US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 3, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 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 3, 2026.
박지 성별은 남성이며 키는 173cm라고 합니다. 글쓰기 목록 이전글 다음글 유머 박지작가가 말하는 가슴과 모유가 나오는 이유 115 감동브레이커 4785478 활동내역 작성글 쪽지 마이피 타임라인 출석일수 3072일 lv. 18 1654 교수님 멋지시네 아안사요 2024. 김정관, 러트닉과 관세갈등 결론 못내내일 다시 만난다.
18 1654 교수님 멋지시네 아안사요 2024. 박지 학력은 상명대학교 천안캠퍼스 재학 중이며 현재 웹툰 작가로 활동한 것으로 알려졌습니다, 18 1648 남자화장실 몰카찍는 박지 ㄷㄷㄷ 다음생에는돌로 2024. 그래서 저렇게 물만난 물고기처럼 가슴 드러내면서 즐겁게 사진찍는거고. 박지 여유증이라는 이야기가 나올 정도로 여성처럼 외모가 변하고 가슴도 커지는 상황에서 화제를 모았던 것인데요. 만화 갤러리 설정 연관 갤러리 485 갤주소 복사 이용안내 박지 무슨 약부작용으로 가슴생긴건 알겠는데 ㅇㅇ118. Top, 데뷔 앨범 ‘wedisconnect’ 발매 앞두고 개인단체 이미지 공개 jms, 넷플릭스 나는 생존자다 공개 금지 법원에 요청 50세 김준호 남성기능 떨어져♥김지민, 무의미한 ‘불륜. 김정관, 러트닉과 관세갈등 결론 못내내일 다시 만난다, 그래서 저렇게 물만난 물고기처럼 가슴 드러내면서 즐겁게 사진찍는거고. 그냥 남자와 여자 중간의 어딘가라고 생각한다고 말했다, 박지는 프로락틴 높아서 가슴 커졌다고 했는데 프로락틴만으론 가슴이 커지지 않는다는거 이쪽 애들은 모르는 애들 없는데 아직도. 가슴에 자극 덜 주려면 저런 옷이 나은게 아닐까. 피할수없으면 즐기라지만 너무 즐기는거 같은데 dc official app.일반 박지는 가슴크기가 중요한게아닌데ㅋ.. 79,782 48 무명의 더쿠 stheqoo.. 결제, 모든결제, 무통장 세금계산서 발행.. 그래서 극소수만 걸리는 부작용이 하필 극소수만 하는 여장을 즐기는 사람한테 생겼단거야..김정관, 러트닉과 관세갈등 결론 못내내일 다시 만난다. 박지 군대 문제는 아직 미필이라고 하는데요. 박지 성별은 남성이며 키는 173cm라고 합니다, 박지 유튜브 커뮤니티에 성 정체성, 여유증 가슴 크기에 대해 설명 박지는 본인의 유튜브 채널 박지의 cctv 커뮤니티를 통해 남성임에도 불구하고 지속적으로 여성처럼 외모가 변해가는 것에 대해 설명했습니다.
유즙도 나와서 짜야했다고밑에는 비슷하게 이해해주는 여친있는 다른 작가 만화스압. 박지 군대 문제는 아직 미필이라고 하는데요. 성장기 이후인데도 호르몬 투약으로 저렇게 가슴이 커질수가 있음. 가슴에 자극 덜 주려면 저런 옷이 나은게 아닐까.
약 잘못먹어서 호르몬 이상와서 가슴 커진거 맞다고함, ㅋㅋ 와 시발 우연도 이런우연이 없네ㅋㅋ 2023, 공식 데뷔 전까지는 디시인사이드 카툰연재 갤러리, 웹툰 화보집 출간 이후 의도적으로 가슴골을 강조한 사진들을 올려서 이슈가 되고 있다.
특징, dji 상품 2% read more.. 피할수없으면 즐기라지만 너무 즐기는거 같은데 dc official app..
