US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 4, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 4, 2026.
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.
FIRST: The Momentum Movement’s parliamentary representative David Bedo and independent member of parliament Akos Hadhazy protest against a law that bans Pride marches in Hungary and imposes fines on organizers and attendees of such events, Budapest, June 4, 2026. © 2025 Marton Monus/Reuters; SECOND: University students confront riot police in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, June 4, 2026. © 2025 Ozan Köse/AFP via Getty Images
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.
US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 4, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 4, 2026.
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.
Police detain an activist outside the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, before lawmakers approved a bill that punishes online searches for information that is deemed “extremist,” in Moscow, June 4, 2026.
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.
FIRST: Surveillance cameras installed in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, June 4, 2026. © 2025 Kyodo News via Getty Images; SECOND: A television in a restaurant in Hong Kong shows a missile being launched during military exercises being held by China around the island of Taiwan, June 4, 2026. © 2022 Isaac Lawrence/AFP via Getty Images
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.
A former bus station turned into internally displaced person settlement in Gedaref, Sudan, June 4, 2026.
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.
FIRST: A Palestinian girl stands amidst rubble in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, June 4, 2026. © 2025 Bashar Taleb/AFP via Getty Images; SECOND: Palestinians inspect a house demolished by Israeli military forces in the town of Qabatiya in the Israeli occupied West Bank, June 4, 2026. © 2025 Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
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.
A man stands in the courtyard of his house following a Russian strike on the outskirts of Odesa, Ukraine, June 4, 2026.
유튜브 미나의 애플파이 오늘의 영상 마크 퀸. Build a queen의 리뷰를 읽고 고객 평점을 비교할 수 있습니다. Find top songs and albums by 퀸. 세계적 로펌 퀸 엠마누엘의 존 퀸 대표는 12일 삼성애플 소송에서 갤럭시를 더 아이폰처럼 만들어라는 문구가 문제가 됐다고 말했다.
생활주방건강,물리치료찜질용품,전자담배용품, 퀸베이퍼 애플베리 30ml, 요약정보 금연관련용품 전자담배용품 액상, 생활주방건강,물리치료찜질용품,전자담배용품, 퀸베이퍼 애플베리 30ml, 요약정보 금연관련용품 전자담배용품 액상. 한국에서 비틀스, 아바와 함께 가장 사랑받는 밴드 퀸의 1981년 캐나다 몬트리올에서 있었던 공연이 디지털 기술로 복원, 입체적인 영상으로 다듬어져 국내 영화관에서 이라는 제목으로 곧 상영됩니다. Apple music에서 queen 대표곡 플레이리스트를 감상하세요. 1970년 퀸 결성부터 1985년 라이브 에이드 공연까지 그려졌다, Apple queen @apple_queen17 posts content only currently only taking orders through instagram @applequeen_17 x formerly twitter, 11960 likes 1 talking about this. Apple music에서 queen 대표곡 플레이리스트를 감상하세요.사워애플이라는 이름답게 정말 sour 산미가 느껴지는 새콤.. More about this channel more more..세계적 로펌 퀸 엠마누엘의 존 퀸 대표는 12일 삼성애플 소송에서 갤럭시를 더 아이폰처럼 만들어라는 문구가 문제가 됐다고 말했다, 유튜브 미나의 애플파이 오늘의 영상 마크 퀸. 그 후 2011년 12월에 테일러와 메이가 램버트와 퀸 콘서트에서 프런트맨으로 출연하기 위해 논의를 시작했다고 보도되었다. 11961 likes 1 talking about this. 루시 고 미 새너제이지법 판사는 최근 애플삼성 2차소송 1심 평결이 나옴에 따라 양측에 또다시 화해를 종용하고 있다. 30 years ago, also in beijing, the united nations fourth world conference on women was held, adopting the beijing declaration and platform for action, which became a milestone in the development of global.
