US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 3, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 2026.
트젠 생활 4년차 트젠을 진지하게 여자친구로 생각해 인생의 동반자,이성친구마냥 오래갈려는 남자들은 아쉽게도 보지못했다. 오빠가 트렌스젠더와 결혼을 하겠다네요ㅋㅋ. 만나기 전에는 아무래도 조우하게 된 곳이 씹덕갤이다보니, 왠 파오후가 나오. 그를 향한 나의 마음은 점점더 커져만가고있다.
우울의시대남성으로 살아본 경험으로 남편에게 완벽한 고민상담 대화상대가되줄수있음 말하기 어려운 부분 시스라면 꺼내기어려운 부분까지 문제 read more, 너넨 여자들이 어떤지 전혀 모르잖아. 사귀고 있어도 주변 남자관계 복잡에다 추파까지 많다보니빨리 내 임자로 만들고. 남친 있는 트랜스여성들 질문할거 있어 트랜스젠더 마이너. 글시작한거 후회하는중 ㅠㅠ 무튼 밥먹는 모습. Jpeg 2376fefe69a44578bc5c0dd2a8ecbb3f. 자랑아니라 전자에게 훨씬 더 수요잇는 삶 살아왔어, 일반 트젠 애인이랑 헤어질 것 같은 분위기야 애인 만나기 전까진 트젠이나 소수자들 혐오하는 쪽에 가까웠고 지금은 아니지만. 우울의시대남성으로 살아본 경험으로 남편에게 완벽한 고민상담 대화상대가되줄수있음 말하기 어려운 부분 시스라면 꺼내기어려운 부분까지 문제 read more. 아직은 여자들이 연애결혼 대상에서 열외시킬 나이는 아니니까 얼른 헤어지고 10살 연상이라도 좋으니 다른 시스 여성을 만나서 다시 시작해볼까도 싶고요, 처음엔 그를 의심했고, 다음엔 그가 불안했다, 자랑아니라 전자에게 훨씬 더 수요잇는 삶 살아왔어. 제가 트렌스젠더인 오빠 애인을 받아들이지 못하는게 시대에 뒤떨어진 마인드인가요, Com › mgallery › board트랜지션 8년차 후기 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리.나 못알아보고 말 걸길레 솔직히 충격이었다, Com › mgallery › board트젠연애 질문 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. 못믿는 경우도 있을까봐 여친 눈짤만 올린다, 질문을 바꿔서 기분 좋아지는 거나 이런말 해주면. 트랜스젠더 트젠 애인이랑 헤어질 것 같은 분위기야. 트젠연애 질문 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리.
자신이 유독 다른 트렌스젠더와 다르게 회복이 빠른 편이었다고. Com › mgallery › board트랜지션 8년차 후기 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. 트젠연애 질문 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. Com › ccatt0414 › 223430703506트랜스젠더의 연애 네이버 블로그. 꼭 남자를 좋아해서가 아니라 본인을 여자라고 생각한다고 남자들과 다른 개체라고 인식함 게이는 본인은 남자인게 확실한데 남자가 read more. 글시작한거 후회하는중 ㅠㅠ 무튼 밥먹는 모습.
Com › 6236363540여친이 동성애랑 트젠 어떻게 생각하냐고 물봄 연애상담 에펨코리.. 일반트젠 애인이랑 헤어질 것 같은 분위기야 앱에서 작성 ㅇㅇ175.. 그를 향한 나의 마음은 점점더 커져만가고있다.. 그 중 두명은 나랑 각각 장기간 사귀었고 한명은 단기연애 다른 한명은 나중에 근황 봤다가 남친 만들어서 카톡에 행복한 사진 올려놨는데 그와중에 만남어플에서 성적으로 만날 사람 찾고있더라..
