Heartland Initiative

Sam Jones of the @heartlandorg.bsky.social opens the "Grave New World: Responsible Investment in an Age of Conflict, Commerce, and Killer Robots" session of the Fall #ICCR2025Conference

Cycling Event Can’t Override Rwanda’s Abuses Kigali is hosting the International Cycling Union Road World Championships. But the celebration of international cycling’s flagship event cannot cover up Rwanda’s abusive human rights record.

"Rwanda should stop targeting critics and put an end to abusive operations abroad. For its part, the Cycling Union shouldn’t be providing #Rwanda such easy cover for its poor #humanrights record." @minkyworden.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

GNI Statement on Deadly Crackdown and Digital Rights Violations in Nepal - Global Network Initiative GNI calls on all actors in Nepal to refrain from violence and take meaningful steps toward de-escalation.

🇳🇵 GNI strongly condemns the recent violence in Nepal and urges the government to continue de-escalating the situation following its decision to lift the ban on social media services. globalnetworkinitiative.org/gni-statemen...

Cluster bomb claims, Swedish jets stir outcry in Thai-Cambodia clash The fighting between Thailand and Cambodia exposes the depth of global arms proliferation in South-East Asia, proving more sophisticated and deadly than experts expected.

"Weapons have long life spans. You sell them today, and 10 or 15 years later, governments change, coups happen — and suddenly that gear is in a war zone. This is quite normal. And once it's out there, you're no longer in control." #armsproliferation #conflict www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

UN expert appalled by US withdrawal of sanctions against companies providing weapons to Myanmar junta GENEVA – The withdrawal of sanctions against individuals and companies that have provided weapons, military supplies and other material support to the Myanmar military is a shocking turn in U.S. polic...

"This is a major step backward for international efforts to save lives by restricting the murderous junta’s access to weapons. It is unconscionable to undermine these efforts by rolling back #sanctions on #Myanmar arms dealers and junta cronies." www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

For True Peace, Ceasefires Must Address Digital Warfare, Too | TechPolicy.Press From Gaza and Israel to Russia and Ukraine, any meaningful ceasefire must confront digitally enabled operations, Brett Solomon and Betsy Popken write.

"[A]ny meaningful #ceasefire must confront state sponsored hacking, #internetshutdowns & an inflammatory barrage of digital disinformation—in addition to the traditional elements of war. W/o addressing these digitally enabled ops, peace deals risk falling short." www.techpolicy.press/for-true-pea...

They Fled War in Ethiopia. Then American Bombs Found Them.

"I’m fleeing death in the first place only to find death waiting for me here." #ethiopia #yemen www.nytimes.com/2025/07/12/w...

Opinion | The Law Is Not Enough to Stop War Crimes

"Srebrenica should have been a model for post-genocide #accountability. Instead, it stands as a case study in how legal truth, w/o official and societal acknowledgment, can entrench exclusionary #nationalism." #srebrenica #warcrimes www.nytimes.com/2025/07/11/o...

Appeals Court Revives Journalists’ Case Against Spyware Manufacturer NSO Group

"Spyware manufacturers that participate in the persecution of journalists shouldn’t be able to operate w/ impunity, and US courts must ensure that they are held accountable for their actions where those actions violate US law, as they did here." @knightcolumbia.org knightcolumbia.org/content/appe...

The secrecy of European arms sales, a practice justified in the name of national security A report reveals that a lack of information on arms exports hinders access to justice and fuels doubts about the role played by arms-producing powers in conflicts

👉 "We are facing a #transparency deficit." @leoncastjan.bsky.social #armssales #conflict #bizhumanrights english.elpais.com/internationa...

Minerals for peace? How to make the Rwanda-DRC deal stick. A U.S.-brokered peace deal, signed on June 27 between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, will link economic integration and respect for territorial integrity with the promise of Western ...

"For while this deal represents the most practical opportunity in years to end abuses against civilians in eastern Congo, it fails to address the impunity that drives so much #conflict." @hrw.org #drc #rwanda www.hrw.org/news/2025/07...

Corporate Legal Accountability Quarterly Update - Issue 53, July 2025: Justice in the transition: Litigating corporate abuse in the shift to clean energy for all - Business & Human Rights Resource Cen...

OUT NOW: Corporate Legal Accountability Quarterly Update on #bizhumanrights legal developments globally and #justtransition litigation. @business-humanrights.org www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/u...

Our new analysis reveals a rising trend in lawsuits against companies for human rights abuses linked to renewable energy projects.

Explore the cases since 2009: the key sectors, communities affected, abuses alleged, and companies involved➡️ www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/b...

Mozambique Probes Claims Of Army Atrocities Near TotalEnergies Site Mozambique's human rights commission said on Friday it has opened an investigation into media reports of deadly abuses by government soldiers against villagers fleeing jihadist unrest near a major Tot...

"If true, the facts alleged in the article may constitute crimes of summary execution (murder) torture and other cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment." #mozambique #totalenergies #bizhumanrights www.barrons.com/news/mozambi...

Opinion | The President of My Country Promised to Drain the Swamp. He Never Left.

"Belarus is a warning that #democracy is fragile and that #authoritarianism is not a wrecking ball but a hatchet, which slowly chips away until everything is broken beyond recognition." www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/o...

