US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, August 18, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, August 18, 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, August 18, 2026. © 2025 Marton Monus/Reuters; SECOND: University students confront riot police in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, August 18, 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, August 18, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 2026.
끝까지 읽어보시고 2025년 철도신호기사 시험 정보 얻어가세요. 모쪼록 신호를 준비하시는 분들 취준생 여러분들에게 도움이 되셨으면 좋겠구요. 전기기사 봤을때 보다 더 안나오는거 같다 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ. 철도신호기사 철도차량기사 초음파비파괴검사기사 초음파비파괴검사기사구 철도신호기사 철도차량기사 초음파비파괴검사기사 초음파비파괴검사기사구.
Com › entry › 서울교통공사서울교통공사 필기시험 후기 및 복원23년 하반기 신호, 난이도도 그렇고 문제 유형도 제가 공부했던 책으로 많은 도움이 되었구요, Com › mgallery › board전기기사 따고 철도신호 설계일 하고 있다 한국교통대 마이너 갤러.| 끝까지 읽어보시고 2025년 철도신호기사 시험 정보 얻어가세요. | 하는 일 철도신호산업기사는 주로 다음과 같은 업무를 수행합니다 철도 신호장치를 관리하고 취급하는 업무를 담당합니다. | 전체 기능사 산업기사 기사 기능장 공무원. |
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| 이 시험은 단순한 지식을 요구하는 것이 아니라, 철도 시스템의 복잡성을 이해하고 이를 실천적으로 적용하는 능력을 평가합니다. | 난이도도 그렇고 문제 유형도 제가 공부했던 책으로 많은 도움이 되었구요. | 전기 쌍기사 있는데 신호쪽 가려하거든 근데 신호쪽을 암것도몰라서 나중에 면접대비 철교안같은거 공부하면서 따는게 어떤가 하고 시간낭비야. |
| 서울시메트로9호선 채용 고객안전원 뽑을때 기사나 철도관련 자격증 없으면 못 붙나요. | 실기 철도신호기사 실기의 경우 다른 대다수의 시험 필답형과 다르게 작업형입니다. | 철도신호산업기사는 철도수송에 있어서 선로 및 차량과 함께 3대 안전설비에 드는 것으로 매우 중요한 기능을 하는 철도신호설비에 대한 기술기초지식을 소지하고 복합적인 기능업무를 수행할 수 있는 인력을 양성하려는 목적을 지닌 국가기술자격증이다. |
| 동생이 면접 잘봤는데 떨어저서 우울해합니다 ㅜ 아시는분. | 카페에서 발행하는 필기대비서 책을 신청해서 준비를 하셔도되구요. | 철도공부를 하는 사람들이 모여 서로 지식을 나누는 카페입니다. |
| 끝까지 읽어보시고 2025년 철도신호기사 시험 정보 얻어가세요. | 코레일 서교공 매번 떨어지고 작년에 네오트랜스는 2차 면접까지 갔는데 거기서 떨어져서 중소기업 기웃거리다가 철도신호 관련 중소 들어가서 일하고 있다 설계일 하면서 발주처주로 서교공 관계자 만나면 부럽더라. | 공개문제 자료실 상세 qnet 공개문제와 네이버카페 후기들을 참고해 보셔서 어떻게 준비해갈지 큰 틀을 정하시면 될 것 같습니다. |
철도신호 과정있는 학원이 전국에 3개도 안됨. Com › signal0115 › 223880103520자격증 철도신호기사 필기 합격 후기. 처음보는것도 많았고 외울것도 오지게 많았음 암기 부분에선 전기기사의 kec를 다시 공부하던 느낌, 철도신호산업기사 필기단과 신호기기 이론+문제 과정 30일 합격특강.
Url 복사 이웃추가 2025년도 철도신호산업기사 자격증 독학 4개월만에 취득법 2025년도 철도신호산업기사 자격증 독학 4개월만에 취득법 2025년도 철도신호산업기사 자격증 독학 4개월만에 취득법 안녕하세요, 여러분, 철도신호기사는 철도에서 열차의 안전운행과 수송능력의 향상을 도모하기 위하여 철도의 신호장치, 선로전환장치, 궤도회로 장치, 연동장치, 폐색장치, 건널목 보안장치, 기타 안전설비 등과 같은 신호장치를 관리, 취급하는 업무를 수행한다, 22, 데일리 테마2차전지 등,반도체 관련주,초전도체 핵융합에너지,화장품,우크라이나 재건 등,호텔리조트,증권,철강 주요종목 철강 중소형,자율주행차,정치 read more. 이 시험은 단순한 지식을 요구하는 것이 아니라, 철도 시스템의 복잡성을 이해하고 이를 실천적으로 적용하는 능력을 평가합니다, 전기, 전자, 통신, 기계, 컴퓨터 등을 전공으로 하는 4년제 대학교 에 다닌다면 4학년 때부터 기사 응시가 가능하다. 신청부터 쫄리네 ㅠ 예비발행 블록체인에 nft 발행 전 디시인사이드 db에 우선 nft 정보를 저장한 상태 실발행 예비발행한 nft가 판매가 완료되어 클레이튼 블록체인에 nft를 발행한 상태.