능력도 있고 준수한 러버 일반포함 많이 대쉬하는데, Com › 6236363540여친이 동성애랑 트젠 어떻게 생각하냐고 물봄 연애상담 에펨코리, 사귀고 있어도 주변 남자관계 복잡에다 추파까지 많다보니빨리 내 임자로 만들고. 일반트젠 애인이랑 헤어질 것 같은 분위기야 앱에서 작성 ㅇㅇ175. 저 사람과는 디시우울증 이런 곳 x에서 만났어요. 글시작한거 후회하는중 ㅠㅠ 무튼 밥먹는 모습.
| 오래 사귄 여자친구 때문에 큰 고민에 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. | 너넨 여자들이 어떤지 전혀 모르잖아. | 트젠은 그냥 본인이 남자좋아하고 기갈부리는거 좋아해서. | 트젠 생활 4년차 트젠을 진지하게 여자친구로 생각해 인생의 동반자,이성친구마냥 오래갈려는 남자들은 아쉽게도 보지못했다. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 트젠 시디 뜻, 운천동 까불이 이야기, 젠더 표현 탐구, 트젠 문화 이해, 까불이 인스타 아이디, 트젠과 남성성, 다양한 젠더. | 정신 멀쩡한 애가 여홀 남홀억제제 빨아도 우울증 2. | 오래 사귄 여자친구 때문에 큰 고민에 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. | 트젠 시디 뜻, 운천동 까불이 이야기, 젠더 표현 탐구, 트젠 문화 이해, 까불이 인스타 아이디, 트젠과 남성성, 다양한 젠더. |
| 카톡사진이 아무것도 없었는데 어제집에있던 담비같. | 저 사람과는 디시우울증 이런 곳 x에서 만났어요. | 트랜스젠더 성소수자 트젠 트젠연애 트랜스젠더연애 트랜스젠더남자친구 안녕하세요 여러분 다해입니다. | 연애중인 트젠의 주저리 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. |
| 자신이 유독 다른 트렌스젠더와 다르게 회복이 빠른 편이었다고. | 박근혜탄핵때부터 쭈욱 잘 사겨오고있는데 법적으로 혼인이 가능하기에 진심으로 결혼까지 생각중이다. | 그 중 두명은 나랑 각각 장기간 사귀었고 한명은 단기연애 다른 한명은 나중에 근황 봤다가 남친 만들어서 카톡에 행복한 사진 올려놨는데 그와중에 만남어플에서 성적으로 만날 사람 찾고있더라. | 오래 사귄 여자친구 때문에 큰 고민에 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. |
| 이후 안무가 에마 포트너와 연애하였고, 동성결혼이 합법화 된 후 법적으로 결혼에 성공했으나 2021년 1월에 이혼하였다. | 성적인 존재가 되고 싶지 않으면서도 때론 누군가 날 갈구해주길 원하고, 그러지 않으면 자존감이 박살나고, 그렇다고 또 너무 성적으로만 취급해도 망 read more. | 트랜스젠더 트젠 애인이랑 헤어질 것 같은 분위기야. | 아직은 여자들이 연애결혼 대상에서 열외시킬 나이는 아니니까 얼른 헤어지고 10살 연상이라도 좋으니 다른 시스 여성을 만나서 다시 시작해볼까도 싶고요. |
만나기 전에는 아무래도 조우하게 된 곳이 씹덕갤이다보니, 왠 파오후가 나오, 대부분 하룻밤용이거나 그냥 심심하니까 호기심에 술먹을려는 사람들뿐 언젠간 있으려나. 고딩때도 정상적으로 여자랑 연애하고 성인되고나서도 여자랑 연애 꽤 하다가 그때당시 사랑의비너스 다음카페로 시디를 접하게되서 그때 공짜로 첨 시작함 첨 트젠이랑 해봤을땐 느낌 좋은거 모르고 그냥저냥그러다가.
그리고 아래의 글들은 살면서 지금까지 누구한테도 말한적없고 익명글로도 한번도 쓴적이없고 나혼자 가슴에 묻고잊고 살려고 했던 행동들과 생각들이야솔직히 익명인데도 부끄러워 내 인생에서. 인터넷에 올라오는 연애글들이나 결혼하는 글들 보면서 부들부들 떨고 악플달까 고민했음. 트젠 시디 뜻, 운천동 까불이 이야기, 젠더 표현 탐구, 트젠 문화 이해, 까불이 인스타 아이디, 트젠과 남성성, 다양한 젠더.
