US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, August 1, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, August 1, 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, August 1, 2026. © 2025 Marton Monus/Reuters; SECOND: University students confront riot police in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, August 1, 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, August 1, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 2026.
Ufc 옥타곤걸 레드델라크루즈의 구리빛 하트 mk포토. 델라크루즈는 ufc 역사상 최초의 아시아계 옥타곤걸이다. 포토 유승옥, 세계적인 옥타곤걸에 전혀 뒤지지 않아 ufc 파이트 나이트 서울 대회ufc fight night seoul의 계체량 측정이 27일 서울 올림픽공원 체조경기장에서 열렸다. 430k followers 1k+ following 103 posts @red_delacruz lifes too short not to shine a little louder✨ @ufc @dwcs @zuffaboxing ring babe.
레드 델라 크루즈, ufc 옥타곤걸이 보여주는 비키니의 정석. 크루즈는 2015년 ufc 옥타곤걸 선발대회를 통해 케이지에 올랐다, 변성현 기자 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 28일 오후 서울 방이동 올림픽공원 체조경기장에서 열린 ufc 파이트 나이트 서울ufc fight night seoul. Red dela cruz @red_delacruz instagram.아리아니는 셀리스티는 ufc의 대표 옥타곤 걸이다.. 사진레드 델라 크루즈 인스타그램 ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 아찔한 몸매를 드러냈다.. Ufc부산에서 크루즈는 피트니스로 다져진 탄탄한 몸을 앞세워 한국 팬들의 큰 박수와 환호를 이끌어냈다..Kr › news › articleviewufc 옥타곤걸 아리아니 맞수 등장&mldr, 펜타미넘을 쫓아 탑에 들어온 우렉 마지노 그의 선별인원 시절 이야기. Ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈 `강렬한 레드로 유혹`, 전형적인 라틴 미녀인 크루즈가 탄탄한 몸을 앞세워 피켓을. 한눈에 보는 오늘 해외연예 뉴스 마이데일리 곽경훈 기자 ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 아찔한 몸매를 드러냈다. Ufc ring girl red dela cruz rings in round 2 ufcvegas112. 필리핀 출신의 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈. Ufc ′옥타곤걸′ 델라크루즈 & 피어슨, 부산 옥타곤 오른다 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최되는 ′ufc 파이트 나이트 ufn 165′ 부산 대회에는 국내 ufc 팬들에게도 친숙한 두 명의 ′옥타곤걸′ 레드 델라크루즈와 크리스티 피어슨이 옥타곤을 누빌 예정이다, Ufc 최고의 옥타곤걸 아리아니 셀레스티. 2006년 데뷔해 올해로 10년째 활동하고 있는 최선참이다. Com › news › read케이지를 밝히는 레드 델라 크루즈red dela cruz, 완벽한 s라인의 u, Here i am getting ready making myself look beautiful. Com › red_delacruzred dela cruz @red_delacruz instagram photos and videos. 5명의 후보가 나선 오디션에서 경합을 뚫고 새로운 옥타곤걸로 선발된 레드 델라 크루즈가 오는 16일한국시간 필리핀 마닐라에서 열리는 ufc 파이트 나이.
크르주는 최근 자신의 sns에 갈색 톤의 비키니와 검은색의 모노키니 사진을 게시하며 남성 팬들을 설레게 했다. Ufc걸 유승옥과 레드 델라 크루즈, 아리아니 셀리스티가 포즈를 취하고 있다. Ufc 부산 대회가 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최됐다. 모델로서 크지 않은 165㎝의 신장을 가진 크루즈는 스페인과 필리핀의 혼혈미인이다. Ufc ′옥타곤걸′ 델라크루즈 & 피어슨, 부산 옥타곤 오른다 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최되는 ′ufc 파이트 나이트 ufn 165′ 부산 대회에는 국내 ufc 팬들에게도 친숙한 두 명의 ′옥타곤걸′ 레드 델라크루즈와 크리스티 피어슨이 옥타곤을 누빌 예정이다.
이번 촬영은 호주의 시드니 해변에서 진행된 것으로 크루즈가 모델로 활동하고 있는. 사진아리아니레드 델라 크루즈,ufc 옥타곤 걸들의 셀카. Ufc걸 유승옥과 레드 델라 크루즈, 아리아니 셀리스티가 포즈를 취하고 있다. Com › news › readufc부산을 찾은 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈, 제2의 아리아니 셀레스티, → 트리샤 델라 크루즈🌈 @sakitisipin on tiktok 158.
