The United Nations’ latest annual report on reprisals has exposed a chilling trend: the growing sophistication and global spread of targeted repression against human rights activists, even beyond their home countries. The report, covering cases from May 2024 to May 2025, underscores an alarming reality – that authoritarian states are not only silencing dissent at home but also reaching across borders to intimidate, harass, and harm critics who seek refuge abroad.

The report documents new allegations of transnational repression from more than two dozen countries, including China, which features prominently due to its persistent targeting of dissidents overseas. This aligns with findings from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ (ICIJ) China Targets investigation, which revealed how suspected proxies of the Chinese government had surveilled and harassed activists, even inside the UN headquarters in Geneva – the very center of the international human rights system.

Among the latest cases compiled by the UN Secretary-General are two Hong Kong pro-democracy activists and a Uyghur linguist, who have each faced systematic acts of intimidation and retaliation linked to their human rights advocacy. These incidents, the report notes, illustrate an “increasingly sophisticated pattern” of repression that threatens not only the individuals involved but also the broader international framework designed to protect human rights defenders.

According to the report, “Allegations of transnational repression across borders have increased, with examples from around the world.” It warns that such actions are growing in both scale and complexity, creating a “chilling effect” on activists in exile and discouraging others who might otherwise engage in advocacy within the UN system.

Raphäel Viana David, the China and Latin America program manager at the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), said the UN has begun to acknowledge transnational........

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