September-October 2025

Table of Contents

SPECIAL COMMEMORATIVE DAY FOCUS

Special Focus: International Day of Peace – September 21

Around the world lives are being ripped apart, childhoods extinguished, and basic human dignity discarded, amidst the cruelty and degradations of war
UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Peace is not the absence of war, but a virtue born of spiritual strength.
Spinoza, Jewish-Dutch philosopher and ethicist

The United Nations’  Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World campaign, launched on the International Day of Peace, aims to include, invest in, and partner with young people everywhere to build lasting peace.

WHAT IS THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE?
The International Day of Peace (“Peace Day”) is observed around the world each year on 21 September. Established in 1981 by unanimous United Nations resolution, Peace Day provides a globally shared date for all humanity to commit to Peace above all differences and to contribute to building a Culture of Peace.

Peace – do we even know what we are looking for?
An opinion piece by Dr. Elison Santos notes: “Leadership today demands more than political calculation; it requires moral vision. The world does not only need economic managers—it needs existential guardians. Leaders capable of holding together difference and dignity, complexity and compassion. Anything less risks not only our peace, but our shared future.” Read more

The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is a world-leading peace research organization that conducts cutting-edge research on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups and people. See the PRIO update, September issue.

No health without peace. Nikolaos Markou-Pappas, Luca Ansaloni. ACADEMIA MEDICINE, 2025.
As researchers, physicians, and humanitarians, we must recognize that health is inherently political. The destruction of healthcare infrastructure in conflict zones is not accidental; it is a strategic choice. The displacement of doctors and nurses is not just an unfortunate consequence; it is a direct result of policies that devalue human life.
The spread of disease in refugee camps is not inevitable; it is the result of negligence and the deliberate choice to disregard scientific evidence.

There can be no health without peace.
There can be no health without justice.
There can be no health without equity.

Medicine, as a social science, has the responsibility to diagnose not just diseases but also the underlying societal conditions that allow them to spread. War is the ultimate public health emergency, and until we address its root causes, our efforts to progress will always be hindered by those who choose to destroy. It is time for the medical and scientific communities to step beyond the confines of their research and clinical practice and engage in advocacy that recognizes the inextricable link between war and health.

Spirituality/Faith
“The time has come for religious leaders to cooperate more effectively in the work of healing wounds, resolving conflicts and pursuing peace. We must be peacemakers, and our communities must be schools of respect and dialogue with those of other ethnic or religious groups, places where we learn to overcome tensions, foster just and peaceful relations between peoples and social groups, and build a better future.”  – Pope Francis

When somebody is doing actions you don’t like, the spiritual solution is to do what you can to stop them, but you do it in such a way that you do not reject the person. You reject the action, but not the person. – Ram Dass

Religious and spiritual communities of all beliefs across the world see Peace Day as a powerful opportunity to pray or meditate on peace, to build fellowship and greater interfaith respect, and to put faith into action in service to the local and/or global community. Your place of worship, or you as an individual, are welcome to join in this global expression of solidarity by observing Peace Day in whatever way is most appropriate to your tradition.

Peace Psychology new website here: https://peacepsychology.org/
The Peace Psychology Digest can be found here: https://peacepsychology.org/peace-psychology-digest. [From the web]: The Peace Psychology Digest is the newsletter of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Division 48 of the American Psychological Association). Our goal is to inform you twice a month about our own activities and a diverse range of peace-related resources and opportunities around the world. We hope you find the digest valuable.

Webinars are listed here: https://peacepsychology.org/webinars

Psychology should move from selective allyship to empowered actions to tackle global crises. Maja Kutlaca, Helena R. M. Radke , Özden Melis Uluğ, Communications Psychology, volume 3, Article number: 133 (2025)
Psychology is committed to the principle of nonmaleficence (i.e., do no harm). Yet the discipline’s past failures and its current selective allyship with only some crises paint a problematic picture. The authors argue that psychology as a discipline and psychological associations as its representatives should better uphold their ethical responsibility.
The world faces a series of overlapping global crises including ongoing wars and genocides, widespread disasters due to climate change, as well as political instability and the systemic targeting of marginalized and oppressed groups. Psychology as a discipline is well-placed to respond to crises and suffering. For example, psychological science provides us with the tools required to understand and mitigate conflict and build peace, support individuals and groups who are affected by such crises, foster solidarity between groups, and promote pro-environmental behaviors.
Looking forward: what can associations and psychologists do to address global crises?
We therefore call on our associations to return to the core principle of doing no harm, which underpins the discipline’s code of ethics around the world in a way that promotes proactive, engaged, consistent, long-term, and concrete support for those affected by global crises.

UN COMMEMORATIVE DAYS – September and October

• September 8 – International Literacy Day
• September 15 – World Day against Trafficking in Persons
• October 10 – World Mental Health Day
• October 11 – International Day of the Girl Child
• October 17 –  International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

GNPHR NEWS AND EVENTS

Open Letter to Our Colleagues, World Governments and the International Community.

