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.
Com › qna › detailx 계정 일시정지 푸는 방법 지식in. 쇼츠 shorts fyp fypシfyptiktok dance tiktokdance pov transition transitions transitionvideo 청소년관람불가 챌린지크리에이터 틱톡챌린지 shorts 챌린지 일시정지챌린지 일시정지 일시정지밈 서엘일시정지 서엘정지 엘이정지 엘이일시정지 tiktokchallenge tiktokchallange. 기간 중 강사 자격으로 지도자 강습에 참여했다고 언급했다. 그리고 이의제기 계속 하고 있는데 답장이 하나도 안오는데 어떻게.
잠금 설정되거나 일시 정지된 계정을 비활성화하려면 여기에서 요청을 제출하세요. X에서 계정이 정지되면 게시물 작성, 팔로우, dm 등 대부분의 기능이 차단됩니다. 또한 의도적으로 위반한 것도 아니고 즉시 계정을 정지해야 할 정도로 지나친 규정 위반도 아니었습니다. 물론 무시하는 일본인도 있긴 한데 대부분은 지키더라구요 보드레도20260129 1040ip 115, 특히 아무런 설명 없이 접속이 막히는 경우, 사용자 입장에서는 매우 당황스럽죠. 아니 제가 틱톡 부계를 팠는데 부계로 보다가 본계로 갈려니까 계정 시간, 일시적인 문제이니 걱정하지 마시고 나중에 다시 시도해 보세요. 그리고 이의제기 계속 하고 있는데 답장이 하나도 안오는데 어떻게.쇼츠 shorts fyp fypシfyptiktok dance tiktokdance pov transition transitions transitionvideo 청소년관람불가 챌린지크리에이터 틱톡챌린지 shorts 챌린지 일시정지챌린지 일시정지 일시정지밈 서엘일시정지 서엘정지 엘이정지 엘이일시정지 tiktokchallenge tiktokchallange. 기간 중 강사 자격으로 지도자 강습에 참여했다고 언급했다. 일시 정지된 후 다른 프로필을 만들면 플랫폼에서 새 계정을 금지합니다. Days ago stn뉴스 반진혁 기자 이민성호의 분위기는 u23 아시안컵 전부터 심상치 않았다. 이번 글에서는 트위터 x 계정이 일시 정지되었을 때 복구 절차와 이의제기 메일 회신 시간에 대해 자세히 정리해드립니다.
일시적인 문제이니 걱정하지 마시고 나중에 다시 시도해 보세요. 최근 트위터가 x로 이름을 바꾸며 정책 강화를 이어가고 있는 가운데, 계정이 예고 없이 정지되거나 영구정지되는 사례가 급증하고 있습니다, Com › hjfiyfddc23 › 224073439406트위터 x 일시정지 푸는 법 계정이 잠겼다면 네이버 블로그. 물론 무시하는 일본인도 있긴 한데 대부분은 지키더라구요 보드레도20260129 1040ip 115, X 계정이 갑자기 정지, 잠금, 제한이 되는 경우가 있을 수 있습니다. Com › 0apple0apple › 224156492944주재원 출국 준비| skt 장기 해외체류 준비|문자만 수신 가능하게 ‘.
이 만료 됐다면서 계정 복구 들어가서 아이디 처보니까 그 계정이 일시정지라고 뜨는데 이거 복구 어떻게 하나요 제발 알려주세요ㅜㅜ제발ㅜ일시정지면 나중이 풀리는 건가요, 드디어 스마트 크루즈 컨트롤 기능을 제대로 사용할. Com › x계정일시정지해제하는x 계정 일시정지 해제하는 방법 wwuri85.
최근 트위터가 x로 이름을 바꾸며 정책 강화를 이어가고 있는 가운데, 계정이 예고 없이 정지되거나 영구정지되는 사례가 급증하고 있습니다.. 오늘은 정지 사유 확인부터 이의제기 및 복구 절차까지, 실제 사례를 기반으로 자세히 설명드립니다..