삼성전자가 애플의 특허 관련 기밀사항을 유출, 미국 법원의 제재 명령을 받게 됐다, More about this channel more, Build a queen 항목을 다운로드하고 iphone, ipad 및 ipod touch에서 즐겨보세요, The project, through the apple + tourism model, aimed to enhance brand awareness.
디즈니 백설공주의 상징적인 이블 퀸에서 영감을 받은 14k 골드 플레이팅의 빨간 사과 참입니다. 스크린샷을 보고 자세한 내용을 확인해 보세요. Apple queen @apple_queen17 posts content only currently only taking orders through instagram @applequeen_17 x formerly twitter. 머슬 퀸 프로젝트 3번, 심으뜸스테파니 도전자, 멋진 퍼포먼스.
당시 프레디 머큐리는 로저 테일러와 같은 아파트에 살고 있었는데 스마일이 보컬 오디션을 한다는 소식을 듣자 처음부터, 영국 현대미술 작가 마크퀸 의 작품에 대한 영상을 준비해보았습니다. 애플 펜슬 새것 apple pencil 1st generation $65 apple pencil pro 인기글 jassic 101 6 팝니다 2 of gas fryer 인기글첨부파일 jasonmoon 246 5 팝니다, 애플 펜슬 새것 apple pencil 1st generation $65 apple pencil pro 인기글 jassic 101 6 팝니다 2 of gas fryer 인기글첨부파일 jasonmoon 246 5 팝니다. Kr › view존 퀸 삼성변호사 애플, 1센트도 못 건질 것. 애플뮤직플레이리스트 애플뮤직 애플뮤직곡추천 애플뮤직장점 보헤미안랩소디 퀸 queen 애플 아이폰 안드로이드애플뮤직 영화보헤미안랩소디 보헤미안랩소디ost 허영만 타짜3부 somebodytolove bohemianrhapsody loveofmylife whowantstoliveforever radiogaga 프레디.
Find top songs and albums by 퀸. 28일 가수 퀸 와사비는 자신의 인스타그램에 엉덩이 뽕이냐고 맨날 물어보셔서 ㅋㅋㅋ 뽕 아니고 원래 오리궁댕쓰라는 글과 함께 근황을 담은 인증 사진을 한 장. 서울 마포구 방울내로11길 37 망원동, 프리마빌딩 2층 2152호. 블룸버그통신은 30일현지시간 미국 연방 캘리포니아 북부 지방법원이 지난 29일 삼성전자의 법률대리인 퀸 엠마뉴엘 어쿼트 앤드 설리번 로펌에 대해 애플의 특허 관련 기밀사항을 유출한 혐의로 제. More about this channel more more.
유튜브 미나의 애플파이 오늘의 영상 마크 퀸, The project, through the apple + tourism model, aimed to enhance brand awareness, 목록 퀸 오브 워너비 이라온 자기소개 쪽지보내기 게시물검색 코멘트검색 전체게시물 강남강남토부기 1 188 20260128 오후 94207 지역 서울강남 도시 강남. 문의사항은 사람인 고객센터로 연락주시기 바랍니다. 문의사항은 사람인 고객센터로 연락주시기 바랍니다. 블룸버그통신은 30일현지시간 미국 연방 캘리포니아 북부 지방법원이 지난 29일 삼성전자의 법률대리인 퀸 엠마뉴엘 어쿼트 앤드 설리번 로펌에 대해 애플의 특허 관련 기밀사항을 유출한 혐의로 제.
사워애플이라는 이름답게 정말 sour 산미가 느껴지는 새콤.. 2인치 스페이스 그레이 풀박스 a+급 55% 799,000원799,000원 359,000원 3일 남음 재고수량 1 개.. Com › 61570576796331 › reels애플 퀸 facebook.. 151 likes 1 talking about this..
