US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 4, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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 4, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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 4, 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 4, 2026.
조상신이 도왔노 개씹 주작이지 어디 시발 약빨고 히피생활하는년도 자궁문신 할까말깐데 보지를 확열었더니 나비문신. 거기는 피부도 얇아서 아파가지고 문신도 못할거다 자지에 문신하는새끼 봤냐. 본문의 요는 요즘 이정도는 패션이지 하는 작은 타투라도 있으면 난 기본적. 그래서 타투 할 때에는 영구적으로 유지된다고 생각해서 유행타지 않는 부위에 특별한 의미를 부여해서 새기는 게 좋은데요.
본문의 요는 요즘 이정도는 패션이지 하는 작은 타투라도 있으면 난 기본적. 나비문신 뜻은, 소망, 所望 hope 희망, 希望 desire 우정, 友情 friendship, Com › kyosicho › 223636418551나비 문신의 뜻과 의미 허벅지 여자 문신 네이버 블로그, 게다가 수의사인데 무슨씨발ㅋㅋ 주작도 정도껏 10, 과거 문신 인식이 어떤지 모르겠는데 요즘도 보이는 곳에 문신하는 애들은 위 장비충이 이야기하는거랑 큰 차이 없음.와 나도 타투에 대한 내성이 있는 편이지만 대음순에 나비문신은 좀 너무 쎈데.. 대음순 나비 문신 ㄷㄷㄷ 골반쪽도 아니고 아이온2 안녕하세여 여기에 글쓰면 미친년이라 욕하겠죠.. 여자 어깨에 파란나비 문신은 무슨 의미냐.. 뭘하면 거기다 그걸 할 생각을 할수있지 1 새비 2024..손목이나 어깨 그리고 허리와 쇄골에 하는 분들이 있습니다, 그래서 타투 할 때에는 영구적으로 유지된다고 생각해서 유행타지 않는 부위에 특별한 의미를 부여해서 새기는 게 좋은데요, 조상신이 도왔노 개씹 주작이지 어디 시발 약빨고 히피생활하는년도 자궁문신 할까말깐데 보지를 확열었더니 나비문신, Borboleta는 변신과 자유를 의미해. 그 전에는 모임에 꼭 껴있던데 어느순간 아무도 말도 안걸고 놀이터도 같이 안감. 뭘하면 거기다 그걸 할 생각을 할수있지 1 새비 2024. 거기는 피부도 얇아서 아파가지고 문신도 못할거다 자지에 문신하는새끼 봤냐.
이미지 여자친구 중요부위에 나비모양 문신 ㅇㅇ 112, Jpg 103 로아 타사 게임들과 비교해서 미안한데,, 112 아이온2 아툴. 어느여름날 문신엄마가 나시입고 아이 등원시킴. 그 전에는 모임에 꼭 껴있던데 어느순간 아무도 말도 안걸고 놀이터도 같이 안감, Com › talk › 372722703여자가 문신하는거 어떻게 생각함, 여자 어깨에 파란나비 문신은 무슨 의미냐.
최신 it 트렌드와 디지털 노마드 팁 디지털노트, 생생한 해외 여행 정보, 직접 써보고 추천하는 찐템 리뷰, 그리고 삶의 질을 높여주는 생활 정보를 공유합니다, 여자친구 중요부위에 나비모양 문신 자동차 갤러리 ㅇㅇ. 과거 문신 인식이 어떤지 모르겠는데 요즘도 보이는 곳에 문신하는 애들은 위 장비충이 이야기하는거랑 큰 차이 없음. 10년 차 타투이스트이자 디지털 크리에이터의 시선으로 엄선한 정보.
문신 있다고, 술담배 한다고 걸레 취급하고 기피하는게 아니라 사회적 시선이 하지말라는 무언의 압박이 있음에도 본인이 하고싶어서 그 압박을 깬 사람인 만큼 바람피면 안되고 가정에 충실해야 한다는 사회적 개념또한 벗어날 확률이 크다 이말이지 2023. 문신공개이후로 한달넘게 쑥떡쑥떡 장난아니였음. 없는 문신 합성한 거 아니고 있는 문신을 지운 비교사진이지, 나중에 내가 할아버지되었을때 손주 손녀가 지금 새길 문신이 뭐냐고 물어보면 감당할수 있겠냐고. 근데 위로 받고 싶아요 85 lol 승리는 티원이 했는데 뭔 또 구맘이니 뭐니가 튀어나와, 나비타투를 하시는 분들이 나비타투뜻이나 의미를 생각하고 하시는 지는 잘 모르겠습니다만, 의미나 그 해석이 자신에게 좀 더 와닿아야 소재로 이용하기 적절할 것 같아서 소개해보겠습니다.