A call for peace, a call for Humanity. https://humanrightspsychology.org/open-letter-a-call-for-peace-a-call-for-humanity/
This open letter, issued by GNPHR’s Steering Committee, underscores war’s lasting effects — transgenerational trauma, moral injury, and severe mental health disorders, especially among children, and addresses these issues specifically with respect to the war on Gaza. Comments welcomed.

New GNPHR blogs:

• Nora Sveaass, The Psychologists’ Manifesto
  The Manifesto from 1945 expresses a vital message to make psychology and social sciences relevant in the fight for peace, equality and democracy. Today this seems more important than ever. The challenge today is are we able to formulate a new Psychologists’ Manifesto on Human Nature and Peace, 80 years after it was first issued? And can we make it crystal clear that peace must always be founded on the “universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.”
  
• Élison Santos,  Peace. Do we even know what we’re looking for?
  Leadership today demands more than political calculation; it requires moral vision. The world does not only need economic managers—it needs existential guardians. Leaders capable of holding together difference and dignity, complexity and compassion. Anything less risks not only our peace, but our shared future.

Take a Look at the GNPHR Website – New Resources!

• The GNPHR bibliographic resources have been launched! You can find articles and books on topics at the intersection of psycohlogy and human rights for the 20 content areas included in the monthly Bulletin. These content areas are listed on the right, and include articles from scientific journals, books and reports.
  This unique resource highlights writngs on each topic area from a human rights perspective, from a psychology perspective, and from the intersection of psychology and human rights.
• Many thanks to Emma Bellamy, Dandrea Reader, and Merry Bullock who have been working to build content and make it accessible. We invite you to click on the content areas and see the amazing resources!
• To access: Click on the top menu area: “Content Areas”

Webinar Series Human Rights Education

Next webinar:
Dr. Saryia Narak, Univerity of Salford; Community Knowledge Producrs (CKP), UK
Moderator: Dr. Sharon Coen, Salford University

Community Knowledge Producers Insist on Intersectionality
Deecmber 9, noon EST/ 6:00  pm CET
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fdsDs1Y_RySAUw6UgzXFLw#/registration

For past Webinars, see: https://humanrightspsychology.org/webinars/

General

The Open Society Foundations announced today the launch of a series of initiatives in Latin America to generate social and economic well-being by focusing on people’s real needs, such as access to services, care, a healthy environment, quality jobs, and security. This work is inspired by buen vivir—a concept originating in Indigenous and Afro-descendant traditions across the region that focuses on belonging, community, and harmony with nature.
The new efforts build on Open Society’s longstanding commitment to supporting individuals, civil society, institutions, and governments working to advance human rights, equity, and justice.

The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is a world-leading peace research organization. We conduct cutting-edge research on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups and people. The PRIO update, September Issue

Network of Concerned Historians – NCH https://www.concernedhistorians.org

• Address by Antoon De Baets at the occasion of the Forschungsfreiheitspreis (Freedom of research prize) “Lapis Animosus” ceremony in Luzern on 10 July 2025, ‘HISTORY IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS’. https://www.concernedhistorians.org/content/nch_in_the_news.html
• Annual Report 2025 This thirty-first Annual Report of the Network of Concerned Historians (NCH) contains news about the domain where history and human rights intersect, in particular about the censorship of history and the persecution of historians, archivists, and archaeologists around the globe, as reported by various human rights organizations and other sources. It mainly covers events and developments of 2024 and 2025. https://www.concernedhistorians.org/content/ar.html

Children/Youth

Recognising context and power in youth mental health. Editorial, The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, Vol.9, p.6, 13September 2025.
International Youth Day celebrates the contributions of youth, age 15–24 years, to all aspects of global development. The 2025 theme—local youth actions for the Sustainable Development Goals and beyond—prompts reflection on young people’s central role in global development as problem solvers, innovators, collaborators, and community change makers. Young people are speaking up more loudly and organising more effectively than earlier generations about deepening global injustices related to the environment, humanitarian crises, gender and race discrimination, gang violence, technology access, and more. Yet while actively contributing to global sustainable development, the mental wellbeing of youth is taking a toll.

Contribution of ethnicity and deprivation to paediatric critical care outcomes in the UK, 2008–21: a national retrospective cohort study. Hannah K Mitchell et al., The lancet Child & Adolescent Health, Vol.9, September 2025.
Evidence from UK paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) demonstrates increased incidence of admission among children of Asian and Black ethnicity and children residing in more deprived areas. We aimed to investigate whether mortality in PICU is associated with ethnicity and child poverty.

Climate Justice

Barcelona Master in Political Ecology, Degrowth and Environmental Justice.
This is the first Master of its kind, and one of the first in the world in the flourishing field of Political Ecology. The Master builds on a successful 7-year series of international Summer Schools on Environmental Justice and Degrowth, two ongoing European Research Council projects on global environmental justice – see the Atlas of Environmental conflicts (https://ejatlas.org/) – and on urban environmental justice (http://www.bcnuej.org/). ICTA coordinated also ENTITLE, a post-graduate training network in political ecology funded by the EU. Our program was developed by R&D (Research and Degrowth) in alliance with ICTA (the Institute for Environmental Studies and Technology) and benefits from several top researchers that are currently working at both institutes.