전기, 전자, 통신, 기계, 컴퓨터 등을 전공으로 하는 4년제 대학교 에 다닌다면 4학년 때부터 기사 응시가 가능하다.. 철도판 현직자분들 있으신가요 공기업 마이너 갤러리.. 신호공학에 대한 공부를 짧게 했었는데 저는 솔직히 운이 많이 따라주었다고 생각합니다.. 학교 시험과 공모전을 병행하느라 실제로 집중해서 공부한 기간은 약 2주 남짓밖에 되지 않았습니다..
총점 70으로 합격함 참고로 회로이론 및 제어공학은 기존 전기기사를 취득해서 면제 받음 과목별 후기전자공학득점 70공부 초반에 빡쎘던 과목중 하나였음 물론 대학때 배우긴 했지만 학점 씹창난 과목이기도 했고 그, 학교 시험과 공모전을 병행하느라 실제로 집중해서 공부한 기간은 약 2주 남짓밖에 되지 않았습니다, 철도신호기사란 한국 산업인력공단에서 시행하는 철도신호기사 자격시험에 합격하여 그 자격을 취득한 자를 말합니다. Com › board › view철도신호기사라고 아는 사람. 공개문제 자료실 상세 qnet 공개문제와 네이버카페 후기들을 참고해 보셔서 어떻게 준비해갈지 큰 틀을 정하시면 될 것 같습니다, 늘 그렇듯 취미와 학문은 비례하지 않는다.
오늘은 철도 안전의 숨은 영웅, 철도신호기사에 대해 자세히 알아보겠습니다, 철도공부를 하는 사람들이 모여 서로 지식을 나누는 카페입니다. 하는 일 철도신호산업기사는 주로 다음과 같은 업무를 수행합니다 철도 신호장치를 관리하고 취급하는 업무를 담당합니다, 철도신호기사 자격증, 응시자격, 필기실기, 시험일정, 전망등 한눈에 보기 네이버 블로그. 철도신호기사란 한국 산업인력공단에서 시행하는 철도신호기사 자격시험에 합격하여 그 자격을 취득한 자를 말합니다. Com › mgallery › board전기기사 따고 철도신호 설계일 하고 있다 한국교통대 마이너 갤러.
코레일 사무 합격수기 일반 코레일 사무 합격수기 일반 3 06. 철도전기신호기능사 먼저 따고나서 철도관련업체에 일하고 난후 몇년뒤에 철도신호 산업기사, 철도신호기사, 기술사 이렇게 자격증 따나가는 건가요. 신청부터 쫄리네 ㅠ 예비발행 블록체인에 nft 발행 전 디시인사이드 db에 우선 nft 정보를 저장한 상태 실발행 예비발행한 nft가 판매가 완료되어 클레이튼 블록체인에 nft를 발행한 상태. Com › signal0115 › 223880103520자격증 철도신호기사 필기 합격 후기, 전체 기능사 산업기사 기사 기능장 공무원. 철도신호기사 engineer railroad signal apparatus 관련부처 국토교통부 시행기관 한국산업인력공단.
하는 일 철도신호산업기사는 주로 다음과 같은 업무를 수행합니다 철도 신호장치를 관리하고 취급하는 업무를 담당합니다. Com › musti502 › 222313765077철도신호기사 합격후기 네이버 블로그, 철도신호기사 실기시험은 작업형으로 큐넷 사이트에서 총 4개의 유형의 문제가 공개되어 있습니다, 이 시험은 단순한 지식을 요구하는 것이 아니라, 철도 시스템의 복잡성을 이해하고 이를 실천적으로 적용하는 능력을 평가합니다, Com › mgallery › board광역시 도시철도 신호직 후기 공기업 마이너 갤러리, 철도신호기사도 따고 싶은데, 실기가 작업형인게 좀 그렇군.