한편 레드 델라 크루즈는 165cm의 큰 키로 스페인과 필리핀의 혼혈 미인으로 지난해 부산에서 열린 ‘ufc fight night 부산 이하 ufc 부산’에 참가해, Com › therealreddelacruzred dela cruz facebook. Im back again for ufc 3 hundred.
Ufc 부산 대회는 오후 4시부터 스포츠 채널 스포티비 온 spotv on, 온라인 스포츠 플랫폼 스포티비 나우 spotv now에서 생중계된다.. Com › shorts › 8knwodubbvi안 받아주면 턱 돌아갈 것 같은 ufc 여자 챔피언 웨일리 하트 vs 옥타.. 전 wec, ufc 밴텀급 챔피언이였다.. Osen백승철 기자 28일 오후 서울 올림픽공원 체조경기장에서 열린 ufc 파이트 나이트 서울, ufc 옥타곤 걸 아리아니 셀레스티, 레드 델라 크루즈가..
Ufc 부산 대회가 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최됐다, 델라크루즈는 ufc 역사상 최초의 아시아계 옥타곤걸이다. Ufc 옥타곤걸, 레드 델라 크루즈red dela cruz 네이버 블로그. Here i am getting ready making myself look beautiful.
빨리 돌아가고 싶어 ufc 가족들에게 행운을 빌어. 변성현 기자 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 28일 오후 서울 방이동 올림픽공원 체조경기장에서 열린 ufc 파이트 나이트 서울ufc fight night seoul. 2013년 ufc가 개최한 옥타곤걸 선발대회를 통해 케이지에 오르기 시작한 크루즈는 대학교에서 관광학을 전공했지만 빼어난 미모로 학창시절부터 모델로 활동했다, Interview with ufc octagon girl red dela cruz the brad. Ufc ′옥타곤걸′ 델라크루즈 & 피어슨, 부산 옥타곤 오른다 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최되는 ′ufc 파이트 나이트 ufn 165′ 부산 대회에는 국내 ufc 팬들에게도 친숙한 두 명의 ′옥타곤걸′ 레드 델라크루즈와 크리스티 피어슨이 옥타곤을 누빌 예정이다.
430k followers 1k+ following 103 posts @red_delacruz lifes too short not to shine a little louder✨ @ufc @dwcs @zuffaboxing ring babe, Com › news › viewamp유승옥 vs 아리아니 vs 델라 크루즈, ufc 옥타곤 걸 전쟁, 레드 델라 크루즈는 최근 자신의 sns에 한 장의 사진을 올렸다. 사진레드 델라 크루즈 인스타그램 ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 아찔한 몸매를 드러냈다. Ufc 부산 대회가 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최됐다, 이날 대회는 크루즈의 절친인 동료 옥타곤걸 아리아니 셀레스티가.
| 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 포즈를 취하. | Red dela cruz pov ufc300. | 이날 대회는 크루즈의 절친인 동료 옥타곤걸 아리아니 셀레스티가. |
|---|---|---|
| 화 연재중, comic, 소년, 액션판타지, 줄거리 최초의 외전. | 포토 레드 델라 크루즈, 탄탄한 몸매에 눈길 ufc 서울. | 크루즈는 2013년 ufc가 개최한 옥타곤걸 경연대회를 통해 선발됐다. |
| 필리핀 출신의 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈. | 2,647,783 likes 227 talking about this. | 사진과 함께 ‘bikini season’이라는 글도 올려 여름이 왔음을 알렸다. |
| 18% | 17% | 65% |
변성현 기자 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 27일 오후 서울 방이동 올림픽공원 체조경기장에서 ‘ufc 파이트 나이트 서울 ufc fight night seoul, 이날 대회는 크루즈의 절친인 동료 옥타곤걸 아리아니 셀레스티가, Com › news › read케이지를 밝히는 레드 델라 크루즈red dela cruz, 완벽한 s라인의 u, 레드 델라 크루즈, ufc 옥타곤걸이 보여주는 비키니의 정석.
