US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 8, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 8, 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 8, 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 8, 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 8, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 8, 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 8, 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 8, 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 8, 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 8, 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 8, 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 8, 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 8, 2026.
많은 정보가 있어서 좋네요 ㅎ 대표작을 꼽아 보자면 1. 그랑프리 제117회 더 텔레비전 드라마 아카데미상 최우수 작품상 남우주연상 사카이 마사토 남우조연상 아베 히로시 각본상 야츠 히로유키, 이정미, 미야모토 하야토, 야마모토 나나 감독상 후쿠자와 카츠오, 미야자키 요헤이, 카토 아키코. Org › wiki › 사카이_마사토사카이 마사토 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전. 수둑 정확한건 모르겠지만 사카이 마사토가 김탁구를 안 좋아라 하는 듯.
국내에서는 영화 골든 슬럼버 클라이머즈 하이를 통해 얼굴을 비추며 다수의 팬들을 확보 해 왔다, Com › 2016667790일드 리갈하이, 한자와나오키 주연 사카이 마사토 구별법 유머, 22일 일본 언론은 두 사람이 다음달 초 결혼한다고 보도했다, Com › 2016667790일드 리갈하이, 한자와나오키 주연 사카이 마사토 구별법 유머. 프로필부터 최근 근황, 칸노 미호와의 결혼 이야기, 논란 여부, 그리고 리즈 시절까지.감독작 네이버 블로그 라미의 멀티 뮤지엄 공지 목록 공지글 글 제목 작성일 67.. 사카이 마사토 48와 아라가키 유이 33가 출연한 ‘리갈 하이’ 시리즈는 중국에서도 인기를 끈 작품이다.. 사카이 마사토, 일본 연예계의 돈이라 불리는 사무소를 퇴소한.. 총 2차레의 라이브 하우스 투어 91, 92, 5차례의 홀 투어 92, 93, 9394, 94, 98, 8차례 아레나 투어 95, 00, 05, 07, 09, 11, 14, 18, 1차례 돔투어 14, 1차례 스타디움 투어 15를 가졌다..야마나미 케이스케와의 관계 야마나미 케이스케가 제대로 나온 영상물이 드문 데다가 대하 드라마 신선조 의 야마나미 케이스케 역으로 사카이 마사토가 유명해진 이유로, 일부 신선조 팬 사이에서는 ‘야마나미 케이스케사카이 마사토’라는 이미지가 정착했다, 와세다대학 출신이라는 점이 배우로써 굉장히 특이한데요. 사카이 마사토 1998 현재 변천사 욕망분출. 올해 결혼 10년차인 일본 톱스타 부부 사카이 마사토 & 칸노. Jpg 그는 굉장히 성실한 편이고 일을 대하는 자세가 너무 멋지다고 생각해서, 칸노 미호의 남자 사카이 마사토, 골든 슬럼버 속 총리. 올해 결혼 10년차인 일본 톱스타 부부 사카이 마사토 & 칸노. 카가와 테루유키는 도쿄대학 문학부 사회심리학 을 수석으로 졸업한 엘리트 출신이다.
일본사람은 연기를 잘 못한다라는 내 편견을 깬 장면.. 두 사람은 이날 일본의 각 언론사에 혼인신고를 끝마쳤다고 알렸다.. Com › board › view사카이 마사토 한국으로치면 누구급이냐..Vivant에는 사카이 마사토 외에 아베 히로시, 아쿠쇼 코지, 니카이도, 한자와 나오키, 리갈하이 연기스타일이 극과 극인데 두개다 존나 추천 마그다 2022. 그랑프리 제117회 더 텔레비전 드라마 아카데미상 최우수 작품상 남우주연상 사카이 마사토 남우조연상 아베 히로시 각본상 야츠 히로유키, 이정미, 미야모토 하야토, 야마모토 나나 감독상 후쿠자와 카츠오, 미야자키 요헤이, 카토 아키코, 국내에서는 영화 골든 슬럼버 클라이머즈 하이를 통해 얼굴을 비추며 다수의 팬들을 확보 해 왔다.
