The UN Human Rights Office released its first-ever guidance on “transnational repression” last week, warning that governments are increasingly reaching across borders to silence critics and dissidents, according to Human Rights Watch. The practice includes online harassment, surveillance, forced disappearances, targeting family members, and even assassinations. The UN says victims often can’t get protection, and some host countries actually help foreign governments hunt down refugees and activists.
This isn’t a new problem, but it’s getting worse. Human Rights Watch documented last year how many countries ignore or downplay these attacks. Governments are using everything from spyware to death squads to go after people who fled their home countries.
The United Nations (UN) guidance tells governments they need to stop this practice and protect people who are being targeted. It recommends setting up systems to help victims get justice and compensation, and calls for a ban on selling surveillance tools that make transnational repression easier. The UN’s top human rights official said earlier this year that countries should have “zero tolerance” for this kind of cross-border persecution. In 2024, dozens of countries signed a statement condemning transnational repression after a UN expert released a major report on attacks against journalists.
Right now, UN Human Rights Council members are negotiating resolutions on protecting journalists and civil society groups. Human rights advocates want them to specifically mention transnational repression to build more awareness about the problem.
The UN says countries need to work together to stop governments from hunting down their critics abroad and make sure victims get the protection and justice they deserve.
