UN Human Rights Experts Warn of Growing Transnational Repression
UN Human Rights Experts Warn of Growing Transnational Repression
According to the Balochistan Human Rights Group (BHRG), more than 130 United Nations human rights experts, including Special Rapporteurs and members of UN treaty bodies, have expressed serious concern over the growing use of transnational repression and its consequences for human rights, civic freedoms, security, and the rule of law.
In a joint statement issued on 23 September 2026, the experts defined transnational repression as measures taken by states to silence, threaten, punish, control, or otherwise harm individuals, groups, and communities outside their borders because of their views, identity, activities, or their defence and promotion of human rights.
The statement notes that transnational repression can include extrajudicial killings, torture, enforced disappearances, threats and harassment, abductions, arbitrary detention, unlawful deportation and extradition, financial restrictions, and the misuse of international mechanisms such as Interpol Red Notices.
The experts also warned about the growing digital dimension of transnational repression, including the use of social media for threats and smear campaigns, spyware and malware, cyberattacks, the disclosure of private information, and artificial intelligence to create fake images and videos.
The statement emphasizes that transnational repression does not only affect those directly targeted. Family members, friends, colleagues, and wider communities can also face threats, pressure, and intimidation. Migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, human rights defenders, journalists, civil society and political activists, and people cooperating with the United Nations are among those identified as being particularly at risk.
The UN experts called on states to refrain from participating in or supporting acts of transnational repression, protect individuals at risk, conduct prompt and independent investigations into reported cases, and hold those responsible accountable.
They also called for safeguards against the politically motivated misuse of extradition procedures, security cooperation, immigration systems, Interpol mechanisms, and surveillance technologies. States were urged to protect individuals from return or extradition when there are substantial grounds to believe they would face torture, enforced disappearance, arbitrary deprivation of life or liberty, or other serious human rights violations.
The experts concluded that addressing transnational repression requires international cooperation, accountability for perpetrators, and effective mechanisms to protect victims and provide them with access to remedies and redress.