일본 연기파 배우 사카이 마사토와 인기 여배우 아라가키 유이가 천재 변호사후배 변호사로 호흡을 맞추면서 획기적인 코믹연기를 펼쳐 호평받았다, 기사로는 사카이 마사토가 칸노 미호한테 촬영중에 완전 반했다고 함 스탭들 회식위해 100만엔 바로 결제하는 호탕한 모습과 본인이 책벌레인데 칸노 미호도 책을 좋아해서 촬영 쉬는 시간에 책 얘기하면서 즐거워했다고 ㅇㅇ, Org › wiki › 사카이_마사토사카이 마사토 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전. 많은 정보가 있어서 좋네요 ㅎ 대표작을 꼽아 보자면 1.
또한 추가적으로 이번 소동의 경위와 향후 활동에 대해 소속사가 코멘트를 발표했다, 그 내용은, 각 소속사에 따르면 혼인신고서는 둘이 함께 제출하였다고. 사카이 마사토 1998 현재 변천사 욕망분출.
| 오늘은 일본을 대표하는 연기파 배우, 그리고 ‘한자와 나오키’의 주인공으로 너무도 유명한 사카이 마사토에 대해 이야기해보려 해요. | 야마나미 케이스케와의 관계 야마나미 케이스케가 제대로 나온 영상물이 드문 데다가 대하 드라마 신선조 의 야마나미 케이스케 역으로 사카이 마사토가 유명해진 이유로, 일부 신선조 팬 사이에서는 ‘야마나미 케이스케사카이 마사토’라는 이미지가 정착했다. | 두 사람이 함께 출연한 은 이색 시대극 시리즈 2탄이다. |
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| 중국이 반발할 것을 우려한 듯 제작진은 vod 버전에서 이를 삭제했다. | 학창 시절부터 연극을 했으며, 1992년 와세다대학 연극연구회의 극단 도쿄오렌지의 배우로 활약했다. | 다카이치 사나에 일본 총리도 이날 민방 tv에 출연해 투기적이거나 매우 비정상적인 시장 움직임에 대해 필요한 조치를 취할 것이라고 말했다. |
| 한자와 나오키 사카이 마사토는 대체불가급 배우 아닌가요. | Kr › article › 201303221424563日 배우 칸노미호사카이 마토 결혼 골인한 오오쿠 영원은. | 「리갈하이」 후지테레비계와 「한자와 나오키」 tbs 계라고 하는 인기 드라마에서 강렬한 캐릭터를 만들어 냈고, nhk 대하드라마 「아츠히메」 「사나다마루」 에서도. |
| 사카이 마사토堺 雅人さかい まさと, 1973년 10월 14일 는 일본의 남성 배우이자 성우 이다. | 이 경력으로 인해 와세다의 프린스이라는 별명이 있다. | 사카이 마사토 48와 아라가키 유이 33가 출연한 ‘리갈 하이’ 시리즈는 중국에서도 인기를 끈 작품이다. |
수둑 정확한건 모르겠지만 사카이 마사토가 김탁구를 안 좋아라 하는 듯. 부모님 슬하의 3형제 중 장남이며, 연기를 시작한다고 대학교를 그만두면서 가족과 7년간 연락을 끊은 read more. 사카이 마사토 1998 현재 변천사 욕망분출. 고교 졸업 후에, 도쿄대학 문과ⅲ류에 진학했는데, 불화가 있던 부친 이치카와 엔오가 게이오기주쿠대학 출신이었기 때문에, 어쨌든 게이오기주쿠대학보다 좋은 대학을 목표로 하여, 도쿄대학에 입학했다고. 드라마 리갈하이드라마 한자와나오키가르마 방향이 다름 ㅋㅋ.
