Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World?

Authoritarian Advances Threaten Rules-Based Order

The global human rights system is in peril. Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms. To defy this trend, governments that still value human rights, alongside social movements, civil society, and international institutions, need to form a strategic alliance to push back.

To be fair, the downward spiral predated Trump’s reelection. The democratic wave that began over 50 years ago has given way to what scholars term a “democratic recession.” Democracy is now back to 1985 levels according to some metrics, with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under autocracy. Russia and China are less free today than 20 years ago. And so is the United States.

Of course, democracy is not a panacea for human rights violations; the US and other longtime democracies have their own histories of colonial crimes, racism, abusive justice systems, and wartime atrocities. More recently, authoritarian leaders have exploited public mistrust and anger to win elections and then dismantled the very institutions that brought them to power. Democratic institutions are crucial to represent the will of the people and keep power in check. It’s no surprise that whenever democracy is undermined, rights are too, as evident in recent years in India, Türkiye, the Philippines, El Salvador, and Hungary.

In this context, 2025 may be seen as a tipping point. In just 12 months, the Trump administration has carried out a broad assault on key pillars of US democracy and the global rules-based order, which the US, despite inconsistencies, was, with other states, instrumental in helping to establish.

In short order, Trump’s second-term administration has undermined trust in the sanctity of elections, reduced government accountability, gutted food assistance and healthcare subsidies, attacked judicial independence, defied court orders, rolled back women’s rights, obstructed access to abortion care, undermined remedies for racial harm, terminated programs mandating accessibility for people with disabilities, punished free speech, stripped protections from trans and intersex people, eroded privacy, and used government power to intimidate political opponents, the media, law firms, universities, civil society, and even comedians.

Claiming a risk of “civilizational erasure” in Europe and leaning on racist tropes to cast entire populations as unwelcome in the US, the Trump administration has embraced policies and rhetoric that align with white nationalist ideology. Immigrants and asylum seekers have been subjected to inhumane conditions and degrading treatment; 32 died in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2025, and as of mid-January 2026, an additional 4 have died. Masked immigration enforcement agents have targeted people of color, using excessive force, terrorizing communities, wrongfully arresting scores of citizens, and, most recently, unjustifiably killing two people in Minneapolis, whose deaths Human Rights Watch has documented.

The US president of course has the authority to tighten US borders and enforce stricter immigration policies. The administration is not, however, entitled to deny legal process to asylum seekers, mistreat undocumented migrants, or unlawfully discriminate. In a well-functioning democracy, no electoral mandate should supersede domestic legislation, constitutional protections, or international human rights law. Trump’s team has repeatedly bypassed these guardrails.

The violations have not stopped at the border. The Trump administration used a 1798 law to send hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to an infamous prison in El Salvador, where they were tortured and sexually abused. Its blatantly unlawful strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific extrajudicially killed more than 120 people whom Trump claims were drug traffickers.

After the US attacked Venezuela and apprehended its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, Trump claimed the US would “run” the country and control its vast oil reserves. Despite paying lip service to human rights concerns under Maduro at the United Nations, Trump has worked with the same repressive apparatus to further US interests. Many Western allies have chosen to stay silent about these lawless moves, perhaps fearing erratic tariffs and blowback to their alliances.

Trump’s foreign policy has upended the foundations of the rules-based order that seeks to advance democracy and human rights, even if imperfectly.

Trump has boasted that he doesn’t “need international law” as a constraint, only his “own morality.” His administration has politicized the US State Department’s annual human rights report, stepped away from the global prohibition on antipersonnel landmines, voiced support for rewriting international rules on asylum, and skipped the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of the US’ human rights record.

His administration withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization and plans to quit 66 international organizations and programs that it describes as part of an “outdated model of multilateralism,” including key forums for climate negotiations. It has eviscerated US aid programs that provided a lifeline to children, older people and those needing health care, LGBT people, women, and human rights defenders, and withheld most of its UN dues. 

Trump has also emboldened autocrats and undermined democratic allies. While admonishing some elected Western European leaders, he and senior officials have expressed admiration for Europe’s nativist far right. He has favored autocrats such as Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele, while continuing decades of US support to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

His administration has unjustifiably imposed sanctions to punish respected Palestinian human rights organizations, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor and many of its judges, a UN special rapporteur, and for several months, a Brazilian Supreme Court judge and his wife.

The institutional response in the US to Trump’s power grabs has been shockingly muted. Much of Congress, controlled by his own party, has not challenged his supercharged expansion of executive power. The leaders of the US’ most powerful technology companies have made significant donations and sought to placate the president. Some big law firms and prestigious universities have made deals rather than assert their independence, and some media organizations seem afraid to attract the president’s ire.