Crimes against humanity

Genocide’s legal limitations: what the Srebrenica massacre can teach us about Gaza , July 15, 2025  The Conversation
This July marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Srebrenica massacre, which took place in a mountainous enclave in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the Serbian border. Between July 6 and 11, 1995, over 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and children were killed by Bosnian Serbs in what the UN had declared a “safe area” under direct protection from blue-helmet peacekeepers. The scenes broadcast by war journalists sent shockwaves through the world, and marked a turning point for the West’s collective consciousness. Today, as images from Gaza re-ignite the debate on what constitutes genocide, it is imperative that we look back at Srebrenica to understand how international courts interpret this crime.

Decolonization / Indigenization

CARICOM Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice

The CARICOM Reparations Commission (CRC) asserts that European Government

• Were owners and traders of enslaved Africans; Instructed genocidal actions upon indigenous communities; Created the legal, financial and fiscal policies necessary for the enslavement of Africans; Defined and enforced African enslavement and native genocide as in their ‘national interests’; Refused compensation to the enslaved with the ending of their enslavement; Compensated slave owners at emancipation for the loss of legal property rights in enslaved Africans; Imposed a further one hundred years of racial apartheid upon the emancipated; Imposed for another one hundred years policies designed to perpetuate suffering upon the emancipated and survivors of genocide;  And have refused to acknowledge such crimes or to compensate victims and their descendants.

Ten Point Plan

1. FULL FORMAL APOLOGY
The healing process for victims and the descendants of the enslaved and enslavers requires as a precondition the offer of a sincere formal apology by the governments of Europe. Some governments in refusing to offer an apology have issued in place Statements of Regrets.
2. REPATRIATION
A Repatriation program must be established and all available channels of international law and diplomacy used to resettle those persons who wish to return. A resettlement program should address such matters as citizenship and deploy available best practices in respect of community re-integration.
3. INDIGENOUS PEOPLES DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Genocide and land appropriation went hand in hand. A community of over 3,000,000 in 1700 has been reduced to less than 30,000 in 2000. Survivors remain traumatized, landless, and are the most marginalized social group within the region. The University of the West Indies offers an Indigenous Peoples Scholarship in a desperate effort at rehabilitation. It is woefully insufficient. A Development Plan is required to rehabilitate this community.
4. CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
European nations have invested in the development of community institutions such as museums and research centres in order to prepare their citizens for an understanding of these Crimes against Humanity (CAH). These facilities serve to reinforce within the consciousness of their citizens an understanding of their role in history as rulers and change agents. There are no such institutions in the Caribbean where the CAH were committed. Caribbean schoolteachers and researchers do not have the same opportunity.
5. PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS
The African descended population in the Caribbean has the highest incidence in the world of chronic diseases in the forms of hypertension and type two diabetes. This pandemic is the direct result of the nutritional experience, physical and emotional brutality, and overall stress profiles associated with slavery, genocide, and apartheid. Over 10 million Africans were imported into the Caribbean during the 400 years of slavery. Europe has a responsibility to participate in the alleviation of this heath disaster. The CRJP addresses this issue and calls upon the governments of Europe to take responsibility for this tragic human legacy of slavery and colonisation.
6. ILLITERACY ERADICATION
At the end of the European colonial period in most parts of the Caribbean, the British in particular left the black and indigenous communities in a general state of illiteracy. Some 70 percent of blacks in British colonies were functionally illiterate in the 1960s when nation states began to appear.  Caribbean governments allocate more than 70 percent of public expenditure to health and education in an effort to uproot the legacies of slavery and colonization. European governments have a responsibility to participate in this effort within the context of the CRJP.
7. AFRICAN KNOWLEDGE PROGRAM
The forced separation of Africans from their homeland has resulted in cultural and social alienation from identity and existential belonging. Denied the right in law to life, and divorced by space from the source of historic self, Africans have craved the right to return and knowledge of the route to roots.  A program of action is required to build ‘bridges of belonging’. Such projects as school exchanges and culture tours, community artistic and performance programs, entrepreneurial and religious engagements, as well as political interaction, are required in order to neutralize the void created by slave voyages.
8. PSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION
For over 400 years Africans and their descendants were classified in law as non-human, chattel, property, and real estate. They were denied recognition as members of the human family by laws derived from the parliaments and palaces of Europe. This history has inflicted massive psychological trauma upon African descendant populations. This much is evident daily in the Caribbean.
Only a reparatory justice approach to truth and educational exposure can begin the process of healing and repair. Such an engagement will call into being, for example, the need for greater Caribbean integration designed to enable the coming together of the fragmented community.
9. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
For 400 years the trade and production policies of Europe could be summed up in the British slogan: “not a nail is to be made in the colonies”. The Caribbean was denied participation in Europe’s industrialization process, and was confined to the role of producer and exporter of raw materials. This system was designed to extract maximum value from the region and to enable maximum wealth accumulation in Europe.
The effectiveness of this policy meant that the Caribbean entered its nation building phase as a technologically and scientifically ill-equipped- backward space within the postmodern world economy.  Generations of Caribbean youth, as a consequence, have been denied membership and access to the science and technology culture that is the world’s youth patrimony. Technology transfer and science sharing for development must be a part of the CRJP.
10. DEBT CANCELLATION
Caribbean governments that emerged from slavery and colonialism have inherited the massive crisis of community poverty and institutional unpreparedness for development. These governments still daily engage in the business of cleaning up the colonial mess in order to prepare for development.
The pressure of development has driven governments to carry the burden of public employment and social policies designed to confront colonial legacies. This process has resulted in states accumulating unsustainable levels of public debt that now constitute their fiscal entrapment.
This debt cycle properly belongs to the imperial governments who have made no sustained attempt to deal with debilitating colonial legacies. Support for the payment of domestic debt and cancellation of international debt are necessary reparatory acti

