The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine concluded March 19 that widespread enforced disappearances and torture committed by Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine constitute "crimes against humanity." The announcement marks a significant development, as crimes against humanity constitute one of the most serious classifications of international crimes.

Human Rights Watch on March 13 criticized the proposed European Union "Returns Regulation" for undocumented migrants as "cruel and unrealistic" for allowing longer detention and harsher treatment.

The European Commission seeks to establish standardized procedures so that returns of migrants can be more efficient while still respecting fundamental human rights. The proposed rule provides mandatory forced return if the undocumented migrant does not cooperate with an EU member state in the return procedure. Additionally, individuals deemed security risks could be detained for more than 24 months with judicial authorization.

Amnesty International called Feb. 28 for the immediate release of both Israeli and foreign civilians held hostage by Hamas, and of all Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel. The organization said that the release of hostages and prisoners should not be conditional upon the result of the next phase of ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel. There are at least 59 hostages remaining in Gaza, the majority of whom are Israelis. Meanwhile, there are more than 4,000 Palestinians held in detention in Israel without charge or trial, which Amnesty called a violation of international law.

An eight-year-old Venezuelan girl died and 20 survivors were rescued by Panamanian authorities from a Feb. 21 shipwreck during a journey from Panama's northern port of Llano Carti to the Colombian border.

After detaining them in squalid short-term holding facilities for more than a decade, Thailand deported 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China on Feb. 27. Human rights groups had been urging the Thai government for over a month to halt any plans to deport the group—though senior officials denied there were any such plans. The removals were carried out in a pre-dawn operation using trucks with blacked-out windows, flanked by police. The Chinese embassy in Bangkok described the men as "illegal immigrants" and said they would "return to normal life." But rights groups, as well as relatives of the asylum seekers living abroad, worry that the group will remain detained in China—or be sentenced to death. China has previously labelled anyone seeking asylum abroad as a "terrorist." The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, said the deportations were "a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement" and international law.

Amnesty International on Feb. 19 called on the Egyptian government to release dozens of arbitrarily detained currently awaiting “unlawful” prosecution. The charges brought against them include disseminating false news, and involvement in anti-government protests.

President Trump has ordered the construction of a 30,000-bed facility to hold migrants at the notorious US naval facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as part of his mass deportation campaign. The US base has been used to house terrorism suspects since 2002, becoming synonymous with torture and unlawful imprisonment. The US has secretively detained refugees and migrants intercepted at sea at Guantánamo Bay for decades, but the facility has not previously been used for people apprehended on US soil or at this scale.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a video released on social media Jan. 28 she has been placed under investigation by the Prosecutor's Office over her government's surprise release of a Libyan national who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Italian police arrested Osama Najim, the head of the Tripoli government's Judicial Police, in the city of Turin nine days earlier. Najim, popularly known as "Almasri," serves as director of a network of detention centers where systematic abuse and human rights violations have been repeatedly documented in a reports by the UN Human Rights Council. Mediterranea Saving Humans NGO stated that the arrest "came after years of complaints and testimonies from victims, which were sent to the International Criminal Court." Yet Najim was released after just one day, and arrived at Tripoli International Airport on Jan. 21. Queried about the release, Italian authorities cited "procedural irregularities" in his arrest. However, media commentators have widely pointed to Rome's arrangements with Tripoli to block migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to reach Italy's shores.