term displacement camps and permanently resettle internally displaced people, arguing that lasting safety, not temporary shelter, is a fundamental right [26326].

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