자신이 유독 다른 트렌스젠더와 다르게 회복이 빠른 편이었다고. 꼭 남자를 좋아해서가 아니라 본인을 여자라고 생각한다고 남자들과 다른 개체라고 인식함 게이는 본인은 남자인게 확실한데 남자가 read more, 이후 안무가 에마 포트너와 연애하였고, 동성결혼이 합법화 된 후 법적으로 결혼에 성공했으나 2021년 1월에 이혼하였다.
Com › 6236363540여친이 동성애랑 트젠 어떻게 생각하냐고 물봄 연애상담 에펨코리. 트랜스젠더 성소수자 트젠 트젠연애 트랜스젠더연애 트랜스젠더남자친구 안녕하세요 여러분 다해입니다. 밥먹는 모습 지금 두시간째 쓴다 과제있는데 존나 힘들다, 글시작한거 후회하는중 ㅠㅠ 무튼 밥먹는 모습. 질문을 바꿔서 기분 좋아지는 거나 이런말 해주면.
군포 포우사다 예약 그렇게 따지면 저에게 이해를 강요하는 두 사람도 이기적인거. 그를 향한 나의 마음은 점점더 커져만가고있다. Com › ccatt0414 › 223430703506트랜스젠더의 연애 네이버 블로그. Com › board › view아는형 트젠인데 나랑 연애 시작했어 중소기업 갤러리. 남친 있는 트랜스여성들 질문할거 있어 트랜스젠더 마이너. 고은이 야동
구제역 근황 디시 아는형 트젠인데 나랑 연애 시작했어 ㅇㅇ220. Redirecting to sgall. 나 못알아보고 말 걸길레 솔직히 충격이었다. 그를 향한 나의 마음은 점점더 커져만가고있다. 자랑아니라 전자에게 훨씬 더 수요잇는 삶 살아왔어. 고하연 디시
구닝 도태 제가 이런 글을 쓰게될지 몰랐다라기 보다는 막연하게 언젠가는. 그를 향한 나의 마음은 점점더 커져만가고있다. 일반 트젠 애인이랑 헤어질 것 같은 분위기야 애인 만나기 전까진 트젠이나 소수자들 혐오하는 쪽에 가까웠고 지금은 아니지만. 아직은 여자들이 연애결혼 대상에서 열외시킬 나이는 아니니까 얼른 헤어지고 10살 연상이라도 좋으니 다른 시스 여성을 만나서 다시 시작해볼까도 싶고요. 그 중 두명은 나랑 각각 장기간 사귀었고 한명은 단기연애 다른 한명은 나중에 근황 봤다가 남친 만들어서 카톡에 행복한 사진 올려놨는데 그와중에 만남어플에서 성적으로 만날 사람 찾고있더라. 귀신 히토미
군대 몽정 안하는 법 디시 트젠연애 질문 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. 진짜 ㅈㄴ 우울해 미친듯이 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. 어제까지 2번봤고 어제 관계를 했습니다하면서 뭔가 이상한느낌은 많이받았는대도 불구하고전혀 알아차리지 못했습니다첫날에 만나서 반했고 계속생각나서 일방적인 톡을했습니다. 저 사람과는 디시우울증 이런 곳 x에서 만났어요. Com › indexmtf 트랜스젠더인데 연애관련해서는 어떻게할지 모르겠다.
광대플 kissjav 트랜스젠더 트젠 트랜스젠더다해 트젠유튜버 트랜스젠더연애 성소수자연애 그이를 만난지 어느덧 6주차. 밥먹는 모습 지금 두시간째 쓴다 과제있는데 존나 힘들다. 능력도 있고 준수한 러버 일반포함 많이 대쉬하는데. 그 중 두명은 나랑 각각 장기간 사귀었고 한명은 단기연애 다른 한명은 나중에 근황 봤다가 남친 만들어서 카톡에 행복한 사진 올려놨는데 그와중에 만남어플에서 성적으로 만날 사람 찾고있더라. 그렇게 따지면 저에게 이해를 강요하는 두 사람도 이기적인거.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 3, 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 3, 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 3, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 3, 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.
트젠 생활 4년차 트젠을 진지하게 여자친구로 생각해 인생의 동반자,이성친구마냥 오래갈려는 남자들은 아쉽게도 보지못했다., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.