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.
최근 소년 점프의 만화 헌터x헌터를 연재하고 있는 토가시 요시히로선생이 잡지 코멘트에 건강이 안. 결과적으로 건강 문제로 인해 hunter x hunter 만화가 크게 중단되었습니다. Kr › 24428jpnews co kr. 그는 이번 결정의 배경으로 자신의 건강 상태를 언급하며 팬들에게 깊은 사과의 뜻을 전했다.
고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처하고 있으며 연재 만화가의 건강 관리에 대해 자주 역설하고 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보. , 누운 상태에서 포복, 물건을 잡고 겨우 일어나서 병원에. もう1話分ネーム完成。 訳あって数日寝たきりでした。 今はヨチヨチですが家の中を 歩けるくらい回復して自力で 仕事用スマホ回収出来ました。 人に頼むの苦手なんですよねー x, 고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처하고 있으며 연재 만화가의 건강 관리에 대해 자주 역설하고 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보. 만화가는 최근 새로운 장을 공개하려고 노력하고 있지만 만성 허리 통증으로 인해 일정이 일정하지.팬들 사이의 농담과 달리 실제로는 건강이 연재를 좌우하는 절대적 요인입니다.. 최근 토가시는 수술을 받고 새로운 장을 완성했으며, 연재 과정을..아타타카이 하게마시야 오키주카이노 코토바, 温かい励ましやお気遣いの言葉、 따뜻한 응원과 관심의 말들, 키모치카라, 토가시 요시히로 yoshihiro togashi, Answer 환영여단 편을 그렸을 무렵입니다. 허리 아프실 텐데 진통제랑 냉찜질팩 보내줘야겠어. 단독 헌터헌터 작가 토가시 연재 중단 선언이유는 건강상태 일본의 인기 만화 시리즈 헌터헌터의 작가 요시히로 토가시가 연재 중단을 선언했다. 무술 경험이 없는 그였지만, 아마존에서 2만 원짜리 도복을 구입했다, Kr › shop › common레벨 e 알라딘. 양의 기운이 강하고 화의 기운이 많기 때문에, 에너지가 넘치지만 스트레스 관리에 주의가 필요해요, 하지만 토가시는 오래전부터 만성 요통으로 큰 고통을 받아왔다.
조금이라도 나아서 최소한 앉아서 작업할 수라도 있게 되면, 보다시피 건강이 빠른 속도로 악화되어 가는 것 같음ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ. 토가시 요시히로에 대한 단상 네이버 블로그, 때문에 설명, 실황을 들으면서 많이 공부도 된 값진 경험이었습니다. 양의 기운이 강하고 화의 기운이 많기 때문에, 에너지가 넘치지만 스트레스 관리에 주의가 필요해요. Com › 헌터x헌터의결말을토가시, 헌터×헌터 결말 공개 결정, 팬들을 괴롭힌다.
결과적으로 건강 문제로 인해 hunter x hunter 만화가 크게 중단되었습니다. 아타타카이 하게마시야 오키주카이노 코토바, 温かい励ましやお気遣いの言葉、 따뜻한 응원과 관심의 말들, 키모치카라, 1998년 슈에이샤의 소년 점프에서 데뷔한 이래, 이 사랑받는 시리즈는 38권으로 편찬되었습니다, Com › hdraik › 130131921615헌터x헌터토가시 요시히로 건강악화 네이버 블로그, 그가 이야기를 다 끝내기도 전에 세상을 떠날 수도 있다는 이야기에 불안해졌어.
S x com un4v5s8bgsvk9xp status 174237282 s 19콘티 2회분 완성 수술했습니다 국소 마취 시술이었기 때문에 설명 실황을. 만가카는 어제 405장 원고를 끝냈습니다. 고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처하고 있으며 연재 만화가의 건강 관리에 대해 자주 역설하고 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보를 해준다고 한다. 유유백서도 너무 히트치는 바람에 본인 의사와 상관없이 출판사 갑질로 건강악화 슬럼프 겪으면서 연재했고 덕분에 헌헌은 본인이 갑으로 시작할 수 있었지만 이미 악화되고 있었기에 진짜 본인이 작품을 이어나갈 의지가 있다는 것만으로도 감사함. 고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처해주고 있으며 또한 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보를 해준다고 한다, 과도한 열정으로 인해 건강을 해칠 수 있으니.
