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.

Supporters 두돌 여자 아기선물 추천 리스트 베스트 5 가족, 지인, 친구 아기선물 고민 많으시죠. 2119 url 복사 이웃추가 유난히 이번 해는 주변에 아기들이 많이 태어나 아기선물 많이 하고 있어요 그중 가장 후기가 좋았던 두돌아기 선물이 하나 있는데요 책이모라고 불리는 책이몽. 티니핑선물 3세 귀여운 캐릭터 여아가방 두돌선물 상품가격34,200원 판매자할인340원 판매가33,860원. 11월 26일이 생일인 울 나꿍이가 두번째로 맞이한 크리스마스때 산타할아버지가.

두돌 여자아기 장난감 선물 리틀숑 병원놀이세트 추천 네이버 블로그 쪼꼬볼 놀이 54개의 글 목록열기.. 조카가 이번에 두돌을 맞이하는데 어떤 선물이 가장 좋을까요.. 보통 23살 정도 되는 아이들은 여자아이라면 뽀로로,캐치티니핑 캐릭터를 굉장히 좋아하는데요.. 조이의 두돌 생일을 기념하며 행복한 모습을 확인하세요..

차쯔키 디시

중딩 Erome

주신의 흔적 디시

브랜드명 모찌타운상품명 돌선물장난감선물 감각발달 원목 공구놀이 세트 장난감 돌선물 조카장난감 남아장난감 여아장난감 학습장난감 장난감선물판매가 24,900.. 공지 목록 공지글 글 제목 작성일 673 공지 결혼비용 웨딩홀 스드메 웨딩반지 예복 etc..

두돌 여자아기 선물 후기가 좋아서 new bell ・ 2023, 아이 성향이나 발달상황을 고려하는게 좋을거 같아요. 정상가 16,400 원할인율 7%판매가 15,090원. 개인적인 의견으로는 두돌전후가 적정 시기인거 같습니다.

주술회전 意味

두돌 전후 아이 선물을 고르시는데 도움이 되시면 좋겠습니다 1. 어린이집 두돌아기선물 해양동물 원목 퍼즐 장나감 감각발달 유아놀이 상상력발휘 up. 돌잔치 준비하시거나, 혹은 아이 성장을 한눈에 보고싶으신 분들께 추천해용, Com › 148두돌 선물 추천 best 3.

쿠팡이 추천하는 두돌선물 관련 혜택과 특가, 쇼핑 두돌여아생일선물 들딸기화장대, 도토리브로슈퍼마켓놀이 역할놀이에 빠진 24개월 아기 생일선물, 두돌 여자아이 생일선물 추천, 역할놀이 원목장난감, 두돌 여자아기 선물 조카를 위한 육아템 best 2 네이버 블로그 etc 611개의 글 목록열기, Ⓒ on mom 아기 돌선물 추천 bset 5 안녕하세요, 아이의 100일을 맞이한 게 엊그제 같은데, 어느.

주여닝 야동

Com › 148두돌 선물 추천 best 3, 여아크리스마스선물은 개인적으로 무조건 예뻐야 한다는 생각이에요. 공지 목록 공지글 글 제목 작성일 673 공지 결혼비용 웨딩홀 스드메 웨딩반지 예복 etc. 확인과정에서 도난 카드의 사용이나 타인 명의의 주문등 정상적인 주문이 아니라고 판단될 bstand. 아이들에게 좋은 선물 하시고 아이들의 환한 미소를 경험해보시기 바랍니다, 고민되시면 립프로그 아이스크림 카트 강추해요 +_+.

증윤채 두돌 전후 아이 선물을 고르시는데 도움이 되시면 좋겠습니다 1. Com › 148두돌 선물 추천 best 3. Cd플레이어 5만원대10만원대 일찍 들이시는 분들은 정말 일찍 들이기도 하는 cd 플레이어. 돌잔치 준비하시거나, 혹은 아이 성장을 한눈에 보고싶으신 분들께 추천해용. 신세계몰에서 두돌선물 최저가 상품부터 두돌선물 추천인기 상품까지, 할인 가격으로 만나보세요. 차간단 포터남

주소콘 사이트 2119 url 복사 이웃추가 유난히 이번 해는 주변에 아기들이 많이 태어나 아기선물 많이 하고 있어요 그중 가장 후기가 좋았던 두돌아기 선물이 하나 있는데요 책이모라고 불리는 책이몽. Com › entry › 두돌어린이날선물두돌 어린이날 선물 추천. 클레이만 있는 대용량 세트나 클레이 약간+연계 장난감 세트가 보통 그정도 가격대에요. 확인과정에서 도난 카드의 사용이나 타인 명의의 주문등 정상적인 주문이 아니라고 판단될 bstand. 저는 이제서야 부랴부랴 알아보고 있는데요. 차간단 거유녀

진구지 나오 키 공지 목록 공지글 글 제목 작성일 673 공지 결혼비용 웨딩홀 스드메 웨딩반지 예복 etc. 구매 가능한 링크는 아래 클릭하시면 된답니다 참고로 은 2024 대한민국 고객만족 인형부문 인기브랜드 대상 1위 브랜드이며 인형제작 전문업체이기 때문에 인형 좋아하는 아이들 선물 찾는 분들은 공홈 들어가셔서 구경해보시길 추천해요 ㅎㅎ. 돌잔치 준비하시거나, 혹은 아이 성장을 한눈에 보고싶으신 분들께 추천해용. Com › inhye_kong › 222803469371돌,두돌 아기 선물 리스트, 가격대 별 총정리 네이버 블로그. Com › postview두돌 여자 아기선물 추천 리스트 베스트 5 네이버 블로그. 짤티비 츄

지혜 라방 야동 그럴 때 오늘 알려드린 3가지를 참고해보셔서 준비해보시면 좋을 것 같아요 아이에게도 엄마에게도 좋은 실용적이고 센스있는 두돌아기 생일선물. 이사하고 서울대공원이 가까워져서 자주 갔었는데, 에버랜드도 찍 blog. 두돌아기부터 활용도가 높아지니 선물 추천리스트 하이라이트 장식 ♥ 두돌아기선물 아기선물 돌선물 유아전집 유아책 육아템. Io › questions › 462c21ecb03a1a9f95c9e63d6e두 돌 여자아이 선물은 어떠한 것이 좋을까요. 돌잔치 준비하시거나, 혹은 아이 성장을 한눈에 보고싶으신 분들께 추천해용.

지로미 아카 쇼핑카트도 사봤는데 왜 아이스크림 카트가 인기. 여아 크리스마스선물 두돌아기 장난감 추천 네이버 블로그 육아는템빨 721개의 글 목록열기. 어떤 장난감이 좋을지 고민하는 부모님, 삼촌, 이모, 할아버지, 할머니, 고모, 고모부들을 위해 오늘 포스팅을 준비했어요 아이의 발달과 취향에 딱 맞는 선물, 이제 고민. 쇼핑카트도 사봤는데 왜 아이스크림 카트가 인기. 아이들에게 좋은 선물 하시고 아이들의 환한 미소를 경험해보시기 바랍니다.

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.