Has the US switched sides on the human rights playing field? While US engagement with human rights institutions has always been selective, China and Russia have long pursued an illiberal agenda. They stand much to gain from a US government that now expresses open hostility to universal rights. China and Russia remain strategic rivals of the US, but all three countries are now led by leaders who share open disdain for norms and institutions that could constrain their power.

Together, they wield considerable economic, military, and diplomatic power. If they were to consistently act as allies of convenience to erode global rules, they could threaten the entire system. Already, a loose international network of countries such as North Korea, Iran, Venezuela, Myanmar, Cuba, and Belarus work in concert with Russia and China. These leaders share very little ideologically but align in undermining human rights and promoting a regressive international agenda. In word and in practice, the US government is now helping them in this endeavor.

The US’ weakening of multilateral institutions also dealt a serious blow to global efforts to prevent or stop grave international crimes. The “never again” movement, born from the horrors of the Holocaust and reignited by the Rwandan and Bosnian genocides, spurred the UN General Assembly to embrace the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in 2005. Meant to guide international intervention to prevent and stop atrocities in tandem with efforts to prosecute and punish serious crimes, R2P made a real difference in places like the Central African Republic and Kenya.

Today, R2P is rarely invoked and the ICC is under siege. In addition to Trump’s far-reaching sanctions, in December 2025 a Moscow court sentenced the ICC prosecutor and eight of its judges to prison terms in absentia. Moreover, despite being ICC fugitives, in 2025, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin was welcomed by Donald Trump in Alaska, and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Hungary, an ICC member state at the time, at Orban’s invitation.

Twenty years ago, the US government and civil society were instrumental in galvanizing a response to mass atrocities in Darfur. Sudan is burning again, but this time under Trump, with relative impunity. Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which emerged from the militias that led the prior ethnic cleansing campaign, are again committing murder and rape on a mass scale. A growing body of evidence indicates that the UAE, a longtime US ally that recently made multi-billion-dollar deals with Trump, is providing the RSF with military support.

In the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Israeli armed forces have committed acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, killing over 70,000 people since the October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on Israel and displacing the vast majority of Gaza’s population. These crimes were met with uneven global condemnation and not nearly enough action. Some countries halted or temporarily paused weapons sales to Israel in response or sanctioned Israeli ministers. Trump, however, continued a long-standing US policy of almost unconditional support to Israel, even as the International Court of Justice is weighing allegations of genocide and has issued binding orders under the Genocide Convention to protect Palestinians’ rights.

Trump announced in February an alarming US plan to transform Gaza into a “Riviera of the Middle East” free of Palestinians, which would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing. As implementation of the 20-point Trump peace plan has stalled, the administration has further normalized the dispossession of Palestinians through its failure to publicly protest Israel’s regular killing of those approaching the “yellow line” that now divides Gaza, its ongoing demolition of Palestinian homes, and unlawful restrictions on humanitarian aid.

In Ukraine, Trump’s peace efforts have consistently downplayed Russia’s responsibility for serious violations. These include indiscriminate bombing, coercing Ukrainians in occupied areas to serve in the Russian military, systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, and the use of quadcopter drones to hunt and kill civilians. Rather than applying meaningful pressure on Putin to end these crimes, Trump publicly berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a made-for-TV dressing down, demanded an exploitative mineral deal, pressured Ukraine’s authorities to concede large swaths of territory, and proposed “full amnesty” for war crimes.

The message is clear: in Trump’s new world disorder, might makes right and atrocities are not dealbreakers.

조회 수 72061 추천 수 180 댓글 24. 1992년생인 배혜지는 ytn 등을 거쳐 2017년 kbs에 기상캐스터로 입사했다. Com › 5435819312오늘자 완판누나 배혜지 아나운서 니달리 스타일. 대한건축사협회 부회장 선임은 역대 광주지역 건축사 중 제9대 회장을 역 주맥스유엔지니어링 건축사사무소 김기준 건축사를 선임했다.

귀칼시노부

출연 신청 itws8692@gmail. Mbti i인 분들 시청에 주의가 필요한 영상입니다ㅋㅋ 제품 정보 궁금하신 분들은 아래 펼쳐보세요. 학력 광주중앙여자고등학교 숙명여자대학교 it 공학 미디어학 학사 서울대학교 융합과학기술대학원 지능정보융합학 석사 과정 4, 3일 코스닥 시장에서 grt는 전 거래일.

김기방 콩콩 팡팡 디시

활짝 웃고 있는 혜지의 얼굴에서, 의주는 필연적으로 니콜라스를 떠올렸다, 출연 신청 itws8692@gmail. Gaming room desk setup for a lol announcer who lives alone.