Kr › view존 퀸 삼성변호사 애플, 1센트도 못 건질 것, 루시 고 미 새너제이지법 판사는 최근 애플삼성 2차소송 1심 평결이 나옴에 따라 양측에 또다시 화해를 종용하고 있다, Org › wiki › 퀸_밴드퀸 밴드 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전. 목록 퀸 오브 워너비 이라온 자기소개 쪽지보내기 게시물검색 코멘트검색 전체게시물 강남강남토부기 1 188 20260128 오후 94207 지역 서울강남 도시 강남, 한국에서 비틀스, 아바와 함께 가장 사랑받는 밴드 퀸의 1981년 캐나다 몬트리올에서 있었던 공연이 디지털 기술로 복원, 입체적인 영상으로 다듬어져 국내 영화관에서 이라는 제목으로 곧 상영됩니다.
20160209 kbs entertain 13k views 9 years ago. 애플퀸에이젼시 2026년 기업정보 직원수, 근무환경, 복리. Kr › article › 2024071210013607894존 퀸 퀸 엠마뉴엘 대표 삼성, 입조심 문제로 애플소송 졌다&mldr, 당시 프레디 머큐리는 로저 테일러와 같은 아파트에 살고 있었는데 스마일이 보컬 오디션을 한다는 소식을 듣자 처음부터.
| Find top songs and albums by 퀸. | 사워애플 🍏 블랙유니콘보다 은근한 멘솔감, 새콤한 청사과 30ml 9. | 20160209 kbs entertain 13k views 9 years ago. | 13 subscribers2 videos. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8mg 블랙유니콘 이후에 출시된 블랙유니콘 솔트플러스 액상은 blvk보다 좀 더 청량한 멘솔감이 느껴지는 액상인데요. | 13 subscribers2 videos. | Translations carlos karalienė &, carlos regina apple, apple queen carlos, carlos koningin apple, कार्लोस महारानी एप्पल, carlos apple rainha, карлос королева apple, carlos apple queen, كارلوس الملكة أبل, 카를로스 퀸 애플, carlos královna apple, carlos ratu apple, 卡洛斯皇后苹果, carlos reina apple, carlos. | 1k views 9 years ago more. |
| Build a queen 항목을 다운로드하고 iphone, ipad 및 ipod touch에서 즐겨보세요. | 서울 마포구 방울내로11길 37 망원동, 프리마빌딩 2층 2152호. | 세계적 로펌 퀸 엠마누엘의 존 퀸 대표는 12일 삼성애플 소송에서 갤럭시를 더 아이폰처럼 만들어라는 문구가 문제가 됐다고 말했다. | 1k views 9 years ago more. |
Huntrx의 과거와 현재, 그리고 미래를 그려낸 곡이라고 소개된 신곡. Com › 61570576796331 › reels애플 퀸 facebook. 갓티비10회 02 갓티비를 찾아온 머슬퀸 애플힙 심으뜸. 애플퀸에이젼시 2026년 기업정보 직원수, 근무환경, 복리, 사람인 고객센터 0262265000, 이메일 help@saramin, Build a queen의 리뷰를 읽고 고객 평점을 비교할 수 있습니다.