Our colonial hangover? Blatant dehumanization plays a role in support for contested cultural traditions. van Veen, D., van der Toorn, J., & Kteily, N. S. (2025). Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology. Advance online publication.
Impersonating stereotypical caricatures of marginalized groups, which we refer to as ethnic miming, remains a popular cultural practice in the Netherlands and the United States despite years of protests. Whereas advocates argue these practices are innocuous traditions, opponents argue that they stem from and contribute to intergroup dominance. To shed additional light on these practices, we examined if dehumanizing perceptions of the marginalized groups in question and attitudes reflecting cultural superiority and dominance are related to support for ethnic miming in two studies, focusing on support for Black Pete in the Netherlands (i.e., a stereotypical caricature of Black people) and Native American mascots in the United States (i.e., stereotypical caricatures of Native Americans). The studies indicate that indeed support for ethnic miming is, in both contexts, associated with dehumanizing perceptions and a stronger sense of cultural superiority and preference for cultural dominance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Democracy and Human Rights

How populist are ethnic minorities? Populist attitudes and voting for populist parties in the Netherlands. Niels Spierings & Kristof Jacobs, Politics, 2025.
This paper examines whether, which, and why migrantized ethnic-minority voters support populist parties, with a particular focus on the role of populist attitudes. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to offer a theoretical discussion and measurement of populist attitudes among MEM voters and their impact on MEMs’ voting behaviour. In so doing, we shed light on whether populist attitudes could form part of a ‘rapprochement’ between ethnic-minority voters and nativist (i.e. PRR) parties. Our main research question is therefore: To what degree (if at all) do populist attitudes among different groups of ethnic-minority voters affect voting for different types of populist parties?

Displaced/Migrants/Refugees/Stateless

Scaling up psychological interventions for Syrian refugees. Anne-Marijn de Graaff,  PhD Thesis, Vrije University, Amsterdam, 26 June 2025.
Recent decades have shown a steep increase in the number of people forcibly displaced, including over 43.3 million refugees. The Syrian civil war that started in 2011 has been a main driver of refugees worldwide. The prevalence of common mental disorders among Syrians is high, yet there is a significant treatment gap. The main aim of this dissertation was to investigate strategies to scale up psychological interventions for Syrian refugees. It evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of potentially scalable psychological interventions developed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The studies presented in this dissertation have demonstrated that brief, non-specialist delivered or task-shared psychological interventions are feasible, acceptable and effective in alleviating symptoms of CMDs among Syrian refugees across various settings, and potentially scalable in a high-income country. These scalable interventions may contribute to reducing the mental health treatment gap worldwide.

Emma Bellamy, Podcasts presenting stories of Australia-based immigrants and refugees, along with insights from migration experts and professionals.

Freedom of Expression

Human Rights Education

El crimen organizado y la libertad académica [Organized crime and academic freedom]. Serhat Tutkal, NEXOS,  junio 25, 2025.
Cuando se toma la Distancia por tiempos en el patio de las escuelas mexicanas se usa como punto de referencia el/la otro/a que está enfrente o al lado. El propósito de este blog es debatir a la educación a partir de ofrecer voces y ángulos plurales. Se proponen textos que ayuden a comprender que lo educativo va desde los procesos cognitivos hasta las políticas y que sus actores son desde los niños más pequeños, hasta los gobiernos y los organismos internacionales.
The purpose of this blog is to discuss education from a variety of perspectives and voices. It offers texts that help us understand that education encompasses everything from cognitive processes to policy, and that its stakeholders range from the youngest children to governments and international organizations.

The Moderating Effect of Human Rights Education: Examining the Relationship Between Parental Abuse, Child Self-Esteem, and Human Rights Attitude, Changming Yoo, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Volume 40, Issue 9-10, https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605241270014
Abstract: This study aims to investigate the mediating role of child self-esteem in the relationship between parental abuse and children’s human rights attitude, while exploring the moderating effect of children’s participation in human rights education on these associations. Using data from 2020 Children and Youth Human Rights Survey (N = 5,673 students, 50% female, mean age = 15.53), we conducted structural equation modeling to assess the conceptual model’s validity. Parental abuse showed a negative relationship with human rights attitude. For children not participating in human rights education, self-esteem acted as a partial mediator, while for participating children, self-esteem served as a full mediator. Paradoxically, human rights education may be linked to lower self-esteem in certain groups of children. The magnitude of the negative association between parental abuse and self-esteem was stronger for those who participated in human rights education compared to those who did not. This implies that the psychological well-being maintained through dysfunctional protective systems may momentarily crumble when faced with contradictory information. These compelling findings furnish valuable perspectives on the significance of equipping children with knowledge and principles related to human rights, a crucial aspect in molding their outlooks, coping mechanisms, and fortitude when confronted with challenging situations. Based on these results, the importance of human rights education and the need for careful composition of human rights education content for abused children were discussed.

