This report provides an overview of the human rights situation in Bhutan during 2025. It is written with the aim of supporting informed discussion—within Bhutan and among international partners—about how constitutional guarantees, domestic law, and administrative practice interact in the everyday lives of citizens. The report does not seek to diminish Bhutan’s widely recognised achievements in social development and public administration. Rather, it focuses on areas where rights protections appear uneven, where accountability mechanisms are limited, or where policy choices have generated credible concerns from affected communities and independent observers.
The report draws on publicly available information, including government statements and statistics, parliamentary and regulatory material where accessible, media reporting, and analysis from domestic and international organisations. It also reflects recurring issues raised in multilateral processes, including the Universal Periodic Review and other UN human rights mechanisms. Given Bhutan’s small media market, limited access-to-information pathways, and constraints on independent civic activity, some issues are difficult to document comprehensively. Where information is contested or incomplete, the report seeks to describe the nature of the concern, identify the sources that have raised it, and situate it within the relevant legal and policy context.
Read Full Report here
