Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World?

Authoritarian Advances Threaten Rules-Based Order

The global human rights system is in peril. Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms. To defy this trend, governments that still value human rights, alongside social movements, civil society, and international institutions, need to form a strategic alliance to push back.

To be fair, the downward spiral predated Trump’s reelection. The democratic wave that began over 50 years ago has given way to what scholars term a “democratic recession.” Democracy is now back to 1985 levels according to some metrics, with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under autocracy. Russia and China are less free today than 20 years ago. And so is the United States.

Of course, democracy is not a panacea for human rights violations; the US and other longtime democracies have their own histories of colonial crimes, racism, abusive justice systems, and wartime atrocities. More recently, authoritarian leaders have exploited public mistrust and anger to win elections and then dismantled the very institutions that brought them to power. Democratic institutions are crucial to represent the will of the people and keep power in check. It’s no surprise that whenever democracy is undermined, rights are too, as evident in recent years in India, Türkiye, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Hungary.

In this context, 2025 may be seen as a tipping point. In just 12 months, the Trump administration has carried out a broad assault on key pillars of US democracy and the global rules-based order, which the US, despite inconsistencies, was, with other states, instrumental in helping to establish.

In short order, Trump’s second-term administration has undermined trust in the sanctity of elections, reduced government accountability, gutted food assistance and healthcare subsidies, attacked judicial independence, defied court orders, rolled back women’s rights, obstructed access to abortion care, undermined remedies for racial harm, terminated programs mandating accessibility for people with disabilities, punished free speech, stripped protections from trans and intersex people, eroded privacy, and used government power to intimidate political opponents, the media, law firms, universities, civil society, and even comedians.

Claiming a risk of “civilizational erasure” in Europe and leaning on racist tropes to cast entire populations as unwelcome in the US, the Trump administration has embraced policies and rhetoric that align with white nationalist ideology. Immigrants and asylum seekers have been subjected to inhumane conditions and degrading treatment; 32 died in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2025, and as of mid-January 2026, an additional 4 have died. Masked immigration enforcement agents have targeted people of color, using excessive force, terrorizing communities, wrongfully arresting scores of citizens, and, most recently, unjustifiably killing two people in Minneapolis, whose deaths Human Rights Watch has documented.

The US president of course has the authority to tighten US borders and enforce stricter immigration policies. The administration is not, however, entitled to deny legal process to asylum seekers, mistreat undocumented migrants, or unlawfully discriminate. In a well-functioning democracy, no electoral mandate should supersede domestic legislation, constitutional protections, or international human rights law. Trump’s team has repeatedly bypassed these guardrails.

The violations have not stopped at the border. The Trump administration used a 1798 law to send hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to an infamous prison in El Salvador, where they were tortured and sexually abused. Its blatantly unlawful strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific extrajudicially killed more than 120 people whom Trump claims were drug traffickers.

After the US attacked Venezuela and apprehended its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, Trump claimed the US would “run” the country and control its vast oil reserves. Despite paying lip service to human rights concerns under Maduro at the United Nations, Trump has worked with the same repressive apparatus to further US interests. Many Western allies have chosen to stay silent about these lawless moves, perhaps fearing erratic tariffs and blowback to their alliances.

Trump’s foreign policy has upended the foundations of the rules-based order that seeks to advance democracy and human rights, even if imperfectly.

Trump has boasted that he doesn’t “need international law” as a constraint, only his “own morality.” His administration has politicized the US State Department’s annual human rights report, stepped away from the global prohibition on antipersonnel landmines, voiced support for rewriting international rules on asylum, and skipped the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of the US’ human rights record.

His administration withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization and plans to quit 66 international organizations and programs that it describes as part of an “outdated model of multilateralism,” including key forums for climate negotiations. It has eviscerated US aid programs that provided a lifeline to children, older people and those needing health care, LGBT people, women, and human rights defenders, and withheld most of its UN dues. 

Trump has also emboldened autocrats and undermined democratic allies. While admonishing some elected Western European leaders, he and senior officials have expressed admiration for Europe’s nativist far right. He has favored autocrats such as Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, while continuing decades of US support to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

His administration has unjustifiably imposed sanctions to punish respected Palestinian human rights organizations, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor and many of its judges, a UN special rapporteur, and for several months, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and his wife.