Inclusion, Exclusion, Racism

How racial microaggressions impact the campus experience of students of color [in the United States].Nepton A, Farahani H, Olaoluwa IF, Strauss D, Williams MT. Academia Mental Health and Well-Being 2025; 2.
Racism can take many forms, including explicit racism as well as subtle or covert racism, such as microaggressions. Research has shown that long-term and consistent exposure to racial microaggressions can lead to detrimental health outcomes such as stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and negative physical health outcomes, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC).
The results suggest that racial microaggressions contribute to heightened distress and reduced belonging among BIPOC students. These findings align with previous literature highlighting the harmful effects of subtle racism in academic settings. Addressing racial microaggressions is essential for improving inclusive and supportive academic environments.

LGBTQI+, Gender Rights

Budapest Pride Parade Was Bigger Than Ever, Despite Orban’s Ban
Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s party enacted the ban, but Budapest’s mayor allowed the event to go on. The police sat on the sidelines. Crowds gathered at the Budapest Pride Parade on Saturday. Credit…Attila Kisbenedek/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A government ban on Hungary’s annual Pride parade backfired on Saturday when more than 100,000 people marched through the Hungarian capital, far more than have taken part in previous such events.

Mental Health and Human Rights

Foundational helping skills training manual: a competency-based approach for training helpers to support adults. WHO, 2025
The Foundational helping skills training manual is a resource from the joint WHO/UNICEF initiative on Ensuring Quality in Psychosocial and Mental Health Care (EQUIP). The manual is for trainers and supervisors and explains how – using the EQUIP competency-based approach – you can teach foundational helping skills to helpers working with adults. Developed as part of the WHO-UNICEF EQUIP initiative, this new manual uses a competency-based training approach to help ensure that care is not only available—but also effective, timely and compassionate.

Cultural practices within Indigenous Australian communities enhance mental health. William D R Smith et al., The Lancet Psychiatry, Volume 12, Issue 9, p624-626, September 2025. Cultural determinations are increasingly recognised as being crucial to mental health. We discuss an example from Indigenous Australian communities, one of the oldest continuing cultures in the world (estimated 65 000 years), to show how ancient cultural practices might support mental health by targeting the same mechanisms that underpin evidence-based psychotherapies.

Discrimination in Health Care: A Scoping Review of the Ontario Experience. George Drazenovich, Health Human Rights. 2025 June.
This scoping review examines systemic and direct health care discrimination in Ontario, Canada, from 2021 to 2024, analyzing claims, contexts, affected groups, interventions, and research gaps. It reviews 23 Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario cases, 11 articles, and 5 gray literature reports. Findings highlight prevalent discrimination claims, including denial of service, denial of entitlement, service removal, and reprisal, which disproportionately affect Indigenous Peoples, racialized groups, and individuals with disabilities. Studies emphasized policy and educational interventions, advocating culturally informed practices and rural resource equity. Following the spirit and intent of human rights law, which is preventative and remedial and not punitive, the review recommends several policy reforms, increased representation of marginalized groups, and mediation to address claims. It urges codifying health care as a constitutional right to ensure an inclusive system meeting Ontario’s diverse needs.

Peace / Violence and War 

Building Pathways of Refuge for Moral Injury. Ariel Wolgel, Times of Israel, August 29, 2025.
People who had dedicated their lives to healing others suddenly faced situations that violated their deepest values—sometimes leading to identity crises and severe mental health struggles. The voices of these struggles sound like:
“How can I live after not being able to prevent someone from dying”
“Why do I deserve to live a good life?”
“Am I not human anymore?”
“Am I a failure?”
These are the sounds of moral injury—the invisible wounds of conscience, borne by beautiful souls in distress.
In a groundbreaking article, science writer Elizabeth Svoboda shared that pandemic healthcare workers are among the millions of people struggling with this “invisible epidemic.” Svoboda writes: “The condition affects millions across many roles. In an atmosphere of rationed care, doctors must admit a few patients and turn many away. Soldiers kill civilians to complete assigned missions. Veterinarians must put animals down when no one steps up to adopt them. The trauma is far more widespread and devastating than most people realize.”
Dr. Brett T. Litz defines moral injury as the “lasting psychological, biological, spiritual, behavioural, and social impact of perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.” Working in high-stakes environments such as hospitals or war zones requires people to make split-second life-and-death decisions, often under orders in morally complex situations. Even those with the most ethical intentions can find themselves in scenarios that violate their values.
While “moral injury” is a modern term, the experience is ancient.

