Click to expand Image Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, June 16, 2025. © 2025 Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images The latest session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, which concluded last week, offers a glimmer of hope in what are dark times for human rights around the world.Amidst talk of the erosion of international rule of law and decreasing government willingness to promote human rights abroad and fund rights institutions, countries from across regions acted with civil society groups to defend and protect rights in the world’s trouble spots and on key global issues.Responding to calls from Afghan and international organizations and UN rights experts, the Council decided by consensus to establish a new independent evidence-gathering body to investigate past and ongoing rights abuses in Afghanistan. The decision puts the Taliban and others responsible for serious crimes in Afghanistan, including the repression of women and girls, on notice that they may someday face justice. Led by the European Union and with support from countries like South Africa and Chile, the initiative also demonstrated commitment to accountability for egregious international crimes, explicitly condemning threats and attacks against the International Criminal Court.The Council also renewed important UN monitoring and investigation mandates on Russia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Cambodia, ensuring that much-needed independent international oversight continues on these situations. These mandates provide impartial information and assessments that are vital for countering the dangerous spread of disinformation, amplify the voices of victims, such as Sudanese women and girls suffering sexual and gender-based violence, and provide an avenue for human rights defenders facing repression at home, such as in Russia, to engage with the international community.States also worked together to bridge regional divides on addressing systemic racism and providing reparations for the lasting impacts of enslavement and other colonial atrocities. For the first time since 2019, the Council adopted by consensus an African group-led resolution on racism. While disagreements remain and real action on reparations is still lacking, as highlighted in Ghana’s joint statement, this is a significant step forward, overcoming deep divisions between regional groups.Crucial issues of economic inequalities and climate change, impacting rights across the world, particularly in developing countries, were also under discussion. Despite differing positions, the Council managed to adopt by consensus imperfect but significant resolutions on economic, social and cultural rights and inequalities and on sea-level rise.As some governments seek to lower the bar on human rights and question the value of the multilateral system, these Human Rights Council outcomes show that when states come together with civil society they have the power to make a difference.