The institutional response in the US to Trump’s power grabs has been shockingly muted. Much of Congress, controlled by his own party, has not challenged his supercharged expansion of executive power. The leaders of the US’ most powerful technology companies have made significant donations and sought to placate the president. Some big law firms and prestigious universities have made deals rather than assert their independence, and some media organizations seem afraid to attract the president’s ire.

Has the US switched sides on the human rights playing field? While US engagement with human rights institutions has always been selective, China and Russia have long pursued an illiberal agenda. They stand much to gain from a US government that now expresses open hostility to universal rights. China and Russia remain strategic rivals of the US, but all three countries are now led by leaders who share open disdain for norms and institutions that could constrain their power.

Together, they wield considerable economic, military, and diplomatic power. If they were to consistently act as allies of convenience to erode global rules, they could threaten the entire system. Already, a loose international network of countries such as North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Myanmar, Cuba, and Belarus work in concert with Russia and China. These leaders share very little ideologically but align in undermining human rights and promoting a regressive international agenda. In word and in practice, the US government is now helping them in this endeavor.

The US’ weakening of multilateral institutions also dealt a serious blow to global efforts to prevent or stop grave international crimes. The “never again” movement, born from the horrors of the Holocaust and reignited by the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, spurred the UN General Assembly to embrace the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in 2005. Meant to guide international intervention to prevent and stop atrocities in tandem with efforts to prosecute and punish serious crimes, R2P made a real difference in places like the Central African Republic and Kenya.

Today, R2P is rarely invoked and the ICC is under siege. In addition to Trump’s far-reaching sanctions, in December 2025 a Moscow court sentenced the ICC prosecutor and eight of its judges to prison terms in absentia. Moreover, despite being ICC fugitives, in 2025, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was welcomed by Donald Trump in Alaska, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Hungary, an ICC member state at the time, at Orban’s invitation.

Twenty years ago, the US government and civil society were instrumental in galvanizing a response to mass atrocities in Darfur. Sudan is burning again, but this time under Trump, with relative impunity. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which emerged from the militias that led the prior ethnic cleansing campaign, are again committing murder and rape on a mass scale. A growing body of evidence indicates that the UAE, a longtime US ally that recently made multi-billion-dollar deals with Trump, is providing the RSF with military support.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Israeli armed forces have committed acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, killing over 70,000 people since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel and displacing the vast majority of Gaza’s population. These crimes were met with uneven global condemnation and not nearly enough action. Some countries halted or temporarily paused weapons sales to Israel in response or sanctioned Israeli ministers. Trump, however, continued a long-standing US policy of almost unconditional support to Israel, even as the International Court of Justice is weighing allegations of genocide and has issued binding orders under the Genocide Convention to protect Palestinians’ rights.

Trump announced in February an alarming US plan to transform Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” free of Palestinians, which would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing. As implementation of the 20-point Trump peace plan has stalled, the administration has further normalized the dispossession of Palestinians through its failure to publicly protest Israel’s regular killing of those approaching the “yellow line” that now divides Gaza, its ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes, and unlawful restrictions on humanitarian aid.

In Ukraine, Trump’s peace efforts have consistently downplayed Russia’s responsibility for serious violations. These include indiscriminate bombing, coercing Ukrainians in occupied areas to serve in the Russian military, systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and the use of quadcopter drones to hunt and kill civilians. Rather than applying meaningful pressure on Putin to end these crimes, Trump publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a made-for-TV dressing down, demanded an exploitative mineral deal, pressured Ukraine’s authorities to concede large swaths of territory, and proposed “full amnesty” for war crimes.

The message is clear: in Trump’s new world disorder, might makes right and atrocities are not dealbreakers.

델리헬은 호텔이나 집으로 불러 서비스를 받습니다. 고베 소프란도가 좋다는 말이 있어서 갔는데 다 한국사람은 안된다는 거야. 꿈속에서 아침에 기차타고 고베 후쿠하라 소프 갔다오는 꿈 꿨음. 고베 r&b 神戸r＆b라는 가게는 이용 가능하고, 여성에 따라 외국인 대응이 불가한 아이도 있기 때문에 예약이.