예전에는 성적으로 좀 자유로운 여자들이 상징으로 많이 썼대. Com › board › view인생 망하고 타투 했던걸 후회한다는 판녀 실시간 베스트 갤러리. 20 170501 스크랩 조회 96767 추천 663 댓글 981 출처 주식 갤러리 원본 보기. 대음순 나비 문신 ㄷㄷㄷ 골반쪽도 아니고 아이온2 안녕하세여 여기에 글쓰면 미친년이라 욕하겠죠. 나비 타투의 의미를 아시나요 나비 타투 의미는 변화의 상징으로 애벌레에서 아름다운 나비로 변화했듯이.
나비타투를 하시는 분들이 나비타투뜻이나 의미를 생각하고 하시는 지는 잘 모르겠습니다만, 의미나 그 해석이 자신에게 좀 더 와닿아야 소재로 이용하기 적절할 것 같아서 소개해보겠습니다. Com › board › view인생 망하고 타투 했던걸 후회한다는 판녀 실시간 베스트 갤러리. 문신 있다고, 술담배 한다고 걸레 취급하고 기피하는게 아니라 사회적 시선이 하지말라는 무언의 압박이 있음에도 본인이 하고싶어서 그 압박을 깬 사람인 만큼 바람피면 안되고 가정에 충실해야 한다는 사회적 개념또한 벗어날 확률이 크다 이말이지 2023.
| 손목이나 어깨 그리고 허리와 쇄골에 하는 분들이 있습니다. | 10년 차 타투이스트이자 디지털 크리에이터의 시선으로 엄선한 정보. | 나비문신 뜻은, 소망, 所望 hope 희망, 希望 desire 우정, 友情 friendship. |
|---|---|---|
| 어느여름날 문신엄마가 나시입고 아이 등원시킴. | 여자 타투 부위 위치, 그중에서도 하체 부위와 스타들의 다양한 타투 디자인까지 알아봤는데요, 주로 미니 타투를 많이 하는데, 나비 디자인도 참 이쁘. | Borboleta는 변신과 자유를 의미해. |
| 여자 타투 부위 위치, 그중에서도 하체 부위와 스타들의 다양한. | 조상신이 도왔노 개씹 주작이지 어디 시발 약빨고 히피생활하는년도 자궁문신 할까말깐데 보지를 확열었더니 나비문신. | 10 1324 킁킁대학교 모쏠아다 집합소인데 뭘. |
| 특히 그 엄마가 인싸력이 있어서 주도할때 많았음. | 와 나도 타투에 대한 내성이 있는 편이지만 대음순에 나비문신은 좀 너무 쎈데. | 그래서 타투 할 때에는 영구적으로 유지된다고 생각해서 유행타지 않는 부위에 특별한 의미를 부여해서 새기는 게 좋은데요. |
최신 it 트렌드와 디지털 노마드 팁 디지털노트, 생생한 해외 여행 정보, 직접 써보고 추천하는 찐템 리뷰, 그리고 삶의 질을 높여주는 생활 정보를 공유합니다.. 특히 그 엄마가 인싸력이 있어서 주도할때 많았음.. 근데 위로 받고 싶아요 85 lol 승리는 티원이 했는데 뭔 또 구맘이니 뭐니가 튀어나와.. 영감을 원하는 사람들에게 이상적입니다..
본문의 요는 요즘 이정도는 패션이지 하는 작은 타투라도 있으면 난 기본적. 여자 타투 부위 위치, 그중에서도 하체 부위와 스타들의 다양한 타투 디자인까지 알아봤는데요, 주로 미니 타투를 많이 하는데, 나비 디자인도 참 이쁘, Com › kyosicho › 223636418551나비 문신의 뜻과 의미 허벅지 여자 문신 네이버 블로그. Com › talk › 372722703여자가 문신하는거 어떻게 생각함. 10 1324 킁킁대학교 모쏠아다 집합소인데 뭘, 문신공개이후로 한달넘게 쑥떡쑥떡 장난아니였음.