Running a psychiatric ward in times of war. The Lancet, Weiser, Mark et al., Volume 12, Issue 10, 31 October 2025.
War poses challenges to inpatient psychiatric care. At the Sheba Medical Center, in the centre of Israel, some of the beds in the psychiatric wards are located in fortified areas protected against missile attacks, while others remain vulnerable. During missile alerts, staff and patients are given a 10-min warning to enter fortified areas before air-raid sirens sound. During the war between Israel and Iran in June, 2025, most psychiatric inpatients cooperated and could be escorted safely to the fortified areas. However, a subset of patients, although awake and alert, refused to comply. Some said that they did not mind if they died, others were experiencing a psychotic episode; one claimed to be the messiah and immune to harm, and another believed staff intended to poison him. Others, sedated by antipsychotics, did not wake up.
An ethical question thus arises: should staff remain in unprotected areas with these patients, thereby risking their own lives, or should they evacuate to the fortified areas, leaving patients who refuse to evacuate unsupervised?
The Sheba Medical Center convened an emergency ethics committee comprising hospital management staff, including IP and AZ, the hospital’s legal consultant, and leaders of psychiatry (MW), risk management, surgery, nursing, social work, and religion. The committee made four recommendations. The reasoning was aligned with other hospital settings and reflected established ethical precedents in medicine. For instance, if a patient is undergoing surgery in an unfortified area at the time of an alert, the anaesthesiologist is required to remain with the unconscious, intubated patient.

From Srebrenica to Gaza, why ‘never again’ keeps failing. Two experts talked to Al Jazeera about how the genocide in Gaza carries echoes of Srebrenica 30 years ago. Justin Salhani, AlJazeera 14 Jul 2025.
On the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide and as Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza continues, Al Jazeera spoke to Iva Vukusic, assistant professor in international history at Utrecht University, and Nimer Sultany, Palestinian legal scholar at the University of London, about the parallels between the two.

Middle East

‘No other explanation’: children of Gaza doctor killed in airstrike believe he was deliberately targeted. Family of Dr Marwan al-Sultan says the Israeli airstrike ‘precisely’ hit the apartment block the cardiologist and his relatives occupied. Annie Kelly and Hoda Osman, The Guardian, 4 Jul 2025 .
His death means that all of the directors of the hospitals in northern Gaza have either been killed or detained by the Israeli military forces.
The director of Kamal Adwan hospital, Dr Ahmed al-Kahlout, and his fellow acting director, Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, as well as Dr Ahmed Muhanna, the director of al-Awda hospital in northern Gaza, are all being held in an Israeli prison.
In a statement, the IDF said: “On Wednesday, the IDF struck a key terrorist from the Hamas terrorist organisation in the area of Gaza City. The claim that as a result of the strike uninvolved civilians were harmed is being reviewed.

Israeli rights groups call the war on Gaza genocide for first time. Two Israeli human rights organisations have released reports that call Israel’s war on Gaza a genocide for the first time. They warn that Palestinians in the occupied West Bank may face the same fate. Itamar Mann, Aseel Aburass, Tirza Leibowitz, Guy Shalev. Physicians for Human Rights, 28 July 2025.
POSITION PAPER. Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) is an Israel-based human rights organization working to advance the right to health for all under Israel’s control, including Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, individuals without legal status in Israel, people held in Israeli incarceration facilities, and residents of Israel’s social and geographic periphery. For over 37 years, PHRI has documented Israel’s human rights violations and exposed the ways in which occupation and apartheid structurally undermine Palestinian health and dignity.
We dedicate this paper to Gaza’s healthcare providers, medical workers, humanitarian teams, and all those who continue to care for others under fire, while risking their lives and enduring the genocide alongside their loved ones.
“Whoever stays until the end will tell the story. We did what we could. Remember us.”
An examination of Israel’s policy in the Gaza Strip and its horrific outcomes, together with statements by senior Israeli politicians and military commanders about the goals of the attack, leads to the unequivocal conclusion that Israel is taking coordinated, deliberate action to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip. In other words: Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The term genocide refers to a socio-historical and political phenomenon involving acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group. Both morally and legally, genocide cannot be justified under any circumstance, including as an act of self-defense.

United Nations Human Rights Council Sixtieth session A/HRC/60/CRP.3 , 16 September 2025. Legal analysis of the conduct of Israel in Gaza pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Conference room paper of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.

Gate48. Critical Israelis in the Netherlands 
Gate48 is a platform for Israelis living in the Netherlands who oppose the occupation of Palestinian territories and call for its end. Gate48 was founded in 2007 by three Israeli women, living in the Netherlands. We, members of gate48, see Israel as our home: we are connected to Israel by our families, the Hebrew language, the food, the smells and the landscape. That does not mean that we necessarily agree with our government at all times. As Israelis living in the Netherlands, we wish to convey that criticizing Israel’s official policy is not the same as being anti-Israeli.
gate48 supports non-violent resistance to the occupation. We see the occupation as the main reason for human right violations conducted by the Israeli government against Palestinians, including home demolitions, restrictions of movement, child arrests and resource grabbing. We believe that security for both peoples can never be achieved by suppressing others or by hiding behind concrete walls, but only by ending the occupation. Respect for human rights and international law is the only basis for justice and for creating the possibility for a shared and prosperous future for Israelis and Palestinians. Two peoples who share the same land must also share equal justice and equal rights.

