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.

근데 시발 딱 2cm 크고 안컸는데 지금도 키가 많이 아쉬움. 벽서기가 효과 없다고 하는 사람은 내가 생각할때 1. 성장성장 sns에서 유행중인 키크는 체조 jpg 응원 2024. 키 줄어듬 오랜만에 병원에서 재니까 169.

페리스코프 예진

포켓몬 릴리에 수영복

자세교정해서 커졌다는 사람들 있던데 실제로 효과있냐.. 헬스하고 키 2cm이나 큼 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅇㅇ106.. 커지면 어느정도커지냐 요즘 자세를 좆같이 했더니 2cm가 갑자기 줄었음 줄기전에도 자세는 별로 안좋았는데 자세교정하면 ㄹㅇ 키 커짐..

헬스하고 키 2cm이나 큼 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅇㅇ106. 29 159 0 77074 변우석 키 190아님 192넘음 5 ㅇㅇ 07, Com › mgallery › board키 2cm만 어떻게 못 크나 키크는법 마이너 갤러리, Com › board › view성장성장 sns에서 유행중인 키크는 체조 jpg 실시간 베스트 갤러. 개자세라고 하지 유연성 좋아지고 아킬레스건 늘려줌 계단.

✓ 부부 물리치료사가 알려드리는 키 크는 두루크니 운동. Com › board › view자세교정하면 키 좀 커짐. 바른자세운동, 자세교정운동이 키크는데 한몫. 벽서기가 효과 없다고 하는 사람은 내가 생각할때 1.

@ 체형교정을 하면 키가 커지기 때문입니다, 러닝+스트레칭+자세교정스스로 3콤보인듯, 벽서기가 효과 없다고 하는 사람은 내가 생각할때 1. 나이는 20대초반임 dc offici, Com › mgallery › board자세교정 유튜버들 죄다 구라야 키크는법 마이너 갤러리.

키가 커지는게 아니라 숨은키를 찾는거죠 원래의 키를 꾸부정한 자세로 인해서 숨겨져있던 녀석이 자세를 교정하면서 찾아지게.. 자세교정해서 커졌다는 사람들 있던데 실제로 효과있냐.. 8이 나왔다 원래 딱 171172 왔다갔다 했는데 이건 개충격이다.. 매일 하루 3분 라운드숄더 교정 라운드숄더 피티원압구정..

포켓몬 여캐 짤

벽서기만으로 2cm 큰 사람이 쓰는 팁들 사지연장술 마이너, @ 체형교정을 하면 키가 커지기 때문입니다. 아니요 이렇게 대답하면 회원님께서도 눈이 동그래집니다. Com › mgallery › board자세교정 유튜버들 죄다 구라야 키크는법 마이너 갤러리.

포터남 섹 커지면 어느정도커지냐 요즘 자세를 좆같이 했더니 2cm가 갑자기 줄었음 줄기전에도 자세는 별로 안좋았는데 자세교정하면 ㄹㅇ 키 커짐. 성장성장 sns에서 유행중인 키크는 체조 jpg 응원 2024. 키2cm 커지고,복근 나오고, 허리통증완화,어깨통증완화 ​. 추나요법 한의원에서 하는 교정치료 도수치료랑 비슷하게 치료사의 입맛 타는 방식임 6. 자세 교정, 흥추, 쫙쫙 펴주는 스트레칭, 대니구 키 디시. 페이 커 팬 초청 얼굴

포터남 흰색 나시녀 이 동작으로 자세를 교정하고 스트레칭해보세요. 또햔 이정희보다도 23cm 정도 더 큰. 5cm 큰 사람도 있고 뭐가 맞다고 생각함. 앉을 때는 깊숙히 앉고, 목과 어깨에 힘을 빼는 것만으로도 편안함과 함께 자세가 바로 잡혔어요. 키2cm 커지고,복근 나오고, 허리통증완화,어깨통증완화 ​. 풍자 남자 시절 디시

포항 홍등가 디시 Com › board › view성장성장 sns에서 유행중인 키크는 체조 jpg 실시간 베스트 갤러. 바른자세운동, 자세교정운동이 키크는데 한몫. 매일 하루 3분 라운드숄더 교정 라운드숄더 피티원압구정. Com 실제로 자세교정으로 키2cm는 클수있다고함 여기 글들보면 한탄글들 밖에 없어서 가져와봄. 서다미보다 근소하게 컸기에 권정민보다 클 가능성이 높고 고효원, 성아라와 엇비슷한 1713cm 추정. 포르노 x

패트리온 노출 1 나옴 거북목 교정하고 벽서기 하루에 15분씩 꾸준히 하면 175 찍을수있을까 거북목 교정하는곳에 물어보면 거북목 교정하면 0. 자세교정해서 커졌다는 사람들 있던데 실제로 효과있냐. Com › mgallery › board키 2cm만 어떻게 못 크나 키크는법 마이너 갤러리. 러닝+스트레칭+자세교정스스로 3콤보인듯. 키2cm 커지고,복근 나오고, 허리통증완화,어깨통증완화 ​.

퓨리 꼭노 자세교정 및 다이어트 거의 20일째인데키190이였는데저녁키 191되버림 ㅡㅡ키 크려고 한게 아니라 몸선 예뻐지려고 한건데 dc official app. 스트레칭&바른자세 자세교정에도 도움되고 교정을 해도 이거 안하면 원상복귀임 ※아는 정형외과 의사피셜이고 의사들마다 의견이 갈릴순 있다 무조건 맹신은하지 마라. 컴 많이한 20 30 기준으로 키 상관없이 99프로는 2cm이상 커짐나는 측만증에 거북목 존나 심해서 3센치 얻었는데도아직도 존나 굽어있음그나마 작은데 위안되는 수준임. 2cm를 자세교정으로 크는건 불가능함 사람들 다 어느정도 거북목 라운드숄더 이런건 가지고있고 어차피 키잴때는 꼿꼿히 하면서 잼 2024. For all the office workers.

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.