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Nadia Murad, Nobel Peace Prize and 2016 Sakharov Prize Laureate came to Brussels in a landmark visit to the European Parliament ten years after receiving the award. The visit brought renewed focus to her sustained campaign for justice and accountability for atrocities committed by ISIS, and for the rights and future of the Yazidi community.

During meetings with President Roberta Metsola and Members of the European Parliament, Murad reiterated her gratitude for the Sakharov Prize and was able to convince herself of the Members' unbroken commitment to engage on difficult human rights issues. She called on EU countries to take responsibility for prosecuting their own citizens who fought with ISIS. Nadia also urged renewed EU support for rebuilding the Yazidis' homeland in northern Iraq, moving beyond temporary displacement camps towards sustainable solutions. Underlining the need to confront sexual violence in conflict globally, she held that EU institutions must condemn rape as a weapon of war and it address forcefully.

Sudanese human rights lawyer and 2007 Sakharov Prize Laureate Salih Osman came for an advocacy visit to Brussels on 10 - 11 November 2025, stressing the urgency of finding solutions to the human rights crisis in Sudan. Images coming out of the town of El Fasher after its capture by the RSF militia are horrific, and even more devastation could follow, he warned. His visit combined participation in a hearing organised by two of Parliament's Committees, meetings with Members of Parliament and with European Extremal Action Service officials, as well as outreach to the public and media.

The programme started with a public discussion in a full room of Parliament's Information Hub. After screening a documentary on Sudan, Salih Osman and Parliament Vice-President Nicolae Ștefănuţă, responsible for Human Rights and Democracy Support, discussed what should be done to stop the atrocities and human rights violations. They insisted that now is the time for concrete actions.

Mr. Osman also had bilateral meetings and delivered a keynote address to a public hearing organised by the Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Committee on Development. He was joined on the panel by Mona Rishmawi, Member of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, human rights lawyer Mohaned El-Nour, Eric Perdison from the World Food Programme and Sudanese women's rights activist Salwa Elsadik. They spoke to a packed room, attesting to the sense of urgency felt by Parliament about developments unfolding in Sudan.