Violations Soar Against Children in Armed Conflict Last year was the most devastating year for children in armed conflict in two decades, according to the new annual report from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

2024 was the most devastating year for children in #armedconflict in 2 decades. The UN verified 41,370 grave violations against #children, a 25% increase over the previous record high. The highest # of abuses took place in Israel/Palestine, DRC, Somalia, Nigeria & Haiti. www.hrw.org/news/2025/06...

The 10 Least Peaceful Countries in the World in 2025 Which are the 10 least peaceful countries in 2025, and what conditions drive their low rankings? Insights from the Global Peace Index 2025.

The 2025 #GlobalPeaceIndex, released by the Institute for Economics & Peace, paints a sobering picture of global stability. The world now records more active state-based #conflicts than at any time since World War II. www.visionofhumanity.org/the-10-least...

How war became contagious With peaceful norms fading, a new weapon has made conflict cheaper and easier

👉 "The norm that you can’t use #violence to solve political conflicts faded. And it’s contagious." #internationallaw www.ft.com/content/9bf9...

Weekly Update 18 June | Breakthrough for gig workers: ILO to develop first global standards - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

This week in #BizHumanRights...
🔵 Migrant worker abuse in wine industry
🔵 USA: xAI lawsuit over health risks & unpermitted gas turbines
🔵 Israel/OPT: Maersk divests from companies linked to illegal West Bank settlements

Read & subscribe: www.business-humanrights.org/en/from-us/u...

Shipping giant Maersk divests from companies linked to Israeli settlements Move follows campaign accusing Maersk of links to Israel’s military and occupation of Palestinian lands.

Danish shipping giant #Maersk has announced it will end business relationships with companies connected to Israeli #settlements in the occupied #WestBank. #bizhumanrights www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/...

Sanctioned Russian media still partnered with Facebook Sanctioned pro-Russian media are still part of Facebook’s advertising revenue program, new research out Friday showed. Russian state broadcasters, including Rossiya Segodnya — the organizatio…

Sanctioned pro-Russian media are still part of Facebook's advertising revenue program, according to new research from @whattofix.tech. #bizhumanrights #russia #bigtech www.politico.eu/article/sanc...

Europe’s Growing Fear: How Trump Might Use U.S. Tech Dominance Against It

👉 "If the U.S. administration goes after certain organizations, countries or individuals, the fear is American companies are obligated to comply. It’s had a profound impact." #bizhumanrights www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/t...

Access Now - Paragon must answer for spyware use against civil society and journalists Access Now calls on Paragon to answer for the use of its spyware in Italy against journalists, and to address oversight failures.

In a recently released open letter, Heartland joined @accessnow.org and other leading #humanrights and press freedom organizations in demanding #accountability from Israeli #spyware firm Paragon Solutions and its majority owner, AE Industrial Partners. www.accessnow.org/press-releas...

A confidential brief urges the ICC to investigate Wagner's promotion of atrocities in West Africa The International Criminal Court is reviewing a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked Wagner group has committed war crimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa...

The #ICC has been asked to review a confidential legal report arguing that the Russia-linked #WagnerGroup has committed #warcrimes by spreading images of apparent atrocities in West Africa on social media. apnews.com/article/wagn...

Putin's business buddies don't want Western companies back in Russia Russian business leaders are backing legislation that would stop Western companies one day returning to the market they left after the Ukraine invasion.

Russian MPs have advanced legislation that would make it harder — or even impossible — for Western companies to reclaim the operations they abandoned. #russia #ukraine www.businessinsider.com/putin-busine...

TotalEnergies gas project in Mozambique faces UK human rights probe Country’s credit export agency tasks legal group led by senior barrister to review $20bn gas development

Authorities in the UK have commissioned a #humanrights review into a $20B gas development in #Mozambique, as they assess whether to keep funding the project led by France’s #TotalEnergies. www.ft.com/content/28de...

👉 "The problem here is not the #drones themselves, which can be used lawfully in #conflict zones. It is what can be done with them in the hands of a warring party that willfully violates the #lawsofwar and wants to target civilians." @hrw.org #russia #ukraine thehill.com/opinion/5353...

HC Türk updates Human Rights Council: "We need the strongest possible defence of international law and human rights” Mr. President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates,As we meet, conflicts are spiraling.The military escalation between Israel and Iran is deeply worrying.I join all those appealing for de-escalation...

"Our global agreements have proven themselves over decades, providing a vision for a better future. Today, we see dramatic steps to weaken them, creating a more dangerous world ... [W]e must answer w/ the strongest possible defence of #internationallaw & #humanrights." www.ohchr.org/en/statement...

ILO commits to global standards on Gig work, experts see potential positive impact - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

This week in #BizHumanRights… ILO commits to world's first binding standards for gig workers www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-ne...

The Norwegian NCP finds shortcomings in human rights due diligence by Aker BP - Ansvarlig Næringsliv The Norwegian National Contact Point (NCP) has concluded that Aker BP's due diligence in the merger with Lundin Energy Norway ...

The Norwegian National Contact Point has concluded that #Aker BP's due diligence in the merger with #LundinEnergy Norway did not meet the #humanrightsduediligence expectations in the #OECDGuidelines. #bizhumanrights www.responsiblebusiness.no/news/the-nor...