Persons with Disability

International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities – IASSIDD
IASSIDD is the lead scientific organisation internationally on matters relating to intellectual and developmental disability. Our membership and professional alliances include lead experts in disabilities from around the world.  IASSIDD’s public advocacy voice is to promote and protect the human rights and well-being of all people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in all nations. IASSIDD is a non-politically and non-ideologically aligned international organisation.
IASSIDD opposes the use of unevidenced interventions and policies with people with developmental disabilities.
IASSIDD Opposes Human Cost from Military Conflict
The International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IASSIDD) firmly opposes the maltreatment of all children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as their families and supporters, that results from human -generated political violence and military conflict.

OPPORTUNITIES

PUBLICATIONS

Psychosocial support for children during war. Parents’ guide. Safwat Diab et al., 2025.
Dear parents and family members, the horrific war events that your family and the whole community are undergoing impact everyone. The most affected are the children, as their ability to understand, interpret, and deal with such painful experiences is not yet as strong as that of an adult. War threatens children’s sense of security and enjoyment of life, and they may show signs and reactions indicating that they are affected. They now need all the support they can get to protect their mental health, to read in English open External.
In Arabic: https://www.hhri.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/21.08.Parents-guide-booklet-Arabic-final-font-page.pdf

A free and open textbook for today’s human rights challenges. Philip Alston, August 2025.
This publication takes a critical look at international human rights law and is designed for students, educators, and global practitioners. Free Download. This book examines the world of contemporary human rights, including legal norms, political contexts and moral ideals. It acknowledges the regime’s strengths and weaknesses and focuses on today’s principal challenges. These include radical inequality, resurgent racism, the rise of anti-gender ideology, the implications of new technologies for fact-finding and many other parts of the regime, the continuing marginality of economic, social and cultural rights, climate change, and the evermore central role of the private sector.

Genocide. Ugur Üngör (ed.). Amsterdam University Press, 2016. New Perspectives on its Causes, Courses and Consequences.
The twentieth century has been called, not inaccurately, a century of genocide. And the beginning of the twenty-first century has seen little change, with genocidal violence in Darfur, Congo, Sri Lanka, and Syria. Why is genocide so widespread, and so difficult to stop, across societies that differ so much culturally, technologically, and politically?
That’s the question that this collection addresses, gathering a stellar roster of contributors to offer a range of perspectives from different disciplines to attempt to understand the pervasiveness of genocidal violence. Challenging outdated beliefs and conventions that continue to influence our understanding, Genocide constitutes a major contribution to the scholarship on mass violence.

Being Jewish after the destruction of Gaza, Peter Beinart, Penguin Random House, 2025.
In Peter Beinart’s view, one story dominates Jewish communal life: that of persecution and victimhood. It is a story that erases much of the nuance of Jewish religious tradition and warps our understanding of Israel and Palestine. After Gaza, where Jewish texts, history, and language have been deployed to justify mass slaughter and starvation, Beinart argues, Jews must tell a new story. After this war, whose horror will echo for generations, they must do nothing less than offer a new answer to the question: What does it mean to be a Jew?

The Democratic Marketplace. How a More Equal Economy Can Save Our Political Ideals. Lisa Herzog, Harvard University Press, 2025.
An urgent critique of the market-fundamentalist ideals undermining democratic politics, pointing the way to principled reforms. Democracy has been hollowed out by capitalism. A narrow view of markets and their aims—prioritizing efficiency, profit, and growth—now dominates thinking about democracy itself. Citizens are ignorant of the deep principles of self-governance, having long since adopted a facile equation between democracy and voting as a consumer choice. Lisa Herzog argues that democracy is still possible, but only if democratic values get embedded in everyday experience—including economic experience. That requires new ways of thinking about markets and their goals.

Hva skal vi med menneskerettigheter? [What should we do with human rights?] Elisabeth Gording Stang,Nora Sveaass, Gyldendal, 2025
Human rights are not just political manifestos, but legally binding obligations that are incumbent on authorities, and concrete tools for professionals in their encounters with people in various life situations. This book shows how professionals in health and social work have a key role in safeguarding and realizing human rights in practice.
The first part of the book provides an overview of the concept of human rights, key conventions and national and international monitoring mechanisms. It shows how human rights are anchored in Norwegian legislation, education and civil society. In the second part, the authors delve into topics such as child welfare, mental health care, flight and asylum, torture and inhuman treatment, violence and sexual abuse, human trafficking and discrimination. Through case studies and reflections, the responsibilities and scope for action of professionals are highlighted.
This second edition has been significantly updated with new research, case law and new developments in the field of human rights. The book also includes two new chapters, one on the role of civil society in defending human rights and one on torture and inhumane treatment. The book’s practical and pedagogical approach makes it a unique contribution to the literature.

My Anti-Torture Advocacy and Writing. Roy Eidelson, Psychology for human rights. How the world largest psychological association lost its way in the war on terror.
Eidelson: ‘Over much of the past two decades, along with colleagues in the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology and other “dissident” psychologists, I’ve been actively involved in (1) advocating against health professionals’ complicity in abuse and torture and (2) working to restore the American Psychological Association’s commitment to do-no-harm ethics.’

