As 2025 comes to a close, we’re looking back at some of the most-read stories we published this year—and celebrating the grassroots activists and movements standing up for human rights around the world.
Human rights defenders don’t often make headlines.
Our newsfeeds are overwhelmed by stories of turmoil and upheaval. From spiraling conflicts and deepening inequality to the global rise of authoritarianism, it can be easy to lose sight of hope.
But against this bleak backdrop, the light of human rights activism shines even brighter.
In countries and communities around the world, grassroots activists and movements continue to protect and promote justice, equality, and our fundamental freedoms. Their vision, courage, and resolve in the face of rising repression is the reminder we need that power still belongs to people—and progress is always possible.
Here are five of our most-read stories (and one video) from 2025.
For years, the Filipino human rights movements has demanded accountability for crimes committed during former president Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called “war on drugs.” Duterte’s arrest on an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant in March 2025 marked a major step toward justice for victims—and underscored the importance of funding movements even through the darkest times.
When we began quietly supporting frontline human rights groups in Syria in 2021, our primary goal was to ensure they survived. Today, after decades of conflict and repression, Syrian civil society is beginning to mobilize movements for human rights, democratic governance, and community-led justice.
Most of the world’s clothing comes from Asia’s sprawling informal sector, where garment workers are vulnerable to exploitation both by multinational corporations and local employers. But with support from groups like REACH in Karnataka, India, garment workers and their families are mobilizing to demand fair labor, safe workplaces, and access to opportunity.
Latin America is one of the most dangerous regions for human rights defenders. Over the last year, we helped launch Casa Centroamérica—a community hub in Mexico City where exiled activists and political refugees from across Latin America can reclaim their independence, refocus their efforts, and build their collective power.
Syrian journalist Zaina Erhaim reported from the front lines of Raqqa and Aleppo, endured religious repression in her home of Idlib, and trained more than 100 citizen journalists before being forced into exile. This year, she launched the Women Journalists Alliance—a new initiative dedicated to protecting, promoting, and empowering Arabic-speaking women in the media.
Around the world, developers are buying up land and bulldozing ecosystems that have sustained local people for centuries. But activists and affected communities are working together to defend their land and livelihoods. In Tamil Nadu, India, fisherfolk and local activists have combined ancestral knowledge with modern mapping technology and legal expertise to protect their rights—and it’s working.
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