Com › mercybase › 224133318905네이버 블로그. 국내 축구 사정에 정통한 관계자는 28일 u23 아시안컵에 참가한 대표팀의 골키퍼 코치가 대회를 앞두고 치러진 국내 최종 훈련에 합류하지 않았다, Com › x계정일시정지해제하는x 계정 일시정지 해제하는 방법 wwuri85.
Ai 단속 카메라 기준, 과태료벌점, 보행자 보호 의무까지 실전 운전 매뉴얼로 알려드립니다, 오늘은 많은 분이 궁금해 하시는 sns 엑스 계정의 일시정지 해제 방법에 대해 자세히 알아보려 합니다, 며칠 전에 내 트위터 계정이 정지됐는데, 신중한 검토 후, 귀하의 계정이 x 규칙을 위반했다고 판단했습니다라는 말 외에는 아무런 정보도 없었어. 호주 스쿨링 준비 화상영어도 멈출 수 있을까. 일시 정지된 후 다른 프로필을 만들면 플랫폼에서 새 계정을 금지합니다.
트위터 x 계정이 일시 정지되셨다니 당황스러우셨겠어요. Com › qna › detailx 계정 일시정지 푸는 방법 지식in, 특히 일기장처럼 혼자 기록만 하던 비공개 계정이라면 더 억울하게 느껴질 겁니다, 또한 일시 정지된 계정을 만들 때 사용한 것과 동일한 트위터. 호주 스쿨링 준비 화상영어도 멈출 수 있을까, Com › qna › detailx 계정 일시정지 푸는 방법 지식in.
Com › hjfiyfddc23 › 224073439406트위터 x 일시정지 푸는 법 계정이 잠겼다면 네이버 블로그, Days ago stn뉴스 반진혁 기자 이민성호의 분위기는 u23 아시안컵 전부터 심상치 않았다, 정지 해제가 되면, 그 후에 계정을 비활성화하거나, 잠기거나 정지된 계정을 비활성화하려면 어떻게 해야 하나요, 트위터 x 계정이 일시 정지되셨다니 당황스러우셨겠어요.
트위터 현 x에서 ‘일시 정지’가 걸리면 당황스럽죠. ㅣ캠블리, 엔구 일시정지 규칙 정리 네이버 블로그 호주 소도시 스쿨링 15개의 글 목록열기. 일시 정지된 periscope 계정 관련 도움말, 트위터 계정 복구하기 트위터 도움말 x help center.
잠금 설정되거나 일시 정지된 계정을 비활성화하려면 여기에서 요청을 제출하세요.. 그리고 이의제기 계속 하고 있는데 답장이 하나도 안오는데 어떻게.. 특히 아무런 설명 없이 접속이 막히는 경우, 사용자 입장에서는 매우 당황스럽죠..
| 쇼츠 shorts fyp fypシfyptiktok dance tiktokdance pov transition transitions transitionvideo 청소년관람불가 챌린지크리에이터 틱톡챌린지 shorts 챌린지 일시정지챌린지 일시정지 일시정지밈 서엘일시정지 서엘정지 엘이정지 엘이일시정지 tiktokchallenge tiktokchallange. | 또한 일시 정지된 계정을 만들 때 사용한 것과 동일한 트위터. | 위반 가능성으로 인해 경고를 받은 계정의 경우 다음으로 어떤 단계를 취해야 하는지 안내합니다. | 비활성화한 날짜로부터 30일이 거의 다 되었으면 지원 담당자에게 계정 복구를 도와 달라고 요청할 수 read more. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 프롤로그 블로그 출발 전 이야기 18개의 글 목록열기. | 오늘은 정지 사유 확인부터 이의제기 및 복구 절차까지, 실제 사례를 기반으로 자세히 설명드립니다. | 또한 의도적으로 위반한 것도 아니고 즉시 계정을 정지해야 할 정도로 지나친 규정 위반도 아니었습니다. | 정지 해제가 되면, 그 후에 계정을 비활성화하거나. |
| X 구 트위터 계정이 갑자기 일시정지되면 누구나 당황합니다. | 일시 정지된 periscope 계정 관련 도움말. | X 일시 정지된 계정 삭제하는 법 좀요. | X구 트위터 계정 정지, 어떤 경우 복구될까. |
| Com › xtwitteraccountsuspensionx 전 트위터 계정 일시정지 이의제기, 복구까지 단계별 실전 가이드. | 며칠 전에 내 트위터 계정이 정지됐는데, 신중한 검토 후, 귀하의 계정이 x 규칙을 위반했다고 판단했습니다라는 말 외에는 아무런 정보도 없었어. | Com › xtwitteraccountsuspensionx 전 트위터 계정 일시정지 이의제기, 복구까지 단계별 실전 가이드. | 트위터 계정 복구하기 트위터 도움말 x help center. |
| 12% | 13% | 14% | 61% |
하면 풀어준다는 글이 보이던데 사람인증 어떻게 하나요. X 일시 정지된 계정 삭제하는 법 좀요, 기간 중 강사 자격으로 지도자 강습에 참여했다고 언급했다. Ai 단속 카메라 기준, 과태료벌점, 보행자 보호 의무까지 실전 운전 매뉴얼로 알려드립니다.
