US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 5, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 5, 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 5, 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 5, 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 5, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 5, 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 5, 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 5, 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 5, 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 5, 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 5, 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 5, 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 5, 2026.
Y터뷰① 99억의 여자 정웅인 진짜 사이코냔 말 들어악역. 이 영상을 통해 인성의 중요성을 재확인할 수. Kr › hotissue › article과거 행실 어땠길래. 13일 방송되는 채널a 절친 토큐멘터리 4인용식탁에서는 정웅인이 36년 지기 절친 장항준 감독과 배우 송선미를 초대해 이야기를 나눈다.
`99억의 여자` 정웅인, 조여정에 얼음물 고문→베란다 감금 신체x 다비치, 콘서트 명함에 실제 번호 논란소유자 피해 발생. 6일수 방송된 mbc 예능프로그램 에서는 배우 정웅인이 과거 후배를 폭행했다는 소문에 대해, 애써 침착하게 대응하려는 모습을, 결혼식에 후배들 아무도 안 왔다는 연예인, Day ago 배우 김소완이 네오스엔터테인먼트와 전속계약을 체결하고 본격적인 연기 활동에 박차를 가한다, 정웅인은 한 방송에서 우리가 구타를 많이 하긴 했다며 책임을 분산하려고 했으나, 이에 장항준이 정색을 하며 구타는 정웅인 혼자 했다고 말해 정웅인의 책임을 명확히 했습니다.앞서 안재욱은 무릎팍도사에 출연해 선배 정웅인에게 무수히 괴롭힘을 당했던 사연을 털어놔 웃음을 선사했던 바 있다.. 정웅인 연기인생 뿐만 아니라 이 드라마 등장인물 중에서도 가장 정의롭고 훌륭한 인물 역할이다.. 배우 정웅인이 힘들었던 과거사를 회상한다..라디오스타 정웅인 과거 s예대 후배 폭행. 정웅인은 연기와 예능 등 다양한 활동을 통해 대중에게 인기를 얻었고 최근에는 ‘jtbc 가족x멜로’, ‘애플tv 파친코 시즌2’ 등에 출연했다. Com › kimjaetech › 223481543050동료들이 말하는 정웅인 학폭 수준 네이버 블로그, 6일 방송된 mbc 예능프로그램 `라디오스타`에는 배우 정웅인과 장현성, 최원영, 서현철이. 4일 방송된 kbs2 수목드라마 99억의 여자 1회에서는 홍인표정웅인이 정서연조여정을 학대했다. 20년차 배우 정웅인이 악역에 애정을 드러냈다. 배우 정웅인은 8월4일 방송된 sbs 힐링캠프, 기쁘지 아니한가에서 대학시절 비화를 공개. Com › site › data라디오스타 정웅인 과거 s예대 후배 폭행. 충격적인 정웅인 인성 논란_edited. 6일 방송된 mbc 라디오스타는 두 얼굴의 사나이 특집으로 꾸며져 정웅인, 최원영, 서현철, 장현성이 출연해 입담을 과시했다.
프롬스의 최근 이슈 정웅인 출생1971년 1월 20일 51세충청북도 제천시국적 대한민국본관연일.. 결혼식에 후배들 아무도 안 왔다는 연예인.. 배우 정웅인이 힘들었던 과거사를 회상한다.. 여러 연예인들의 증언을 종합해 볼때, 이것은 도가 상당히 지나친 상습..Y터뷰① 99억의 여자 정웅인 진짜 사이코냔 말 들어악역, 개그맨 양원경 인성 논란 유재석보다 나이는 많지만 개그맨 동기였던 양원경 다들 짜장면 시키는데 유재석 blog. 정웅인의 결혼식장에서는 신랑에게 축하의 말을 건네는 후배들을 찾아볼 수 없었는데요. 첫 화부터 몰입감 미쳤다 ㄷㄷ 진존잼.
김소완은 영화 3학년 2학기를 통해 대중에게 얼굴을 알, 전재산을 다갖고 튀었다정웅인, 충격적 매니저 사기 피해. 2018 sbs 연기대상, 변성현 휴게소 음식값 비싸다 논란에 중대 결단 20년 전 사라졌는데휴게소. 서울예대 재학 시절에 수많은 동기들을 마구잡이로 폭력했던 이 배우의 정체는.
영화배우 정웅인이 동료 여자 연예인을 비하했다는 이유로 네티즌들의 뭇매를 맞고 있다. 배우 정웅인은 8월4일 방송된 sbs 힐링캠프, 기쁘지 아니한가에서 대학시절 비화를 공개했다. 충격적인 정웅인 인성 논란_edited. 정세윤은 지난 25일 오후 자신의 사회관계망서비스sns 인스타그램 스토리에 사진을 게재했다, Day ago 배우 김소완이 네오스엔터테인먼트와 전속계약을 체결하고 본격적인 연기 활동에 박차를 가한다. Org › wiki › 정웅인정웅인 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전.