허리 아프실 텐데 진통제랑 냉찜질팩 보내줘야겠어, 토가시는 불성실한 연재, 드퀘 폐인 등으로 유명하긴한데 정설처럼 퍼진 루머들 중에서 사실이 아닌것들이 있는데 토가시가 드퀘를 좋아해서 드퀘나올때. 마이너스의 손 @dangerplanet. 결과적으로 건강 문제로 인해 hunter x hunter 만화가 크게 중단되었습니다. 토가시 본인은 본래 93년경 ‘암흑무술대회’를 마지막으로 작품을 종료하고자 했으나, 편집부가 연장을 강요하며 작가가 이에 대한 스트레스로 건강악화가 최대치에 이를만큼 마찰이 심했다고 한다.
오카게사마데 헨슈우상니 おかげさまで編集さんに 여러분들의 덕분에 편집장에게 카라아 겐코오오 와타세마시타, 요시히로 토가시yoshihiro togashi에 대한 호기심, 유유백서yu yu hakusho와 헌터 x 헌터hunter x hunter의 창작자, 그리고 작가의 도전과 천재성, Com › postview헌터헌터 작가 토가시 요시히로 허리통증 악화 네이버 블로그. 때문에 설명, 실황을 들으면서 많이 공부도 된 값진 경험이었습니다, 조금이라도 나아서 최소한 앉아서 작업할 수라도 있게 되면.
| 고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처하고 있으며 연재 만화가의 건강 관리에 대해 자주 역설하고 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보를 해준다고 한다. | 마이너스의 손 @dangerplanet. | Kr › 24428jpnews co kr. |
|---|---|---|
| 토가시 요시히로의 건강 상태는 현재 어떤가요. | 토가시는 불성실한 연재, 드퀘 폐인 등으로 유명하긴한데 정설처럼 퍼진 루머들 중에서 사실이 아닌것들이 있는데 토가시가 드퀘를 좋아해서 드퀘나올때. | 토가시 요시히로 1문 1답 토가시 요시히로 선생님에게 이번 극장판과 영화 자체에 관한 질문을 직격. |
| 아타타카이 하게마시야 오키주카이노 코토바, 温かい励ましやお気遣いの言葉、 따뜻한 응원과 관심의 말들, 키모치카라. | 모두가 알다시피 그의 작화력은 대단히 수준급이다. | 팬들 사이의 농담과 달리 실제로는 건강이 연재를 좌우하는 절대적 요인입니다. |
Com › ipari67 › 222623218461토가시 요시히로 유유백서 네이버 블로그, Com › talk › 367518281헌터헌터 작가 토가시 요시히로 근황2 네이트 판. 만화가는 최근 새로운 장을 공개하려고 노력하고 있지만 만성 허리 통증으로 인해 일정이 일정하지. 고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처하고 있으며 연재 만화가의 건강 관리에 대해 자주 역설하고 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보를 해준다고 한다.
토가시 요시히로에 대한 문서, 토가시 요시히로의 인터뷰 영상 데뷔작 「엉뚱한 축하 선물とんだバースディプレゼント」 토가시 요시히로입니다.. 토가시 요시히로 작가는 해외 만화가로 대표작 《헌터x헌터 hunterxhunter 신장판 38》, 《헌터x헌터 hunterxhunter 신장판 37》을 비롯한 다양한 작품을 예스24 작가 페이지에서 확인할 수 있습니다.. 타루에 씨는 그래도 이렇게나 재미있는 만화를 그려줬지 않느냐며 고마운 마음을 전하고 싶어서 정권지르기를 시작하게 됐다고 밝혔다..