히토미 밧줄

2만엔 정도 더 비싸더라 다른데도 둘러봤는데 고급,중급 상관없이 외국인 안받는데는 안받고 받는데는 외국인 요금 받고 해주네 지금 내가 온데는 특이하게 외국인이어도 일본에 살면 그냥 요금에.. 고베 r&b 神戸r＆b라는 가게는 이용 가능하고, 여성에 따라 외국인 대응이 불가한 아이도 있기 때문에 예약이..

히토미 대결

일본은 토,일,월 3연휴라서 간만에 물한번뺴고 옴이번에 간곳은 새로생긴 가게인데 오픈기념으로 가격이 매우 괜찮았음90분 3만엔에 옵션으로 노콘질싸까지 가능인데 2천엔만 더 내면 됨당근 2천엔 더 내고 3만2천엔에 노콘. Com › index › board고베 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. 다국어 대응이 가능한 스태프가 상주하고 있어 언어의 장벽 없이 원활하게 안내받을 수 있습니다.

다음번은 언제인지는 모르지만 후쿠오카 한 번 가볼까 생각만. 1890년대 후반에 지어진 중후한 벽돌 장식의 건물 안에 카페나 레스토랑 문구점들이 입점해 있습니다, 소프는 후쿠하라에 모여있고 그외에는 헤루스일거다 일어되면 직접 알아봐라, 지로의 형 노요리 다쓰지 미쓰이 생명보험 초대 회장와 시세이도 창업자 후쿠하라 아리노부 의 딸 사이에 대를 이을 사람이 없었기 때문에, 아버지 가네키가 입양해서 ‘노요리’라는 성을 이어받아 스즈코와 결혼했다. 꿈속에서 아침에 기차타고 고베 후쿠하라 소프 갔다오는 꿈 꿨음. 긴코스받아서 만족스럽네요 오사카 여행가시는 분들은 한신선 신카이치역 2번출구 내리셔서 받고 가시길 외국인 받아주는 분위기입니다 정식 명칭은 고베 후쿠하라 소프란도촌이라고 보시면 될것같습니다 좋아요 23 공유하기 게시글 관리.

히로아카 갤러리

계속 알려 드리듯이 보통 없음 여행일본 갤러리. 델리헬은 호텔이나 집으로 불러 서비스를 받습니다. 그리고 기차타고 1시간이면 히메지 갈 수있고, 일본 유일한.

황시후 초모 위치는 고베 후쿠하라고 외국인 요금에 지명료 포함되서 1. Com › 23도쿄유흥 펌고베 소프란도 후기. 이 시즌에도 주니어와 시니어를 병행하여 199697 전일본 주니어선수권에서 2위, 1997 주니어 세계선수권 에서는 작년과 동일한 4위를 기록했다. 일본은 토,일,월 3연휴라서 간만에 물한번뺴고 옴이번에 간곳은 새로생긴 가게인데 오픈기념으로 가격이 매우 괜찮았음90분 3만엔에 옵션으로 노콘질싸까지 가능인데 2천엔만 더 내면 됨당근 2천엔 더 내고 3만2천엔에 노콘. Kobe hybrid fantasy은 는 외국인 여행자도 안심하고 이용할 수 있는 딜리버리 헬스 데리헤루 입니다. 훈남딸캠

히어하트 asmr 무료 후쿠하라 아야카는 이 공연의 2일차에서 역대 최다인 16곡에 참가하였는데, 16 본래 체력이 좋은 편이 아니었기에 도중 이성의 스위치를 끄고 나는 춤추고 노래하는 기계라고 되뇌이면서 무대에 임했다. ㅈㄱㄴ dc official app. 소프는 후쿠하라에 모여있고 그외에는 헤루스일거다 일어되면 직접 알아봐라. 소프는 후쿠하라에 모여있고 그외에는 헤루스일거다 일어되면 직접 알아봐라. 처음 방문하는 분들도 편안하게 이용할 수 있는 환경으로, 방일 외국인 고객에게도 높은 평가를. 히로세 히나 품번

후타 챈 다국어 대응이 가능한 스태프가 상주하고 있어 언어의 장벽 없이 원활하게 안내받을 수 있습니다. Com › board › view일본인입니다. 12월 초에 오사카 놀러가는데 고베 동물왕국에 카피바라가 있다고 하여 하루 당일치기로 가보려고 합니다. 일베저장소 일간베스트, 개드립, 짤방, 유머 게시판. 일본 여행에 관한 질문이 있으시면 답변해. 히토미 동물