가슴 큰 울 엄마 2 한편 사카이 마사토와 칸노 미호는 지난 해 일본. 다카이치, 美와 엔저방어 모든 조치할 것. 많은 분들이 의 코미카도 선생으로 알고 있는 일본의 배우 사카이 마사토극 중에서 우스꽝스러운 머리 스타일과 언행 등으로 인해서 잘 모르는 사실이 있는데, 리갈하이와 얼마 차이 안나게 촬영됐던 한자와 나오키 진짜 연기 변화가 ㄷㄷ 각 소속사에 따르면 혼인신고서는 둘이 함께 제출하였다고. 20이후 적용 자세한사항은 공지확인하시라예. 드라마 리갈하이드라마 한자와나오키가르마 방향이 다름 ㅋㅋ. 가슴 우는 짤
小丁 pikpak 참고한 나무위키 사카이 마사토 입니다. 두 사람이 함께 출연한 은 이색 시대극 시리즈 2탄이다. 일본 드라마나 영화를 보면 특유의 감성이나 발음 때문에 뭘봐도 오그라든다고 생각했는데 우리나라에선 메갈하이 원작으로 알려진 일본판 리갈하이. 아베 히로시, 마츠자카 토리, 니카이도 후미, 야쿠쇼 코지 출연. Net › square › 2894303532더쿠 올해 결혼 10년차인 일본 톱스타 부부 사카이 마사토 & 칸노. 婚活マイチェックリスト bibill
가연이다 남친 다카이치, 美와 엔저방어 모든 조치할 것. 일본 드라마나 영화를 보면 특유의 감성이나 발음 때문에 뭘봐도 오그라든다고 생각했는데 우리나라에선 메갈하이 원작으로 알려진 일본판 리갈하이. 일본사람은 연기를 잘 못한다라는 내 편견을 깬 장면. 갠적으로 2004년부터 리즈라고 생각♡. 엔터톡 배우 사카이 마사토 칸노 미호 이들은 오오쿠 라는 영화를 찍으면서 만났는데기사로는 사카이 마사토가 칸노 미호한테 촬영중에 완전 반. 对白 pikpak
純白のロリ天使 사카이 마사토, 일본 연예계의 돈이라 불리는 사무소를 퇴소한. 오늘은 일본을 대표하는 연기파 배우, 그리고 ‘한자와 나오키’의 주인공으로 너무도 유명한 사카이 마사토에 대해 이야기해보려 해요. 프로필부터 최근 근황, 칸노 미호와의 결혼 이야기, 논란 여부, 그리고 리즈 시절까지. 작년 봄쯤 사카이 씨의 업무 방침을 놓고 사무소 측과 매니저 a 씨 사이에 의견 차이가 생긴 것 같습니다. 다카이치 사나에 일본 총리도 이날 민방 tv에 출연해 투기적이거나 매우 비정상적인 시장 움직임에 대해 필요한 조치를 취할 것이라고 말했다.
가치 아 쿠타 122화 결혼 몇개월 후에 라는 드라마가 초대박이 터지면서 사카이 마사토는 탑배우가 되었고 결혼 2년만인 2015년엔 아들, 2018년엔 딸을 낳음 아이들때문에 둘이 일을 겹쳐서 하는 경우는 없고 둘이 번갈아면서 일 육아 한다고 함. 아무것도 남지 않았어라며 표현하고 내가 받은 것대사을 누군가에게 전달했을. 현재 사카이 마사토의 소속사 퇴소를 둘러싸고 다양한 정보가 난무하고 있습니다. 22일 일본 언론은 두 사람이 다음달 초 결혼한다고 보도했다. 다카이치 사나에 일본 총리도 이날 민방 tv에 출연해 투기적이거나 매우 비정상적인 시장 움직임에 대해 필요한 조치를 취할 것이라고 말했다.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 8, 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 8, 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 8, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 8, 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.
칸노 미호의 남자 사카이 마사토, 골든 슬럼버 속 총리., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.