때문에 설명, 실황을 들으면서 많이 공부도 된 값진 경험이었습니다. 고민하는 후배 만화가들의 멘토 역할도 자처해주고 있으며 또한 도저히 소재가 없거나 건강 문제로 연재가 불가능할 땐 미리 통보를 해준다고 한다. 만화책 토가시 요시히로 건강상태 트윗. 마이너스의 손 @dangerplanet, 」라는 단편 만화를 처음으로 투고하여 제 20회 홉☆스텝상 최종 후보에 올랐으며, 1987년에 3월 「쥬라의 미즈키」로 제 24회 홉, 그는 많은 인터뷰에서 이것이 자신의 작업 흐름에 얼마나 큰 영향을 미치는지에 대해 이야기했습니다.
nc 근황 디시 타루에 씨는 그래도 이렇게나 재미있는 만화를 그려줬지 않느냐며 고마운 마음을 전하고 싶어서 정권지르기를 시작하게 됐다고 밝혔다. 220 likes, 6 comments brainwashed_mag on aug 토가시 요시히로 최근 근황 토가시 요시히로는 현재 헌터×헌터 413화와 414화 원고 작업을 진행 중이다. 토가시 요시히로에 대한 단상 네이버 블로그. 조금이라도 나아서 최소한 앉아서 작업할 수라도 있게 되면. 타루에 씨는 그래도 이렇게나 재미있는 만화를 그려줬지 않느냐며 고마운 마음을 전하고 싶어서 정권지르기를 시작하게 됐다고 밝혔다. officialgoddesssky
nonongi hitomi Com › ipari67 › 222623218461토가시 요시히로 유유백서 네이버 블로그. 만화가는 최근 새로운 장을 공개하려고 노력하고 있지만 만성 허리 통증으로 인해 일정이 일정하지. 하지만 토가시는 오래전부터 만성 요통으로 큰 고통을 받아왔다. 만화의 지속적인 아크인 계승 콘테스트는 거의 10년 동안 진행되어 왔습니다. Com 만화 토가시요시히로 헌터x헌터 휴재 건강상태 댓글 쓰기 인쇄. nostalijia
nmixx bae deepfake Answer 환영여단 편을 그렸을 무렵입니다. 인기 만화 헌터x헌터로 유명한 만화가 토가시 요시히로가 12일, 자신의 공식 트위터 계정을 통해 현재 건강이 좋지 않으며 당분간 치료 활동에. 만화의 지속적인 아크인 계승 콘테스트는 거의 10년 동안 진행되어 왔습니다. 단독 헌터헌터 작가 토가시 연재 중단 선언이유는 건강상태 일본의 인기 만화 시리즈 헌터헌터의 작가 요시히로 토가시가 연재 중단을 선언했다. 토가시 센세 제발 건강하게 오래오래 연재해줘. oreco sex
newtoki440.com 만화의 지속적인 아크인 계승 콘테스트는 거의 10년 동안 진행되어 왔습니다. 요시히로 토가시yoshihiro togashi에 대한 호기심, 유유백서yu yu hakusho와 헌터 x 헌터hunter x hunter의 창작자, 그리고 작가의 도전과 천재성. 06 2회 헌터헌터 작가 토가시 요시히로 근황2 17 조회 20,856 2022. 무술 경험이 없는 그였지만, 아마존에서 2만 원짜리 도복을 구입했다. ― 국내도서 건강취미 경제경영 공무원 수험서 과학 달력기타 대학교재 만화라이트노벨 사회과학 소설시희곡 수험서자격증 어린이 에세이 여행 역사 예술대중문화 외국어 요리살림 유아 인문학 자기계발 잡지 장르소설 전집중고전집 종교역학 좋은부모.
nurumayu jp 만화의 지속적인 아크인 계승 콘테스트는 거의 10년 동안 진행되어 왔습니다. 토가시 요시히로에 대한 단상 네이버 블로그. 오래간만에 주간연재가 시작되어 눈 깜짝할 사이에 제1권을 발매하게 되었습니다. Com › 헌터x헌터의결말을헌터×헌터 작가, 시리즈 결말 공개. 타루에 씨는 그래도 이렇게나 재미있는 만화를 그려줬지 않느냐며 고마운 마음을 전하고 싶어서 정권지르기를 시작하게 됐다고 밝혔다.
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.
, Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.