UPCOMING EVENTS

Children’s rights under pressure in a changing world: Need for a new research agenda?
Ann Skelton. https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/events/2025/10/childrens-rights-under-pressure-in-a-changing-world
Date – Thursday 16 October 2025 – Friday 17 October 2025
Location – Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw, Steenschuur 25, 2311 ES Leiden
The 11th CREAN Children’s Rights Research PhD Symposium brings together doctoral candidates and supervisors from different universities and disciplines. Its aim is to actively promote exchange and cooperation. The Symposium offers an opportunity to hear about current, cutting edge research by PhD’s and to work together on a research agenda.

2nd Annual Conference of Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies
International Conference on Mental Health, Human Dignity, and Climate Change: Mitigating Global Psychological Risk in Lahore, Pakistan and online
Monday – Tuesday, 27th – 28th October 2025: Dignilogues
Wednesday – Thursday, 29th – 30th October 2025: Academic Dignity Conference
Please visit this webpage regularly for the latest information, as plans for this conference unfold,
If you wish to participate, please register here!
Please know that you are invited to spend the entire conference with us, so that true dignity-family-building can emerge! All our events are part of an ongoing effort to nurture a global dignity community. You are invited to fill out our Appreciative Introduction form, print it out, and bring it with you.
There is no registration fee, we share minimal cost according to ability at the end.

18th EUROPEAN PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE
Helsinki, Finland
PRE-CONFERENCES 11 NOVEMBER 2025 MAIN CONFERENCE 12 – 14 NOVEMBER 2025

Reflecting on progress and charting the future. Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025
The Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025, the second high-level officials meeting, will take place from 15-17 December 2025, at the International Conference Centre (CICG) in Geneva, Switzerland, following on from the Global Refugee Forum 2023.
Priorities for the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025 include:

• Expanding support for refugees and the countries who receive them;
• Advancing implementation of pledges made as part of the Global Refugee Forums including through the multi-stakeholder pledge framework;
• Directing efforts to the areas in need of further support.

The roadmap is available online, and the programme will be available soon.

EMPOWERING EDUCATION FOR A CHANGING WORLD. A Global Summit on Children’s Rights and Education, 2026
An Urgent Call to Act Now—For the Future of Life. We are at an unprecedented turning point. Across the globe, children are growing up amid a whirlwind of promise and peril. Advancements in artificial intelligence and biotechnology, the realities of climate change, mass displacement, rising tribalism, and global conflict are not distant specters—they are immediate and defining forces of our time.
Children’s lives, rights, and potential are at risk of being swept aside by the speed and scale of change. The time to react is not tomorrow—it is now. This Global Summit on Children’s Rights and Education, set for 2026 in the Netherlands, is not just an event. It is a moral imperative. It is a strategic platform. It is a bold move to recalibrate how the world educates its youngest citizens—how we empower them to shape, survive, and thrive in the coming decades.
Summit Details

• Location: Leiden University, The Netherlands
• Date: Fall 2026
• Format: Hybrid (In-person and Virtual
• Participants: 100 global experts; 100+ education and child development stakeholders; open virtual access
• Organized/Managed by: The International Children’s Rights Program of Leiden University’s Law School and Aflatoun International

ENDNOTES

CONTACTS: Published by the Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights – www.humanrightspsychology.org

Disclaimer: The website of the Global Network of Psychologists for Human Rights (GNPHR) contains articles, events and news about the domain where psychology and human rights intersect. The information presented in this Bulletin, does not imply that the GNPHR shares the views and beliefs in the articles.

• @GNPHR1
• How to get involved – read how you can contribute to the global network
• Consider contributing a Blog/Commentary
• News and Bulletins from the GNPHR – Subscribe to GNPHR
• Email addresses:
  • blogeditor@humanrightspsychology.org
  • info@humanrightspsychology.org
  • globalnetworkgnphr@gmail.com

Ways to Participate in Global Network Activities

• Share Your Experiences and Examples
  One of the best ways to illustrate the intersection of psychology and human rights is through example. We are looking for examples of your encounters with human rights issues in your professional life. You might describe a time when you protected (or failed to protect) human rights, or advocated for what you saw as a human rights issue. The events might be in your clinical, research, academic, applied, or volunteer work. Please send your narrative / story (500-1000 words) to Marlena Plavšić (marlena_plavsic@hotmail.com). We will compile these for publication in the GNPHR Bulletin and on the website. Please also indicate if you would like your stories to remain anonymous.
• Share your Expertise and Opinions
  We invite you to contribute a blog or opinion piece on general human rights issues; human rights education or strategies for raising the profile of human rights within psychology or your professional life. Students are welcome to contribute, including on student needs for learning about and addressing human rights. Please contact the GNPHR Blog editor (blogeditor@humanrightspsychology.org) with ideas for the article you would like to write!
• Send articles/news/events
  If you come across a human rights article or news, or know of an upcoming human rights event, please send for publication in the Bulletin. Send to the Bulletin editor Polli Hagenaars (polli.hagenaars@gmail.com).