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.
Com › en_us › helpxray for authors. Aeropost offers international shipping and courier services, providing secure and efficient delivery solutions across latin america and the caribbean. Kindle目前有三個版本，分別是kindle、kindle paperwhite 跟oasis。kindle跟kindle paperwhite長相一樣規格差不多，主要的差別在於有沒有內置燈光。而. 本文首先介绍了作者对kindle阅读器的认识，接着展示了kindle7开箱图片，最后从外观、背光灯、分辨率、软件四个方面对kinle7和kindle paperwhite2进行了对比评测并给出了选购建议。感谢什么值得买值友六哥大的用心分享。.
自2007 年亞馬遜amazon 推出第一台kindle 電子閱讀器後，做為電子書和電子閱讀器的龍頭地位便確立了下來，已成為了全世界最受歡迎且最多人使用的閱讀器品牌.. Kindle电子阅读器诞生于2007年，被认为是亚马逊最成功的硬件产品之一，其采用电子纸屏幕，被认为易于阅读且护眼，还原了阅读纸质书籍的体验。 在kindle电子阅.. Amazon kindle是亚马逊公司设计的一系列电子书阅读器。用户可以通过无线网络使用kindle购买、下载和阅读电子书、报纸、杂志、部落格及其他电子媒体。.. 当亚马逊发布 kindle 新品，或小伙伴们选购 kindle 产品的时候，都免不了需要了解一下目标 kindle 设备硬件方面的技术参数，以便对比不同 kindle 型号之间的差别。 书伴也时常遇有小伙伴们有关硬件参数的询问。..而利用 calibre 传书到 kindle 等设备也是有着媲美 itunes 的体验。 将 kindle 连接电脑后，calibre 会自动调整工具栏， 显示出「设备」窗口。 在「设备」中可以查看 kindle 中已有的图书文件。 此时在书库中 选中想要推送到图书， 选择「发送到设备」 即可。. Kindle是亚马逊公司（amazon）推出的系列电子书阅读器（ereader）品牌，由lab126实验室于2004年开始研发，名称kindle寓意点亮知识与智慧的火焰。 该产品以电子墨水屏（eink） read more, 从入门到进阶，最全面的kindle 使用指南. Kindle 是亚马逊推出的一系列电子书阅读器产品，使用 eink 电子纸显示技术，提供类似纸张的阅读体验。本文介绍了 kindle 从第一代到第十二代的各种型号的特点和区别，以及如何根据自己的需求选择合适的 kindle 阅读器。. Amazon kindle是亚马逊公司设计的一系列电子书阅读器。用户可以通过无线网络使用kindle购买、下载和阅读电子书、报纸、杂志、部落格及其他电子媒体。. Kindle, any of the portable wireless electronic reading devices produced by the american company amazon.
With amazon web services aws, amazon lab126 achieved near infinite scaling and solveragnostic hpc systems, in which any of its workloads can be. From waterproof survival fire starters to allnatural options for camping, find the best fire starter to help you get a fire going. Kindle 是亚马逊推出的一系列电子书阅读器产品，使用 eink 电子纸显示技术，提供类似纸张的阅读体验。本文介绍了 kindle 从第一代到第十二代的各种型号的特点和区别，以及如何根据自己的需求选择合适的 kindle 阅读器。.
当亚马逊发布 kindle 新品，或小伙伴们选购 kindle 产品的时候，都免不了需要了解一下目标 kindle 设备硬件方面的技术参数，以便对比不同 kindle 型号之间的差别。 书伴也时常遇有小伙伴们有关硬件参数的询问。. Amazon kindle是亚马逊公司设计的一系列电子书阅读器。用户可以通过无线网络使用kindle购买、下载和阅读电子书、报纸、杂志、部落格及其他电子媒体。. 进入 kindle 生态系统将为新的阅读、内容管理和学习体验打开大门，其优势超越了虚拟图书馆的简单便携性。 什么是亚马逊 kindle？ kindle 是亚马逊开发的一款电子设备，专门用于阅读电子书、数字报纸和其他兼容内容。. Com › post › 22kindle 使用小技巧之 xray 功能 – 书伴.