한편 레드 델라 크루즈는 165cm의 큰 키로 스페인과 필리핀의 혼혈 미인으로 지난해 부산에서 열린 ufc fight night 부산이하 ufc 부산에 참가해 한국, 포토 레드 델라 크루즈, 탄탄한 몸매에 눈길 ufc 서울, Com › news › read케이지를 밝히는 레드 델라 크루즈red dela cruz, 완벽한 s라인의 u, 델라 크루즈는 최초의 필리핀 출신 옥타곤걸로, 괌 기반의 종합격투기 대회 pxcpacific xtreme combat에서 이미 라운드걸로 활동한 바 있다. 스페인필리핀 혼혈 아시아 담당이라 2015년에 왔고, 아마 올해도 부산에 오지 않을까 싶다.
윤공주 소은이 보지 포토 유승옥, 세계적인 옥타곤걸에 전혀 뒤지지 않아 ufc 파이트 나이트 서울 대회ufc fight night seoul의 계체량 측정이 27일 서울 올림픽공원 체조경기장에서 열렸다. Ufc부산에서 크루즈는 피트니스로 다져진 탄탄한 몸을 앞세워 한국 팬들의 큰 박수와 환호를 이끌어냈다. Ufc 부산 대회가 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최됐다. Ufc ring girl red dela cruz rings in round 2 ufcvegas112. Interview with ufc octagon girl red dela cruz the brad. 율희 벗방
음력세수 델라크루즈는 ufc 역사상 최초의 아시아계 옥타곤걸이다. Com › shorts › 8knwodubbvi안 받아주면 턱 돌아갈 것 같은 ufc 여자 챔피언 웨일리 하트 vs 옥타. Ufc 옥타곤걸 레드델라 크루즈가 하트를 그려 보이고 있다. 레드 델라 크루즈, ufc 옥타곤걸이 보여주는 비키니의 정석. 429k followers, 1,021 following, 102 posts red dela cruz @red_delacruz on instagram 🇦🇺🇵🇭 life’s too short not to shine a little louder 🎥 @ufc @dwcs @zuffaboxing babe 📧 info@reddelacruz. 유혜주 사주 디시
이길승 pd 디시 Com › news › viewamp유승옥 vs 아리아니 vs 델라 크루즈, ufc 옥타곤 걸 전쟁. Com › news › viewamp유승옥 vs 아리아니 vs 델라 크루즈, ufc 옥타곤 걸 전쟁. Com › view › 20251006n06194ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈, 섹시만점의 격투기 선수로 변신해. 대학교에서 관광학을 전공한 크루즈는 빼어난 미모로 학창 시절부터 모델일을 병행. 🌈💖bisexual💖🌈 💙stitch lover💙 🐒april. 유튜브 라이트 디시
유키타시 펜타미넘을 쫓아 탑에 들어온 우렉 마지노 그의 선별인원 시절 이야기. ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈가 시드니 해변을 배경으로 매혹스러운 자태를 뽐냈다. 스포티비뉴스마닐라필리핀, 이교덕 기자 코리안 파이터 3인방 임현규, 남의철, 방태현이 15일 ufc 파이트 나이트fight night 66 계체를 통과하고 오는 16일 출전을 위한 준비를 마쳤다. 사진과 함께 ‘bikini season. Ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈, 이제부터 비키니시즌.
유튜브 wav Ufc 옥타곤걸, 레드 델라 크루즈red dela cruz 네이버 블로그. 430k followers 1k+ following 103 posts @red_delacruz lifes too short not to shine a little louder✨ @ufc @dwcs @zuffaboxing ring babe. Com › news › readufc부산을 찾은 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈, 제2의 아리아니 셀레스티. Ufc ring girl red dela cruz rings in round 2 ufcvegas112. Ufc ′옥타곤걸′ 델라크루즈 & 피어슨, 부산 옥타곤 오른다 21일 오후 부산 사직실내체육관에서 개최되는 ′ufc 파이트 나이트 ufn 165′ 부산 대회에는 국내 ufc 팬들에게도 친숙한 두 명의 ′옥타곤걸′ 레드 델라크루즈와 크리스티 피어슨이 옥타곤을 누빌 예정이다.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on August 1, 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, August 1, 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, August 1, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, August 1, 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.
Ufc 옥타곤걸 레드 델라 크루즈, 섹시만점의 격투기 선수로., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.