The Committee of Ministers deplores the execution on 25 January in the State of Alabama of Mr Kenneth Eugene Smith, who was already subject to a failed execution in 2022.

Ahead of the EU Council’s vote on the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive on February 9th, over 260 business and human rights practitioners joined a call to support the CSDDD.

On 13 February - in the lead-up to the sixth UN Environment Assembly - the UN will announce seven new World Restoration Flagships. Stay tuned! Countries have already promised to restore 1 billion hectares – an area larger than China – as part of international climate, nature, and land goals. However, little is known about the progress or quality of this restoration.

January 31, Washington, D.C.–Today, Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced the “Human Rights Defenders Protection Act of 2024.” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) also introduced the bill in the House of Representatives. If passed, this legislation would strengthen the U.S. government’s ability to protect civil society activists, community leaders, journalists