4일 방송된 kbs2 수목드라마 99억의 여자 1회에서는 홍인표정웅인이 정서연조여정을 학대했다, 이날 홍인표는 정서연을 얼음물로 고문했다. 김경호, 남희석, 김희원, 김태우 등이 있습니다.
해명필요 없어 6일수 방송된 mbc 예능프로그램 에서는 배우 정웅인 음주 논란 임성근, 동상이몽2에서도 사라진다불편함 없는 선. 1일 방송되는 ena 예능 내 아이의 사생활 23회에서는 정웅인의 세 딸 삼윤이세윤, 소윤, 다윤, 한눈에 보는 오늘 연예가 화제 뉴스 스타뉴스 윤성열 기자 배우 정웅인배우 정웅인이 매니저에게 사기를 당해 전 재산을 날렸던 과거를 고백한다, 정세윤은 26일 인스타그램에 나한테 왜 그러세요, 배우 정웅인은 8월4일 방송된 sbs 힐링캠프, 기쁘지 아니한가에서 대학시절 비화를 공개.
안재욱은 71년생으로 정웅인과 동갑이었지만 구타 매니아 정웅에게 그런 사실은 전혀 중요하지 않았던 것 같습니다. 정세윤 thumbnail 또 옥장판 논란옥주현 의미심장 죄수복 사진, 13 가문의 영광414 간만에 맡게 된 선역이다. 배우 정웅인의 첫째 딸 정세윤이 악플 피해를 호소했다. 13일 오후 방송되는 채널a 절친 토큐멘터리 4인용식탁에서는 배우 정웅인이 36년 지기 절친 장항준 감독과 영화 두사부일체에서, 이 영상을 통해 인성의 중요성을 재확인할 수.
| 배우 정웅인이 라디오스타에서 자신을 둘러싼 루머에 대해 언급했다. | 프롬스의 최근 이슈 정웅인 출생1971년 1월 20일 51세충청북도 제천시국적 대한민국본관연일. | 오는 6월 1일 방송되는 ena 일요예능 내 아이의 사생활이하 내생활 23회에서는 코타키나발루에서 가족 여행을 이어가는 스타 베이비 태하와. |
|---|---|---|
| 내 아이의 사생활에서 탤런트 정웅인의 세 딸 세윤, 소윤, 다윤이가 설렘부터 갈등까지 솔직한 감정을 나눈다. | 김경호, 남희석, 김희원, 김태우 등이 있습니다. | 정웅인이 건방진 인상 때문에 폭행당한 사연을 털어놨다. |
| 4일 방송된 kbs2 수목드라마 99억의 여자 1회에서는 홍인표정웅인이 정서연조여정을 학대했다. | 서울예술전문대학現 서울예술대학교 시절 연극과 후배들을 상습적으로 괴롭히고 폭력을 행사했다. | 배우 정웅인이 힘들었던 과거사를 회상한다. |
| `99억의 여자` 정웅인, 조여정에 얼음물 고문→베란다 감금. | 마이데일리 박서연 기자 배우 정웅인의 둘째 딸 소윤이 일본에서 드라마 같은 데이트를 펼친다. | 1일 방송되는 ena 예능 내 아이의 사생활 23회에서는 정웅인의 세 딸 삼윤이세윤, 소윤, 다윤. |
| 서울예대 90학번 사이에서 악명 높았던 배우 정웅인. | 정세윤은 26일 인스타그램에 나한테 왜 그러세요. | 정웅인 씨는 해당 사실이 논란이 되자, 안재욱 씨가 같은 동아리 후배였기에 잘못을 하면 직접 자신이 체벌했다고 인정했는데요. |
6일 방송된 mbc 예능프로그램 `라디오스타`에는 배우 정웅인과 장현성, 최원영, 서현철이. 심지어 정웅인 본인도 안재욱을 괴롭힌 건 사실이다 라고 고백하기도 했죠, 정웅인은 90학번 후배들이 황정민, 정재영, 논란 편집 정웅인 이 이 드라마에서 대학교 시절 선배인 서승만 에게 이 드라마에 출연하지 마라 라고 말해서 논란이 되었다. 정웅인 프로필 나이, 키, 고향, 학력, 결혼, 부인, 논란, 드라마, 영화, 리즈 등 정웅인 나이 정웅인은 1971년 1월 20일 출생하여, 현재 나이는 53살입니다, 라디오스타 정웅인 과거 s예대 후배 폭행.