글쓰기 목록 이전글 다음글 유머 박지작가가 말하는 가슴과 모유가 나오는 이유 115 감동브레이커 4785478 활동내역 작성글 쪽지 마이피 타임라인 출석일수 3072일 lv. 맥심 모델이 된 회사원 김지연, 170cm 이상형 101 큐티섹시의 정석 글래머러스한 베이비 페이스, 미스맥심 연수 29 라짱, 진솔한 소통과 감각적 일상으로 팬심 사로잡다 24 미모만 봤다면 오산. 결제, 모든결제, 무통장 세금계산서 발행, 박지는 현재 몸상태와 관련해 가슴이 크기가 상당해서 여유증 수술로도 어렵다고 한다. 박지 성별은 남성이며 키는 173cm라고 합니다. 13 2205 빈유 그건 아니고 남자가 좋고 여성스러운 스타일을 선호하는건데 병이 겹처서 이렇게된거고 가슴얘기 자꾸 나오고 추측하니까 스트레스 받은듯 4 카구야히메 2023.
박지 학력은 상명대학교 천안캠퍼스 재학 중이며 현재 웹툰 작가로 활동한 것으로 알려졌습니다. 리뷰, 글씨리뷰 1,000원 포토리뷰 2,000원, 성장기 이후인데도 호르몬 투약으로 저렇게 가슴이 커질수가 있음. 맥심 모델이 된 회사원 김지연, 170cm 이상형 101 큐티섹시의 정석 글래머러스한 베이비 페이스, 미스맥심 연수 29 라짱, 진솔한 소통과 감각적 일상으로 팬심 사로잡다 24 미모만 봤다면 오산, 18 1648 남자화장실 몰카찍는 박지 ㄷㄷㄷ 다음생에는돌로 2024.
일반 박지는 가슴크기가 중요한게아닌데ㅋ, 박지는 현재 몸상태와 관련해 가슴이 크기가 상당해서 여유증 수술로도 어렵다고 한다. 1 kbs n 우리가요 한마당 출연2 본인이 작업한 곡으로, 원래는 개그맨 출신 트로트 가수 영기에게 주려고 했으나, 거절로 인해 본인이 부르게 되었다고 한다.
만화 갤러리 설정 연관 갤러리 485 갤주소 복사 이용안내 박지 무슨 약부작용으로 가슴생긴건 알겠는데 ㅇㅇ118, 리뷰, 글씨리뷰 1,000원 포토리뷰 2,000원, 유즙도 나와서 짜야했다고밑에는 비슷하게 이해해주는 여친있는 다른 작가 만화스압, 다들 박지가되자 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리, 12% 추천 132 조회 167291 비추력 989 작성일 2023.
| 1 kbs n 우리가요 한마당 출연2 본인이 작업한 곡으로, 원래는 개그맨 출신 트로트 가수 영기에게 주려고 했으나, 거절로 인해 본인이 부르게 되었다고 한다. | 그냥 남자와 여자 중간의 어딘가라고 생각한다고 말했다. | 박지는 가슴크기가 중요한게아닌데ㅋ 타비 통나무단 미니. |
|---|---|---|
| 가슴가지고 놀려도 됨 박지 마이너 갤러리 갤주피셜임. | 공식 데뷔 전까지는 디시인사이드 카툰연재 갤러리, 웹툰 화보집 출간 이후 의도적으로 가슴골을 강조한 사진들을 올려서 이슈가 되고 있다. | Top, 데뷔 앨범 ‘wedisconnect’ 발매 앞두고 개인단체 이미지 공개 jms, 넷플릭스 나는 생존자다 공개 금지 법원에 요청 50세 김준호 남성기능 떨어져♥김지민, 무의미한 ‘불륜. |
| 13 2205 빈유 그건 아니고 남자가 좋고 여성스러운 스타일을 선호하는건데 병이 겹처서 이렇게된거고 가슴얘기 자꾸 나오고 추측하니까 스트레스 받은듯 4 카구야히메 2023. | 박지 유튜브 커뮤니티에 성 정체성, 여유증 가슴 크기에 대해 설명 박지는 본인의 유튜브 채널 박지의 cctv 커뮤니티를 통해 남성임에도 불구하고 지속적으로 여성처럼 외모가 변해가는 것에 대해 설명했습니다. | 12% 추천 132 조회 167291 비추력 989 작성일 2023. |
| 79,782 48 무명의 더쿠 stheqoo. | 그래서 극소수만 걸리는 부작용이 하필 극소수만 하는 여장을 즐기는 사람한테 생겼단거야. | 약 잘못먹어서 호르몬 이상와서 가슴 커진거 맞다고함. |
18 1644 혹시 전환 수술했나 싶어서 물어보신건가 충분히 오해의 소지가 있긴한데 페키르 2024, 박지는 프로락틴 높아서 가슴 커졌다고 했는데 프로락틴만으론 가슴이 커지지 않는다는거 이쪽 애들은 모르는 애들 없는데 아직도, 다들 박지가되자 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리, 가슴가지고 놀려도 됨 박지 마이너 갤러리 갤주피셜임.
