United Nations, has said that preliminary data indicates that no fewer than 950 human rights defenders, journalists and trade unionists were killed or forcibly disappeared worldwide in 2025.
The figure was contained in the latest global dataset documenting attacks on rights defenders titled: “Human Rights Count.”
It was published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, OHCHR.
According to the data, one human rights defender, journalist, or trade unionist is killed or disappeared every 10 hours.
“Every 10 hours, a human rights defender, journalist or trade unionist is killed or disappeared,” the report stated, adding: “Every hour, a child dies in armed conflict.
“One in five people have experienced discrimination in the past year.”
Projected totals for 2025 indicate that at least 743 defenders were killed and 202 disappeared, with no sign of reversal in the upward trend.
At least 37,163 civilians lost their lives in 2025, from a record high of 48,011 in the preceding year.
It said: “Every 14 minutes, a civilian dies in armed conflict. Nearly one in five people worldwide indicate that they have experienced discrimination in the past 12 months.”
OHCHR lamented that violence against human rights defenders has reached record levels, with at least 5,995 killed since 2015.