전기, 전자, 통신, 기계, 컴퓨터 등을 전공으로 하는 4년제 대학교 에 다닌다면 4학년 때부터 기사 응시가 가능하다, 철도신호기사 자격증을 취득하면 어디에 취업할 수 있나요. Url 복사 이웃추가 철도신호기사 자격증 응시자격과 필기 기출문제로 준비하는 방법 철도신호기사 자격증 응시자격과 필기 기출문제로 준비하는 방법 철도신호기사 자격증 응시자격과 필기 기출문제로 준비하는 방법. 개요 편집 철도신호기사는 신호장비에 대한 전문지식과 기술을 갖춘 전문기술인력을 양성하려는 목적을 지닌 국가기술자격증이다. Com › mgallery › board전기기사 따고 철도신호 설계일 하고 있다 한국교통대 마이너 갤러.
komi.la 철도전기신호기능사 먼저 따고나서 철도관련업체에 일하고 난후 몇년뒤에 철도신호 산업기사, 철도신호기사, 기술사 이렇게 자격증 따나가는 건가요. 철도신호기사 자격증을 취득하면 어디에 취업할 수 있나요. 철도신호기사 철도차량기사 초음파비파괴검사기사 초음파비파괴검사기사구 철도신호기사 철도차량기사 초음파비파괴검사기사 초음파비파괴검사기사구. 지금은 다른거 하고있는데 할일없어서 썰 풀어봄 신호직이 뭐하는거냐면 말그대로임 신호설비 유지보수 하는거임 신호설비엔 신호기 선로전환기 궤도. 코레일 사무 합격수기 일반 코레일 사무 합격수기 일반 3 06. jntr 디시
kissjav 걸림 22, 데일리 테마2차전지 등,반도체 관련주,초전도체 핵융합에너지,화장품,우크라이나 재건 등,호텔리조트,증권,철강 주요종목 철강 중소형,자율주행차,정치 read more. 난이도도 그렇고 문제 유형도 제가 공부했던 책으로 많은 도움이 되었구요. 오늘은 철도 안전의 숨은 영웅, 철도신호기사에 대해 자세히 알아보겠습니다. 개요 편집 철도신호기사는 신호장비에 대한 전문지식과 기술을 갖춘 전문기술인력을 양성하려는 목적을 지닌 국가기술자격증이다. 지이테크놀로지 2165 0508 열람중 철도 신호기사 중급이상, 전기기사 중급이상 모십니다 김선선 2944 0514 270 철도신호 중급기술자 초대합니다 김용식 2118 0518 269 중급기술자 초빙 급구 코레일테크 2777 0519 268. kissjav 펨돔 솔비
kapwing 디시 신청부터 쫄리네 ㅠ 예비발행 블록체인에 nft 발행 전 디시인사이드 db에 우선 nft 정보를 저장한 상태 실발행 예비발행한 nft가 판매가 완료되어 클레이튼 블록체인에 nft를 발행한 상태. 철도신호기사 자격증, 응시자격, 필기실기, 시험일정, 전망등 한눈에 보기 네이버 블로그. Korail, 지하철공사, 도시철도공사, 국가철도시설공단 등 공공기관뿐만 아니라 신호보안장치 제조업체 등에서도 근무할 수 있습니다. 인교공 신호직 합격수기 인교공 신호직 합격수기 8 09. 일반 서교공 신호 철도신호기사 신호기기 신호공학 뭘로 공부하냐 공붕이49. kaori_xoxo videos
kodomo doushi hitomi 서울시메트로9호선 채용 고객안전원 뽑을때 기사나 철도관련 자격증 없으면 못 붙나요. 끝까지 읽어보시고 2025년 철도신호기사 시험 정보 얻어가세요. 전기, 전자, 통신, 기계, 컴퓨터 등을 전공으로 하는 4년제 대학교 에 다닌다면 4학년 때부터 기사 응시가 가능하다. 코레일 사무 합격수기 일반 코레일 사무 합격수기 일반 3 06. 신청부터 쫄리네 ㅠ 예비발행 블록체인에 nft 발행 전 디시인사이드 db에 우선 nft 정보를 저장한 상태 실발행 예비발행한 nft가 판매가 완료되어 클레이튼 블록체인에 nft를 발행한 상태.
khjun189 Com › mgallery › board전기기사 따고 철도신호 설계일 하고 있다 한국교통대 마이너 갤러. 신청부터 쫄리네 ㅠ 예비발행 블록체인에 nft 발행 전 디시인사이드 db에 우선 nft 정보를 저장한 상태 실발행 예비발행한 nft가 판매가 완료되어 클레이튼 블록체인에 nft를 발행한 상태. 철도공부를 하는 사람들이 모여 서로 지식을 나누는 카페입니다. 철도신호산업기사는 철도수송에 있어서 선로 및 차량과 함께 3대 안전설비에 드는 것으로 매우 중요한 기능을 하는 철도신호설비에 대한 기술기초지식을 소지하고 복합적인 기능업무를 수행할 수 있는 인력을 양성하려는 목적을 지닌 국가기술자격증이다. 5시전까지ㅈ소 시공사 4년안전전담 2년건설 안전기사품질 중급소방안전1급자격증 취득활용 관련 등 물어보실꺼 있으시면질문주.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on August 18, 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, August 18, 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, August 18, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, August 18, 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.