Will Human Rights Survive a Trumpian World?

Authoritarian Advances Threaten Rules-Based Order

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

만 0–13세는 반드시 티켓을 소지한 성인과 함께 입장해야 합니다. 세비야 대성당 티켓 입장권 예약이 완료되었습니다. Kr › 4w67rj24q4vx8m5yq8ep세비야 대성당 예약 방법 온라인 예매현장 구매무료 입장 총정리. 대성당 입장료는 투어 당일 현장에서 지불해 주시면 됩니다.

A Gentleman In Moscow 시청하세요 온라인

@new19size

세비야 대성당 & 라 히랄다 입장권 오디오 가이드 옵션.. 스페인 세비야 여행, 대성당 예약 입장권 정리 네이버 블로그 다른 유럽나라 467개의 글 목록열기.. 기사님께 구매한 티켓을 보여드리고 탑승했어요.. 다운로드 티켓을 누르시면, 아래와 같은 qr코드 티켓을 볼 수 있어요..

여기서 어린이가 무료라고 인원수를 체크하지 않으면 안 된다. 5 3 시간 우선입장 프라이빗 옵션 사용 가능, 즉시확정 세비야 대성당 & 라 히랄다 줄 서기 건너뛰기 티켓, 00€ at the ticket office, 세비야 fc 티켓 예매는 공홈에서 가능하며 절차도 간단하답니다.

@bibianeruby

@314_514_414

세비야fc 홈경기 직관티켓 2526시즌. 4 48 개 23,879 원 세비야 투어 스페인 세비야 알카사르, 대성당 & 히랄다탑 가이드. Com › offers › 132876세비야 세비야 대성당 세비야 대성당 & 히랄다 우선 입장권.

플라멩고 전문 댄서들이 실력을 뽐내는 동안 정통 플라멩고 공연에서 스페인의 역사를 감상해보세요.. 세비야 대성당 티켓 입장권 예약이 완료되었습니다.. 세비야 대성당 티켓 종류 세비야 대성당은 대성당 + 히랄다 탑 + 살바도르 성당 통합권으로만 판매하고 있으며 다양한 티켓이 있지만 크게 아래와 같이 3종류로 나뉜다고 보면 됩니다..

@sumer373

별다른 언급이 없는 경우 일반티켓으로 예매합니다. 세비야 플라멩고 박물관 입장권 티켓 예약 51,902 가족여행커플데이트특별한경험, 티켓 종류 선택 visit to the cathedral and giralda includes church of el salvador 세비야대성당+히랄다 탑+살바도르성당 입장권. 세타스 데 세비야 및 기타 명소의 티켓을 최대 20% 할인된 가격에 이용하세요. 프롤로그 블로그 안부 해외여행 460개의 글 목록열기. 스페인 세비야 대성당, 히랄다 & 알카사르 가이드 투어.

9547806931 Schedules and rates official website of the cathedral. Com › offers › 132876세비야 세비야 대성당 세비야 대성당 & 히랄다 우선 입장권. 공홈에서 온라인 예매와 현장 예매로 나뉘는데요. Com › reel › dtmupfe36ninstagram. 세비야 대성당 바로입장 입장권 티켓 히랄다 탑,타워 + 살바도르 통합권의 후기, 가격을 확인하고, 지금 바로 마이리얼트립에서 예약하세요. 99년생 김소은 디시

@bagguho89 여기서 어린이가 무료라고 인원수를 체크하지 않으면 안 된다. 00€ at the ticket office. Hours ago el @arzobisposaiz ha celebrado una misa solemne en memoria de las víctimas del grave accidente ferroviario ocurrido el pasado 18 de enero en adamuz córdoba, así como por fernando huerta, joven sevillano fallecido en el siniestro de gelida barcelona en la catedral de sevilla. 세타스 데 세비야 및 기타 명소의 티켓을 최대 20% 할인된 가격에 이용하세요. Schedules and rates official website of the cathedral. @jiniphee nude

65g 우송대 여기서 어린이가 무료라고 인원수를 체크하지 않으면 안 된다. 오디오 가이드 有 한국어 x 대성당 + 히랄다 탑 + 살바도르 성당 통합권. 기사님께 구매한 티켓을 보여드리고 탑승했어요. 00€ at the ticket office. 공휴일을 제외한 월금 14001500 사이에는 무료 입장이 가능합니다. ai 검열 우회 디시

aespa winter pmv 세비야 플라멩고 박물관 입장권 티켓 예약 51,902 가족여행커플데이트특별한경험. 세비야 대성당 티켓 가격은 일반 성인은 12유로, 학생과 65세 이상 6유로, 어린이는 무료이다. 오늘은 스페인 세비야에서 경험한 트램 탑승 방. Numerosas autoridades religiosas y civiles, han acompañado con sus oraciones a las familias y personas afectadas. 만 14세 미만 어린이는 항상 성인과 동반해야 합니다 신체 조건.

65g cup 39,805 원 세비야 티켓입장권 스페인 세비야 알카사르 입장권 및 오디오 가이드 3. 크리스마스시즌 세비야대성당 예약을 안했다가 내부를 못보고 6. 일정에 맞는 시간을 예약하여 자유롭게 여행하세요. 티켓을 구하지 못하거나 빠른 예매를 하고 싶거나 공홈 예약이 너무 힘든 분들은 여행사를 통해서도. 티켓 1장당 수수료 1유로가 부가되고 티켓 시간 2시간 전까지 예약 취소 가능하며, 티켓 2장 20유로에 수수료 2유로가 더해져 토탈 금액이 22유로가 되었습니다.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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