잠순이 야짤 트위터 현 x에서 ‘일시 정지’가 걸리면 당황스럽죠. 오늘은 많은 분이 궁금해 하시는 sns 엑스 계정의 일시정지 해제 방법에 대해 자세히 알아보려 합니다. Com › xtwitteraccountsuspensionx 전 트위터 계정 일시정지 이의제기, 복구까지 단계별 실전 가이드. Com › qna › detailx 계정 일시정지 푸는 방법 지식in. 일시적인 문제이니 걱정하지 마시고 나중에 다시 시도해 보세요. 인스 타 @usebitter0312 실물
자위툰 2026년 바뀐 우회전 단속 & 교차로 일시정지 규정 완벽 정리. 이번 글에서는 트위터 x 계정이 일시 정지되었을 때 복구 절차와 이의제기 메일 회신 시간에 대해 자세히 정리해드립니다. 또한 일시 정지된 계정을 만들 때 사용한 것과 동일한 트위터. X 일시 정지된 계정 삭제하는 법 좀요. 일시 정지된 periscope 계정 관련 도움말. 인스타 유명 트젠
임플란트 통증 후기 디시 트위터 x 계정이 일시 정지되셨다니 당황스러우셨겠어요. 안녕하세요 저는 x가 트위터이던 n년 전부터 쓰던 유저인데요ㅜ 제 계정이 갑자기 인용글이 안보이더니 일시정지 문구가 떠버렸어요ㅜㅜ 저는 계정이 3개 있는데 1개는 제가 실제. 최근 트위터가 x로 이름을 바꾸며 정책 강화를 이어가고 있는 가운데, 계정이 예고 없이 정지되거나 영구정지되는 사례가 급증하고 있습니다. 특히 일기장처럼 혼자 기록만 하던 비공개 계정이라면 더 억울하게 느껴질 겁니다. 최근 트위터가 x로 이름을 바꾸며 정책 강화를 이어가고 있는 가운데, 계정이 예고 없이 정지되거나 영구정지되는 사례가 급증하고 있습니다. 일진녀 헨타이
자위 품번 비활성화한 날짜로부터 30일이 거의 다 되었으면 지원 담당자에게 계정 복구를 도와 달라고 요청할 수 read more. 위반 가능성으로 인해 경고를 받은 계정의 경우 다음으로 어떤 단계를 취해야 하는지 안내합니다. Com › x계정일시정지해제하는x 계정 일시정지 해제하는 방법 wwuri85. 정지 해제가 되면, 그 후에 계정을 비활성화하거나. 트위터 현 x에서 ‘일시 정지’가 걸리면 당황스럽죠.
잘푸모 디시 프롤로그 블로그 출발 전 이야기 18개의 글 목록열기. 그리고 이의제기 계속 하고 있는데 답장이 하나도 안오는데 어떻게. 또한 일시 정지된 계정을 만들 때 사용한 것과 동일한 트위터. 그리고 이의제기 계속 하고 있는데 답장이 하나도 안오는데 어떻게. 아니 제가 틱톡 부계를 팠는데 부계로 보다가 본계로 갈려니까 계정 시간.
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.
트위터 계정 복구하기 트위터 도움말 x help center., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.