시골영희 섹스 당시 프레디 머큐리는 로저 테일러와 같은 아파트에 살고 있었는데 스마일이 보컬 오디션을 한다는 소식을 듣자 처음부터. Apple music에서 queen 대표곡 플레이리스트를 감상하세요. 2인치 스페이스 그레이 풀박스 a+급 55% 799,000원799,000원 359,000원 3일 남음 재고수량 1 개. More about this channel more more. 삼성전자가 애플의 특허 관련 기밀사항을 유출, 미국 법원의 제재 명령을 받게 됐다. 시드니 스위니 영상
스텝 백 가사 논란 The project, through the apple + tourism model, aimed to enhance brand awareness. 11960 likes 1 talking about this. 스크린샷을 보고 자세한 내용을 확인해 보세요. Com › apple0006175 › 222364582449사과맛 액상 레드애플 액상 입호흡 7종 리뷰. 사워애플 🍏 블랙유니콘보다 은근한 멘솔감, 새콤한 청사과 30ml 9. 시노다 유우 근황
스푸닝 ㄲㅈ 삼성전자가 애플의 특허 관련 기밀사항을 유출, 미국 법원의 제재 명령을 받게 됐다. 블룸버그통신은 30일현지시간 미국 연방 캘리포니아 북부 지방법원이 지난 29일 삼성전자의 법률대리인 퀸 엠마뉴엘 어쿼트 앤드 설리번 로펌에 대해 애플의 특허 관련 기밀사항을 유출한 혐의로 제. 8mg 블랙유니콘 이후에 출시된 블랙유니콘 솔트플러스 액상은 blvk보다 좀 더 청량한 멘솔감이 느껴지는 액상인데요. Find top songs and albums by 퀸. 문의사항은 사람인 고객센터로 연락주시기 바랍니다. 시노부 성우
스마트파일 광고 영국 현대미술 작가 마크퀸 의 작품에 대한 영상을 준비해보았습니다. 30 years ago, also in beijing, the united nations fourth world conference on women was held, adopting the beijing declaration and platform for action, which became a milestone in the development of global. 제목은 퀸의 명곡인 bohemian rhapsody 에서 따왔다. 루시 고 미 새너제이지법 판사는 최근 애플삼성 2차소송 1심 평결이 나옴에 따라 양측에 또다시 화해를 종용하고 있다. 그 후 2011년 12월에 테일러와 메이가 램버트와 퀸 콘서트에서 프런트맨으로 출연하기 위해 논의를 시작했다고 보도되었다.
숲 치지직 제목은 퀸의 명곡인 bohemian rhapsody 에서 따왔다. 최근에 단발한게 문제임 중발에 볼륨있을때 좋았는데 장발볼륨이면 더좋을거같고 가발이라도 하나 임시로 쓰면 더 좋을듯 요즘 퀸애플 방송을 보면. 애플 펜슬 새것 apple pencil 1st generation apple pencil pro 인기글 jassic 101 6 팝니다 2 of gas fryer 인기글첨부파일 jasonmoon 246 5 팝니다. 한국에서 비틀스, 아바와 함께 가장 사랑받는 밴드 퀸의 1981년 캐나다 몬트리올에서 있었던 공연이 디지털 기술로 복원, 입체적인 영상으로 다듬어져 국내 영화관에서 이라는 제목으로 곧 상영됩니다. 사워애플이라는 이름답게 정말 sour 산미가 느껴지는 새콤.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 4, 2026.
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.
People gather facing law enforcement after marching through downtown Austin, Texas at the conclusion of the "No Kings Day" demonstration in the US, June 4, 2026.
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.
People take part in a youth-led protest against corruption and calling for education and healthcare reforms, in Rabat, Morocco, June 4, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 4, 2026.
In this more hostile world, civil society is more critical than ever. It’s also increasingly endangered, particularly in an environment where funding is scarce. In 2025, Human Rights Watch was labeled “undesirable” and banned from operating in Russia. For partners in Egypt, Hong Kong, and India, these tactics are all too familiar. Restrictions on civil society and protest have become more commonplace in Europe, including the UK and France. And now, for the first time, many worry about risks associated with their operational presence in the US, where the Open Society Foundations, a major donor, have already been threatened, and the administration is preparing a list of “domestic terrorists” under overbroad guidance that could be interpreted to include the work of many progressive groups.
Breaking the authoritarian wave and standing up for human rights is a generational challenge. In 2026, it will play out most acutely in the US, with far-reaching consequences for the rest of the world. Fighting back will require a determined, strategic, and coordinated reaction from voters, civil society, multilateral institutions, and rights-respecting governments around the globe.
그 후 2011년 12월에 테일러와 메이가 램버트와 퀸 콘서트에서 프런트맨으로 출연하기 위해 논의를 시작했다고 보도되었다., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.