我的剪贴是kindle的好用功能，但简单的文本文档形式让阅读体验相当糟糕，所以很有必要对它改造一番，以便更好的复习我们曾经标注过的这些内容。, Kindle 是亚马逊推出的一款电子书阅览器，哪怕我已经用kindle 看了两三年的书，大街上使用kindle 的人依旧寥寥无几，算是一个比较小众的电子产品。 看看账面, 这是一篇集科普、入门、进阶于一体的 kindle 使用指南，无论你是对 kindle 感兴趣的入门者，还是 kindle 的老用户，都可以在这里找到你感兴趣的内容。, Amazon 旗下的電子書服務 kindle ，雖然是世界電子書的龍頭，但對於多數台灣讀者而言，可能並不是最熟悉的平台。 由於amazon 平台上的繁體中文書數量遠低於. 哈喽大家好，我是码呆茶！提到 amazon 旗下的 kindle 阅读器以及市面上其他形形色色的电子书阅读器，大多数人的印象可能就是四个字——泡面盖子，甚至亚马逊官方旗舰店也将这个梗玩成了广告—— kindle 不适合看. 0 1 rating see all formats and editions.
2英寸。 刚开始的时候，被吐槽的地方还不少，主要是因为kindle第一次做这种阅读器。. 新入手kindle的小伙伴，经常对电子书的格式搞不清楚。什么是mobi格式？为什么到kindle上就变成了azw3？epub格式kindle能看吗？ 这几个格式，有什么区别？今天精选君就给大家补补课， 介绍一下三种格式的不同。 看. It helped create devices such as fire tablets, kindle ereaders, amazon fire tv, and amazon echo.
Kindle 閱讀器怎麼選？9 款熱門型號比較與選購指南.. 4、大屏手写批注ks版 全名kindle scribe。 这是kindle第一次出10英寸以上的大屏阅读器，并且支持手写批注，就是国产阅读器现在10.. 電子書好用嗎？我與kindle一年的使用心得 邱國欣（andy chiu..
刚接触 kindle 的小伙伴经常会被 mobi、azw3、azw、kfx、epub 等常见的几个格式搞的很凌乱，它们都有哪些区别呢？又各有什么优缺点呢？. 当我们使用 kindle 电子阅读器时，我们可能会被它的众多功能所迷惑，不知道哪些功能是必须要掌握的，哪些又是实用却不为人所知的。 在我多年的使用经验中，我总结出了 kindle 最实用的 10 个功能，这些功能分为基, 我的剪贴是kindle的好用功能，但简单的文本文档形式让阅读体验相当糟糕，所以很有必要对它改造一番，以便更好的复习我们曾经标注过的这些内容。. Goodreads是国外爱书之人经常登录的网站， 类似于中国的豆瓣。该网站于2007年成立，2013年被amazon收购，现已成为全球最大的在线读书社区。goodreads网站有22亿条书籍条目和7700万篇书评， 同时你也可以看到相关的. From waterproof survival fire starters to allnatural options for camping, find the best fire starter to help you get a fire going, Amazon kindle devices enable users to browse, buy, download, and read ebooks, newspapers, magazines, audible audiobooks, and other digital media via wireless networking to the kindle store.
Kindle繁中電子書在一個月前開賣，你知道什麼是閱讀器嗎？裡面又有哪些好用功能？本文告訴你！ 儘管許多數據指出，近年拉升電子書銷量與閱讀量的原因，其實是因為智慧型手機、平板電腦等行動載具盛行。也就是說，其實. Explore the new smooth refresh mode on note air5 c to enjoy the experience on thirdparty apps and dynamic content. 我也一直得说服自己。我就想，对啊，它得充电，所以是电子产品。但它本质上就是一本书啊。就像从精装书变成平装书，或者手工装订变成出版社装订。只是换了个 read more.
鸡娃界老母都知道raz的江湖龙头地位， 如果只买一套书，建议选raz。废话不多说，直接进入主题。 一、什么是raz？ raz，即readingaz的缩写。这是一套完美的英语阅读分级体系，其难易程度从aaaz，共分28级。 gk包, Currently, it comprises a. 完全充满后转为绿色。如果使用 kindle ac 电源适配器充电,无需 4 小时即可完全充满。通过第三方适配器或 usb 数据线充电,也应无需 4 小时,但取决于硬件性能,可能用时稍长。.
Com › post › 20clippings：kindle我的剪贴管理神器 – 书伴, 由亚马逊amazon设计和销售的电子阅读器（以及软件平台）。第一代kindle于2007年11月19日发布，并于2013年6月7日进入中国，用户可以通过无线网络使用amazon kindle购买、. Com › 什么是亚马逊kindle亚马逊 kindle：它是什么，它有什么用处，以及如何充分利用它, 本文首先介绍了作者对kindle阅读器的认识，接着展示了kindle7开箱图片，最后从外观、背光灯、分辨率、软件四个方面对kinle7和kindle paperwhite2进行了对比评测并给出了选购建议。感谢什么值得买值友六哥大的用心分享。. Currently, it comprises a.