없는 문신 합성한 거 아니고 있는 문신을 지운 비교사진이지. 남자들 대체 문신한 여자 거르는 이유가 뭐야. 게다가 수의사인데 무슨씨발ㅋㅋ 주작도 정도껏 10. 20 170501 스크랩 조회 96767 추천 663 댓글 981 출처 주식 갤러리 원본 보기. 이미지 여자친구 중요부위에 나비모양 문신 ㅇㅇ 112. 예전에는 성적으로 좀 자유로운 여자들이 상징으로 많이 썼대.
여자 타투 부위 위치, 그중에서도 하체 부위와 스타들의 다양한. Jpg 103 로아 타사 게임들과 비교해서 미안한데,, 112 아이온2 아툴. 거기는 피부도 얇아서 아파가지고 문신도 못할거다 자지에 문신하는새끼 봤냐.
나비 타투의 의미를 아시나요 나비 타투 의미는 변화의 상징으로 애벌레에서 아름다운 나비로 변화했듯이. 여자친구 중요부위에 나비모양 문신 자동차 갤러리 ㅇㅇ. 나중에 내가 할아버지되었을때 손주 손녀가 지금 새길 문신이 뭐냐고 물어보면 감당할수 있겠냐고. 남자들 대체 문신한 여자 거르는 이유가 뭐야. 영감을 원하는 사람들에게 이상적입니다.
위고비 vs 마 운자 로 디시 어느여름날 문신엄마가 나시입고 아이 등원시킴. 그 전에는 모임에 꼭 껴있던데 어느순간 아무도 말도 안걸고 놀이터도 같이 안감. 예전에는 성적으로 좀 자유로운 여자들이 상징으로 많이 썼대. 나비 타투의 의미를 아시나요 나비 타투 의미는 변화의 상징으로 애벌레에서 아름다운 나비로 변화했듯이. 나비타투를 하시는 분들이 나비타투뜻이나 의미를 생각하고 하시는 지는 잘 모르겠습니다만, 의미나 그 해석이 자신에게 좀 더 와닿아야 소재로 이용하기 적절할 것 같아서 소개해보겠습니다. 웨이터나라 디시
유재석 이이경 펨코 게다가 수의사인데 무슨씨발ㅋㅋ 주작도 정도껏 10. 문신공개이후로 한달넘게 쑥떡쑥떡 장난아니였음. 특히 그 엄마가 인싸력이 있어서 주도할때 많았음. Borboleta는 변신과 자유를 의미해. 여자 타투 부위 위치, 그중에서도 하체 부위와 스타들의 다양한 타투 디자인까지 알아봤는데요, 주로 미니 타투를 많이 하는데, 나비 디자인도 참 이쁘. 유륜괴물
유설화 모델 여자친구 중요부위에 나비모양 문신 자동차 갤러리 ㅇㅇ. 어느여름날 문신엄마가 나시입고 아이 등원시킴. 게다가 수의사인데 무슨씨발ㅋㅋ 주작도 정도껏 10. 게다가 수의사인데 무슨씨발ㅋㅋ 주작도 정도껏 10. 남자들 대체 문신한 여자 거르는 이유가 뭐야. 윈터 ㄸㄱ
유유화 가슴 여자 어깨에 파란나비 문신은 무슨 의미냐. Com › board › view인생 망하고 타투 했던걸 후회한다는 판녀 실시간 베스트 갤러리. 10 1324 킁킁대학교 모쏠아다 집합소인데 뭘. Borboleta는 변신과 자유를 의미해. 문신공개이후로 한달넘게 쑥떡쑥떡 장난아니였음.
원이 지라 레전드 디시 나비문신 뜻은, 소망, 所望 hope 희망, 希望 desire 우정, 友情 friendship. 어느여름날 문신엄마가 나시입고 아이 등원시킴. 게다가 수의사인데 무슨씨발ㅋㅋ 주작도 정도껏 10. 10 1324 킁킁대학교 모쏠아다 집합소인데 뭘. 10 1324 킁킁대학교 모쏠아다 집합소인데 뭘.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 4, 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 4, 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 4, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 4, 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.
예전에는 성적으로 좀 자유로운 여자들이 상징으로 많이 썼대., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.