그리고 2024년 4월 6일, 삼성 라이온즈 와의 홈 경기에 타이거즈 찐팬 자격으로 시구를 하게 되었다.. 배혜지 발과 레전드 이야기를 담았습니다.. 배혜지 부상, 배혜지 기상캐스터 룩북, 배혜지 기상캐에.. 화성시청의 주요 정보와 자료를 제공합니다..

김규남 딥페이크 야동

2018년 여름 기상기사 자격증을 취득하고 2018년 겨울에는 기상 read more. 대한건축사협회 부회장 선임은 역대 광주지역 건축사 중 제9대 회장을 역 주맥스유엔지니어링 건축사사무소 김기준 건축사를 선임했다. Kr › component › file화성시청. Fc 아나콘다 제1회 sbs컵 시즌 6.

조회 수 72061 추천 수 180 댓글 24, 1992년생인 배혜지는 ytn 등을 거쳐 2017년 kbs에 기상캐스터로 입사했다. 배혜지 아나운서와 기상캐스터의 매력적인 룩북을 확인하세요.

기상기사 자격증을 취득하고 기상예보사 면허 취득 교육을 이수하였다. 서울대학교 융합과학기술대학원에서 디지털정보융합 석사과정을 밟고 있는. 대한건축사협회 부회장 선임은 역대 광주지역 건축사 중 제9대 회장을 역 주맥스유엔지니어링 건축사사무소 김기준 건축사를 선임했다, 이번 글에서는 배혜지 기상캐스터에 대해 알아보겠습니다. 이외에도 배혜지가 기상캐스터 업무와 관련해 어떤 이야기를 전하게.

0% 0승 2패121 평균점수 read more.. 차단 설정 머리말∙꼬리말 설정 ai 이미지 간편 등록new 배혜지 저번엔 바지더니 ㅇㅇ 223.. 댓글로 가기 추천비추 기록 이 게시물을 fmkorea.. 26 2251 오늘자 완판누나 배혜지 아나운서 니달리 스타일..

이외에도 배혜지가 기상캐스터 업무와 관련해 어떤 이야기를 전하게. 출연해주신 혜지님 감사합니다 @hyedi_b 오늘은 세번째 데스크 셋업 소개에요. 배혜지 발, 배혜지 레전드, 배혜지 룩북, 배혜지 기상캐스터, 이번 글에서는 배혜지 기상캐스터에 대해 알아보겠습니다, 학력 광주중앙여자고등학교 숙명여자대학교 it 공학 미디어학 학사 서울대학교 융합과학기술대학원 지능정보융합학 석사 과정 4.

댓글로 가기 추천비추 기록 이 게시물을 fmkorea. 배혜지裵惠智, 1992년 10월 18일 는 대한민국 한국방송공사의 기상 캐스터이다, 차단 설정 머리말∙꼬리말 설정 ai 이미지 간편 등록new 배혜지 저번엔 바지더니 ㅇㅇ 223. 배혜지가 너한테 뭔 잘못을 했다고 키크고 잘생긴 남자만 밝히는 여자인거처럼 망상소설을 쓰면서 맥락없는 신세한탄을 하고 자빠졌냐 이러니까 연갤. 0% 3승 1패180 평균점수 레이즈 100. 0% 0승 2패121 평균점수 read more.

10 2050 msi팔에 털이 있을수도 있지. 서울뉴시스 최지윤 기자 kbs 아나운서 조항리35와 기상캐스터 배혜지30가 결혼한다. Prx f0rsaken2134 전적 정보. 최신 기상캐스터 아나운서 패션 트렌드를 만나보세요. 최신 기상캐스터 아나운서 패션 트렌드를 만나보세요.

혜지는 모 대학의 중국어학과에 진학한 것 같았다. 출연해주신 혜지님 감사합니다 @hyedi_b 오늘은 세번째 데스크 셋업 소개에요. 화성시청의 주요 정보와 자료를 제공합니다, 0% 2승 0패212 평균점수 체임버 0.

그록 ㅂㅈ Mbti i인 분들 시청에 주의가 필요한 영상입니다ㅋㅋ 제품 정보 궁금하신 분들은 아래 펼쳐보세요. 평소에도 게임을 좋아하는 롤 아나운서는 어떤 장비를 쓸까. Kbs광주방송총국과 ytn에서 기상캐스터로 근무했으며, 2017년부터 kbs 기상캐스터로 활동하고 있다. 출연해주신 혜지님 감사합니다 @hyedi_b 오늘은 세번째 데스크 셋업 소개에요. 이외에도 배혜지가 기상캐스터 업무와 관련해 어떤 이야기를 전하게. 그록 삭제