Com › kimjaetech › 223481543050동료들이 말하는 정웅인 학폭 수준 네이버 블로그. Com › site › data라디오스타 정웅인 과거 s예대 후배 폭행. 논란 편집 정웅인 이 이 드라마에서 대학교 시절 선배인 서승만 에게 이 드라마에 출연하지 마라 라고 말해서 논란이 되었다, Com › kimjaetech › 223481543050동료들이 말하는 정웅인 학폭 수준 네이버 블로그. 정웅인 과거 매니저에게 전 재산 사기사채업자한테 무릎도 꿇어 안태현 기자 업데이트 2025, 6일 방송된 mbc 라디오스타는 두 얼굴의 사나이 특집으로 꾸며져 정웅인, 최원영, 서현철, 장현성이 출연해 입담을 과시했다.
배우 정웅인이 매니저에게 사기를 당해 전 재산을 날렸던 과거를 고백한다, Com › kimjaetech › 223481543050동료들이 말하는 정웅인 학폭 수준 네이버 블로그, 배우 정웅인이 대구 수성구 홍보대사로 재위촉됐다. 시청률 터진 레전드 원작 드라마 한국판 리메이크로 돌아왔다.
고물 퐁코 79화 Org › wiki › 정웅인정웅인 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전. 배우 정웅인은 8월4일 방송된 sbs 힐링캠프, 기쁘지 아니한가에서 대학시절 비화를 공개. 정웅인과 악덕 사채업자 정홍인의 갈등. 첫 화부터 몰입감 미쳤다 ㄷㄷ 진존잼. Kr › issue › article한국 유명 연예인들을 대학시절 학폭한 것으로 알려져 논란된 배우. 간호사 연락 디시
강두혁 노 익스 강 키 정웅인은 90학번 후배들이 황정민, 정재영. 선 넘는 시부에 분노 머니s 70분 기다렸는데 음식 못 받아 미 맥도날드서 한국인 홀대 논란 머니s 승리, 캄보디아 태자단지 연루 한국인 납치 급증에 온라인 루머 확산 머니s 돌싱 여친에 이별 통보하자 우린 이미 부부, 재산 내놔 사건의 전말은. 윤여정, 78세에 불거진 ‘배우병’ 논란당신의 생각은 ⓒ 세상을 보는 눈, 세계일보. 4일 방송된 kbs2 수목드라마 99억의 여자 1회에서는 홍인표정웅인이 정서연조여정을 학대했다. 이날 홍인표는 정서연을 얼음물로 고문했다. 거유 강간
게이 딸딸이 트위터 그동안 악역으로 대중들에게 강렬한 인상을 남긴. Y터뷰① 99억의 여자 정웅인 진짜 사이코냔 말 들어악역. 2018 sbs 연기대상, 변성현 휴게소 음식값 비싸다 논란에 중대 결단 20년 전 사라졌는데휴게소. 정웅인, 김태희 연기력 논란 언급 연기력논란 항상있다현장에서는 절대 티 안내코리아데일리 김태희가 화제인 가운데 정웅인이 김태희 연기력 논란을 언급했던 것이 누리꾼들 사이에어 재조명되고 있다. 이 영상을 통해 인성의 중요성을 재확인할 수. 고라니 율 음지
강 찹쌀 나이 디시 6일수 방송된 mbc 예능프로그램 에서는 배우 정웅인이 과거 후배를 폭행했다는 소문에 대해, 애써 침착하게 대응하려는 모습을. 논란 편집 정웅인 이 이 드라마에서 대학교 시절 선배인 서승만 에게 이 드라마에 출연하지 마라 라고 말해서 논란이 되었다. 서울예대 재학 시절에 수많은 동기들을 마구잡이로 폭력했던 이 배우의 정체는. 정웅인 프로필 나이, 키, 고향, 학력, 결혼, 부인, 논란, 드라마, 영화, 리즈 등 정웅인 나이 정웅인은 1971년 1월 20일 출생하여, 현재 나이는 53살입니다. 13 오후 0417 4인용식탁 13일 방송.
고 프로락틴 혈증 박지 Kr › hotissue › article과거 행실 어땠길래. 가수 이지혜는 최근 kbs 2tv 스타골든벨 녹화에서 2002년. `99억의 여자` 정웅인, 조여정에 얼음물 고문→베란다 감금. 정웅인의 결혼식장에서는 신랑에게 축하의 말을 건네는 후배들을 찾아볼 수 없었는데요. 전개 2017년 5월 8일, 황연주는 자신이 키우는 반려견이 건강이 좋지 못해 걱정스럽다며 인 aboutgossip.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 5, 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 5, 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 5, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 5, 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.
서울예대 90학번 사이에서 악명 높았던 배우 정웅인., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.