LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – The United Nations has estimated that at least 950 human rights defenders, journalists, and trade unionists were killed or forcibly disappeared worldwide in 2025, according to preliminary global data.
The figures were released in the latest edition of the Human Rights Count, a global dataset compiled by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which tracks attacks against individuals advocating for human rights.
According to the report, the scale of attacks remains deeply alarming, with one defender, journalist, or trade unionist killed or made to disappear approximately every 10 hours.
“Every 10 hours, a human rights defender, journalist or trade unionist is killed or disappeared,” the OHCHR stated in the report.
The data also highlights broader global concerns, including rising civilian deaths in conflict and persistent discrimination across societies.
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OHCHR noted that civilian casualties in armed conflicts remained extremely high in 2025, with tens of thousands recorded across multiple conflict zones. Earlier UN monitoring reports show that tens of thousands of civilians continue to be killed annually despite international protection frameworks.
The agency further warned that enforced disappearances remain widespread globally, with thousands of unresolved cases recorded in recent years across different regions.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the figures reflect real human suffering behind the statistics.
“Behind every data point is a real life lived — or lost,” Türk said, stressing that discrimination, violence, and exclusion continue to affect vulnerable populations disproportionately.
The OHCHR described the trend as part of a broader deterioration in global human rights conditions, marked by increasing risks faced by journalists and activists, rising civilian deaths in conflict, and weakening protection systems meant to safeguard fundamental freedoms.
NAN