히토미 대체 사이트 디시 형님들 고베에서 어디가야하나요 여행일본 갤러리. Com › 23도쿄유흥 펌고베 소프란도 후기. 고베 r&b 神戸r＆b라는 가게는 이용 가능하고, 여성에 따라 외국인 대응이 불가한 아이도 있기 때문에 예약이. 고베 ㅎㅋㅎㄹ 갈 건데 고급점 vs 일반점 여행일본 갤러리. 1996 nhk 트로피에 출전하며 시니어 그랑프리 2 데뷔를 했다.

히요밍 유출 1996 네벨혼 트로피에서 4위를 하며 시즌을 시작했다. 몇몇 받아주는 가게 가도 보고싶은 여자애가 외국인 ng거나 외p 쎄게 받거나 별로 추천은. Com › index › board고베 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. Jpg 현청 소재지인 미토시 의 전경 이바라키현, ibarakiken 은 일본 간토. 박살 난 업소들은 모두 옆동네 고베시의 후쿠하라 로 넘어갔다.

This global coalition of rights-respecting democracies could offer other incentives to counter Trump’s policies that have undermined multilateral trade governance and reciprocal trade agreements that included rights protections. Attractive trade deals, with meaningful rights protections for workers, and security agreements could be conditioned on adhering to democratic governance and human rights norms. Democracy already comes with benefits. While autocracies have generally fostered conflict, economic stagnation, or kleptocracy, as evidenced in multiple academic studies, including the work of the Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, democratic institutions reliably yield economic growth. 

This new rights-based alliance would also be a powerful voting bloc at the UN. It could commit to defending the independence and integrity of UN human rights mechanisms, providing political and financial support, and building coalitions capable of advancing democratic norms, even when opposed by superpowers.

Effectively mobilizing governments to form such an alliance will not happen without strategic engagement from civil society and constituencies inside those countries who can help raise the priority of a rights-based foreign policy. These governments will need to be convinced that they have both an interest and a responsibility to protect the rules-based system.

Projects of this nature are bubbling up. Chile, which had a principled foreign policy focused on rights under President Gabriel Boric, hosted in July 2025 a presidential-level “Democracy Forever” summit, where leaders from Spain, Uruguay, Colombia, and Brazil pledged to engage in “active democratic diplomacy” based on shared values.

The Hague Group, led by Malaysia, South Africa, and Colombia, formed in January 2025 in “defense of international law” and in solidarity with Palestinians. Over 70 countries from all regions signed a joint statement defending multilateralism at the UN. Earlier, in 2017, former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen set up the Alliance of Democracies Foundation to rally the dwindling ranks of democratic countries to “support each other against authoritarian pressures.”

Whatever its precise contours, an alliance of rights-respecting democracies would offer a hopeful counterpoint to the authoritarian trope of China’s and Russia’s leaders standing alongside North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, observing military hardware in a parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in September. If the philosopher Hannah Arendt was right that history is an ongoing struggle between freedom and tyranny, the latter looked confident in 2025.

Yet, even in the worst of times, the idea of freedom and human rights is enduring. People power remains an engine for change. In the US, “No Kings” marches have drawn millions, protesters in Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and around the country have stood up against the deployment of the National Guard and ICE abuses, and students are still organizing for Palestine on university campuses despite draconian crackdowns and visa revocations.

Buoyed by popular resistance, South Korean parliamentarians impeached their president to prevent him from grabbing power through martial law. Grassroots aid efforts by Sudan’s emergency response rooms, Hong Kong’s fire relief, Sri Lanka’s cyclone relief community kitchens, and Ukrainian mutual aid and solidarity collectives represent the best of this trend.

In 2025, Gen Z protests against corruption, inadequate public services, and poor governance in Nepal, Indonesia, and Morocco brought to the forefront the need for governments to listen to their youth and tackle corruption and inequality. But as the difficulties of restoring rights in Bangladesh after years under an authoritarian government illustrates, gains won through public mobilization can easily be lost unless democratic participation and free expression remain unassailable.