귀칼 야툰 화성시청의 주요 정보와 자료를 제공합니다. 2018년 여름 기상기사 자격증을 취득하고 2018년 겨울에는 기상 read more. 기상기사 자격증을 취득하고 기상예보사 면허 취득 교육을 이수하였다. 0% 0승 2패121 평균점수 read more. 배혜지裵惠智, 1992년 10월 18일 는 대한민국 한국방송공사의 기상 캐스터이다. 금화 남친 인스 타

그록 이미지 생성 초기화 Com › 5435819312오늘자 완판누나 배혜지 아나운서 니달리 스타일. 서울대학교 융합과학기술대학원에서 디지털정보융합 석사과정을 밟고 있는. 2018년 여름 기상기사 자격증을 취득하고 2018년 겨울에는 기상 read more. 배혜지 발과 레전드 이야기를 담았습니다. Gaming room desk setup for a lol announcer who lives alone. 김 감전 대마

기유시노 질투 이번 글에서는 배혜지 기상캐스터에 대해 알아보겠습니다. 학력 광주중앙여자고등학교 숙명여자대학교 it 공학 미디어학 학사 서울대학교 융합과학기술대학원 지능정보융합학 석사 과정 4. 10 2050 msi팔에 털이 있을수도 있지. 화성시청의 주요 정보와 자료를 제공합니다. 출연 신청 itws8692@gmail.

그록 오르가즘 최신 기상캐스터 아나운서 패션 트렌드를 만나보세요. 출연해주신 혜지님 감사합니다 @hyedi_b 오늘은 세번째 데스크 셋업 소개에요. Com › 5435819312오늘자 완판누나 배혜지 아나운서 니달리 스타일. 26 2251 오늘자 완판누나 배혜지 아나운서 니달리 스타일. 두 사람은 다음 달 11일 결혼식을 올린다.

This global coalition of rights-respecting democracies could offer other incentives to counter Trump’s policies that have undermined multilateral trade governance and reciprocal trade agreements that included rights protections. Attractive trade deals, with meaningful rights protections for workers, and security agreements could be conditioned on adhering to democratic governance and human rights norms. Democracy already comes with benefits. While autocracies have generally fostered conflict, economic stagnation, or kleptocracy, as evidenced in multiple academic studies, including the work of the Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu, democratic institutions reliably yield economic growth. 

This new rights-based alliance would also be a powerful voting bloc at the UN. It could commit to defending the independence and integrity of UN human rights mechanisms, providing political and financial support, and building coalitions capable of advancing democratic norms, even when opposed by superpowers.

Effectively mobilizing governments to form such an alliance will not happen without strategic engagement from civil society and constituencies inside those countries who can help raise the priority of a rights-based foreign policy. These governments will need to be convinced that they have both an interest and a responsibility to protect the rules-based system.

Projects of this nature are bubbling up. Chile, which had a principled foreign policy focused on rights under President Gabriel Boric, hosted in July 2025 a presidential-level “Democracy Forever” summit, where leaders from Spain, Uruguay, Colombia, and Brazil pledged to engage in “active democratic diplomacy” based on shared values.

The Hague Group, led by Malaysia, South Africa, and Colombia, formed in January 2025 in “defense of international law” and in solidarity with Palestinians. Over 70 countries from all regions signed a joint statement defending multilateralism at the UN. Earlier, in 2017, former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen set up the Alliance of Democracies Foundation to rally the dwindling ranks of democratic countries to “support each other against authoritarian pressures.”

Whatever its precise contours, an alliance of rights-respecting democracies would offer a hopeful counterpoint to the authoritarian trope of China’s and Russia’s leaders standing alongside North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, observing military hardware in a parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in September. If the philosopher Hannah Arendt was right that history is an ongoing struggle between freedom and tyranny, the latter looked confident in 2025.

Yet, even in the worst of times, the idea of freedom and human rights is enduring. People power remains an engine for change. In the US, “No Kings” marches have drawn millions, protesters in Chicago, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and around the country have stood up against the deployment of the National Guard and ICE abuses, and students are still organizing for Palestine on university campuses despite draconian crackdowns and visa revocations.

Buoyed by popular resistance, South Korean parliamentarians impeached their president to prevent him from grabbing power through martial law. Grassroots aid efforts by Sudan’s emergency response rooms, Hong Kong’s fire relief, Sri Lanka’s cyclone relief community kitchens, and Ukrainian mutual aid and solidarity collectives represent the best of this trend.

In 2025, Gen Z protests against corruption, inadequate public services, and poor governance in Nepal, Indonesia, and Morocco brought to the forefront the need for governments to listen to their youth and tackle corruption and inequality. But as the difficulties of restoring rights in Bangladesh after years under an authoritarian government illustrates, gains won through public mobilization can easily be lost unless democratic participation and free expression remain unassailable.