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.

131 조선족들이 활발하게 선동하는곳이 대부분인데 무슨 소리노 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. Com › mgallery › board중도좌파 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. 먼저 진보보수 의 개념에 대해서 이야기하면 이거임. Ftx의 샘 뱅크먼프라이드가 감옥에서 공화당 지지 트윗을.

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산업통상부는 미국 동부시간으로 28일 read more.. 이 출판사 좌파 성향인건 맞나보네 중도보수 마이너.. 그래 논란이 있지만 대부분은 일단 논외로하고..

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야코 최모씨

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도널드 트럼프 미국 대통령이 29일현지 시간 자신의 세금 신고서가 언론에 무단 유출됐다며 국세청irs과 재무부를 상대로 수십억 달러 규모의 손해 read more. 김 총리 방미쿠팡에 차별 대우는 없다, 기부문화를 나쁘게 보고 복지로 해결해야 한다고 주장하는게 좌파고 복지를 없애고 독지가의 기부로 복지를 하면 된다고 주장하는게 우파인데 쟤들은. 저소득층이나 이민자들의 권익향상에 관한법률이 많다, 3 비상계엄 이후 좌파와 우파의 대립 구도가 심화된 가운데 생긴 밈이다.

얼싸 일베

그래 논란이 있지만 대부분은 일단 논외로하고, 진보는 지금의 시스템에는 문제가 있으니 갈아 엎자는게 진보임, 아무말이나 넣어주세요 중도좌파 갤러리에 다양한 이야기를 남겨주세요.

39 이나라에 좌파우파 진보보수 같은건 없어 권미새와 돈미새가 있을뿐 2024. Hours ago — 재판부에 따르면 손 목사는 교육을 이런 사람특정 후보에게 맡겨서야 되겠느냐 투표장에서 좌파를 찍으면 안 된다는 취지의 발언을 한 것으로. 샘 뱅크먼프라이드는 감옥에서 출소한 후 ftx가 몰락하기 전에 비밀리에 공화당을 지지했다고 주장하는 정치적인 글을 올렸다. 좌파저장소 갤러리에 다양한 이야기를 남겨주세요, 현재 가장 유력한 후보로 거론되는 워시 전 이사는 2006년부터 2011년까지 연준 이사를 역임했으며, 현재 한국 이커머스 기업 쿠팡의 이사로 재직 중이다, 좌파저장소 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드.

에일리 과거사진 디시 먼저 진보보수 의 개념에 대해서 이야기하면 이거임. 트럼프, 美 국세청 상대로 100억 달러 소송좌파 매체에. 3 비상계엄 이후 좌파와 우파의 대립 구도가 심화된 가운데 생긴 밈이다. Com › mgallery › board좌파 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. 애들 머리 좀먹는 만화책 who 시리즈에 대해서 공산당. 얀덱5

에우 헤니 아 괴물 게다가 몇 몇 악플러들은 좌이유 좌파+아이유라는 정치적 프레임을 만들기도. 이후 보정갤은 갈수록 보수다움을 추구하면서 점차 경직되고 폐쇄적인 모습으로 변해가게 된다. 왼쪽에 있는 사람들은 주로 사회적인 문제를 중요하게 생각하고, 사람들 간의 평등을 추구합니다. 선거법 위반 손현보 목사 집행유예 석방 미 부통령 우려. Com › toudy › 223386282700좌파 우파 뜻, 보수와 진보차이 정치용어 알려드려요. 야함

양육권 아빠 디시 Com › index › board좌파 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. 후술할 정당들에 비하면 사회민주주의 지지기에 온건한 편에 속함2. 캐나다 초계 잠수함 수주 지원을 위해 캐나다에 머물고 있는 김정관 산업부 장관이 내일 미국으로 급파됩니다. 선거법 위반 손현보 목사 집행유예 석방 미 부통령 우려. 사실 우파 유튜버라고 불리며 스스로를 보수 성향이라고 말하는 경우가 많으나, 일부는 일제강점기 를 미화하고 독립운동사를 비하하며 좌파 독재라는 단어를 사용하면서 이승만, 박정희, 전두환, 박근혜 시절에 향수를 느끼며 3 민주화 운동을 폄하, 왜곡. 양 아지 멤버십 디시

에로 레즈 Com › mgallery › board중도좌파 마이너 갤러리 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. 국민의힘 지지 연예인 등의 발언도 함께 확인하세요. 후술할 정당들에 비하면 사회민주주의 지지기에 온건한 편에 속함2. 아무말이나 넣어주세요 중도좌파 갤러리에 다양한 이야기를 남겨주세요. 22 0733 스크랩 조회수 7160 추천 277 댓글 23 카카오 중국 지분구조 디시 여론까지 통제 삭제 50억 초록우산에만 기부 탄핵 찬성집회에만 식사 선결제.

엠마 마이어스 화보 좌파반국가 우파국가 진보모험 보수신중 2024. 국내 최대 커뮤니티 포털 디시인사이드. 대한민국의 진보진영을 넘어서 범좌파적 정치, 경제, 사회적 토론 좌파 갤러리에 다양한 이야기를 남겨주세요. 현재 가장 유력한 후보로 거론되는 워시 전 이사는 2006년부터 2011년까지 연준 이사를 역임했으며, 현재 한국 이커머스 기업 쿠팡의 이사로 재직 중이다. 진보좌파 계열 디시인사이드 내에서 진보정당 과 연계하거나 혹은 사회주의 성향을 보이는 갤러리들이다.

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.