게이 커뮤니티 트위터 Amazon kindle is the first ebook reader to allow users to download new books directly to the machine itself. 通过kindle mate，你可以在计算机侧同步、浏览管理kindle 设备上的内容，回顾阅读笔记或进行英语生词本的整合学习。另外，kindle mate 是免费软件，你可以永久. Com › item › kindlekindle 百度百科. 電子書好用嗎？我與kindle一年的使用心得 邱國欣（andy chiu. It helped create devices such as fire tablets, kindle ereaders, amazon fire tv, and amazon echo. 걸그룹 민유미 사건
개조이 보지 今天这篇是专门为新入手刚接触kindle的小伙伴们准备的， 关于第一次使用kindle需要做的事以及需要注意的点； 注册 kindle到手，迫不及待地打开kindle，需要做的第一件事情就是注册kindle账号； 第一次打开kindle，. Kindle paperwhite是亚马逊于2012年9月6日推出的eink电子书阅读器，分为wifi广告版（非广告版）和wifi+3g广告版（非广告版），搭载前置光源触摸屏，支持亮度调节以实现昼夜阅读。其屏幕分辨率为212ppi，对比度较前代提升25%，机身厚度9. 3 the hardware platform, which amazon subsidiary lab126 developed, began as a single device in 2007. Kindle 電子書閱讀器：amazon 裝置及配件. Amazon 旗下的電子書服務 kindle ，雖然是世界電子書的龍頭，但對於多數台灣讀者而言，可能並不是最熟悉的平台。 由於amazon 平台上的繁體中文書數量遠低於. 계약남친의 흙수저 코스프레
거유 일러 新入手kindle的小伙伴，经常对电子书的格式搞不清楚。什么是mobi格式？为什么到kindle上就变成了azw3？epub格式kindle能看吗？ 这几个格式，有什么区别？今天精选君就给大家补补课， 介绍一下三种格式的不同。 看. 完全充满后转为绿色。如果使用 kindle ac 电源适配器充电,无需 4 小时即可完全充满。通过第三方适配器或 usb 数据线充电,也应无需 4 小时,但取决于硬件性能,可能用时稍长。. Kindle电子阅读器诞生于2007年，被认为是亚马逊最成功的硬件产品之一，其采用电子纸屏幕，被认为易于阅读且护眼，还原了阅读纸质书籍的体验。 在kindle电子阅. Kindle, any of the portable wireless electronic reading devices produced by the american company amazon. Com › en_us › helpxray for authors. 갓하엘
갱 리보 구독 영상 我们知道，亚马逊官方已经发布了退出中国市场的公告，这难免让很多想要入手kindle的小伙伴心生疑窦，在这个大背景下kindle是否还值得吗？ 实际上，如果你符合下面几点，我认为kindle仍然是首选。 首先来看一下kindle的优势。 kindle的优势. 刚接触 kindle 的小伙伴经常会被 mobi、azw3、azw、kfx、epub 等常见的几个格式搞的很凌乱，它们都有哪些区别呢？又各有什么优缺点呢？. kindle 生词本怎么用？生词本都有哪些缺点？生词本中的词条如何导出到其他软件？如何彻底清空 kindle 生词本？本文就这些问题对 kindle 生词本做了详细介绍。. Kindle 閱讀器怎麼選？9 款熱門型號比較與選購指南. Com, first released in 2007.
고고체리 여군 Learn more about the amazon kindle. From waterproof survival fire starters to allnatural options for camping, find the best fire starter to help you get a fire going. 您的 kindle 充电时,主页顶端的电池图标上会出现闪电标志。kindle 底部的指示灯在电池充电时呈琥珀色. 今天这篇是专门为新入手刚接触kindle的小伙伴们准备的， 关于第一次使用kindle需要做的事以及需要注意的点； 注册 kindle到手，迫不及待地打开kindle，需要做的第一件事情就是注册kindle账号； 第一次打开kindle，. Kindle 是亚马逊推出的一款电子书阅览器，哪怕我已经用kindle 看了两三年的书，大街上使用kindle 的人依旧寥寥无几，算是一个比较小众的电子产品。 看看账面.
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.
Download free books in pdf & epub format., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.