서비스신 애니 디시 18 1644 혹시 전환 수술했나 싶어서 물어보신건가 충분히 오해의 소지가 있긴한데 페키르 2024. 박지는 가슴크기가 중요한게아닌데ㅋ 타비 통나무단 미니. 피할수없으면 즐기라지만 너무 즐기는거 같은데 dc official app. 유즙도 나와서 짜야했다고밑에는 비슷하게 이해해주는 여친있는 다른 작가 만화스압. 글쓰기 목록 이전글 다음글 유머 박지작가가 말하는 가슴과 모유가 나오는 이유 115 감동브레이커 4785478 활동내역 작성글 쪽지 마이피 타임라인 출석일수 3072일 lv. 설돌 야노네컷
삼크 논란 박지는 현재 몸상태와 관련해 가슴이 크기가 상당해서 여유증 수술로도 어렵다고 한다. 13 2205 빈유 그건 아니고 남자가 좋고 여성스러운 스타일을 선호하는건데 병이 겹처서 이렇게된거고 가슴얘기 자꾸 나오고 추측하니까 스트레스 받은듯 4 카구야히메 2023. 박지 여유증이라는 이야기가 나올 정도로 여성처럼 외모가 변하고 가슴도 커지는 상황에서 화제를 모았던 것인데요. 약 잘못먹어서 호르몬 이상와서 가슴 커진거 맞다고함. 다들 박지가되자 트랜스젠더 마이너 갤러리. 서리나 배드신
세마갤 글쓰기 목록 이전글 다음글 유머 박지작가가 말하는 가슴과 모유가 나오는 이유 115 감동브레이커 4785478 활동내역 작성글 쪽지 마이피 타임라인 출석일수 3072일 lv. 18 1644 혹시 전환 수술했나 싶어서 물어보신건가 충분히 오해의 소지가 있긴한데 페키르 2024. 박지 학력은 상명대학교 천안캠퍼스 재학 중이며 현재 웹툰 작가로 활동한 것으로 알려졌습니다. 박지 성별은 남성이며 키는 173cm라고 합니다. 버츄얼 하꼬 약 부작용이라는데 와 신기하네 약부작용 여유증일걸 dc app 약 부작용이라는데 호르몬인거 같음 희귀병 약 부작용. 서연우 유출
샤머호 19 유즙도 나와서 짜야했다고밑에는 비슷하게 이해해주는 여친있는 다른 작가 만화스압. 피할수없으면 즐기라지만 너무 즐기는거 같은데 dc official app. ㅋㅋ 와 시발 우연도 이런우연이 없네ㅋㅋ 2023. 박지 성별은 남성이며 키는 173cm라고 합니다. ㅋㅋ 와 시발 우연도 이런우연이 없네ㅋㅋ 2023.
서유하 다시보기 그냥 남자와 여자 중간의 어딘가라고 생각한다고 말했다. 글쓰기 목록 이전글 다음글 유머 박지작가가 말하는 가슴과 모유가 나오는 이유 115 감동브레이커 4785478 활동내역 작성글 쪽지 마이피 타임라인 출석일수 3072일 lv. 글쓰기 목록 이전글 다음글 유머 박지작가가 말하는 가슴과 모유가 나오는 이유 115 감동브레이커 4785478 활동내역 작성글 쪽지 마이피 타임라인 출석일수 3072일 lv. Top, 데뷔 앨범 ‘wedisconnect’ 발매 앞두고 개인단체 이미지 공개 jms, 넷플릭스 나는 생존자다 공개 금지 법원에 요청 50세 김준호 남성기능 떨어져♥김지민, 무의미한 ‘불륜. 박지 성별은 남성이며 키는 173cm라고 합니다.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 3, 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 3, 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 3, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 3, 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.
박지는 프로락틴 높아서 가슴 커졌다고 했는데 프로락틴만으론 가슴이 커지지 않는다는거 이쪽 애들은 모르는 애들 없는데 아직도., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.