US Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino (C) walks through a department store in St. Paul, Minnesota, June 12, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 12, 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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 2026.
A Venezuelan migrant sits inside a cell at CECOT prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, June 12, 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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 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 12, 2026.
나폴레옹도 아처랑 라이더 클래스 있다던데 키가 크고 호쾌한 모습의 아처와 다르게 라이더는 좀더 생전에 가까워진다였나. Com › 10wony › 223562792994머리큰남자 얼굴큰남자 멋지고 잘생기게 만드는 헤어스타일 네이버. 우리 인플루언서모델같은 느낌 영향력,패션,분위기를 우선시함 한국이랑 다른건 이런 스타일을 일본인 일반인사이에서도 많이볼수있다는것 2. 눈이 시작하는 부분을 보면 윗눈꺼풀에서 이어진 눈꺼풀 살이 아래쪽으로 내려와 있으면서 눈을 답답하게 덮고 있다.
남자들에게서든 여자들에게서든 키만 큰 남자는 그냥 오우거 취급 받고, 잘생긴 남자는 호빗이든 엘프든 이목이 집중되는 대상이 됨, 13 일본은 키큰남자가 드물어서 키보단 얼굴을 택하고 한국은 키큰놈들이 꽤 많아서 키vs얼굴하면 논쟁이 터지는거 키작 존못은 일본에, 키큰 존못은 한국에 더 많다고 생각하라누 이쯤에서 존못 찐따남에 대한 스시녀의 태도를 알아보자 14 15 16. 일단 임시완 드립은 out임시완 얼굴은 상위 1퍼 수준도 아니고 0. 와 키180처럼보이는데 20대인데 나보다머리큰사람처음봄. 4등급이랑 5등급은 비슷함 190vs175 하라고 하면 필자는 190 택할거 같긴 한데둘이 키로 비벼지는거 같음 3등급 178182, Com › 10wony › 223562792994머리큰남자 얼굴큰남자 멋지고 잘생기게 만드는 헤어스타일 네이버.
남성 평균인 5758호여도 작은 얼굴일수있고 큰 얼굴일수도 있음. 나폴레옹도 아처랑 라이더 클래스 있다던데 키가 크고 호쾌한 모습의 아처와 다르게 라이더는 좀더 생전에 가까워진다였나, 눈이 시작하는 부분을 보면 윗눈꺼풀에서 이어진 눈꺼풀 살이 아래쪽으로 내려와 있으면서 눈을 답답하게 덮고 있다. 나보다 더컸음 세로한28로보이고 둘레64로보옇음 그래도 그사람은키가커서 그사람이 훨씬낫긴하다 추천검색, 듣고싶은 말이 있어서 글 적는게 아니다, 나폴레옹도 아처랑 라이더 클래스 있다던데 키가 크고 호쾌한 모습의 아처와 다르게 라이더는 좀더 생전에 가까워진다였나.
조금은 덜어낼 수 있지 않을까 싶습니다, 듣고싶은 말이 있어서 글 적는게 아니다. 현빈도 엄청 컸는데 돌려깍고 작아짐 dc app.
Com › 20210610 › 뚱뚱한남자코디뚱뚱한 남자 코디, 덩치 큰 사람들을 위한 팁 osiswing. 기만하려고 이딴 질문쓰지마라 ㅇㅇ125. 전체적으로 짧은헤어 스타일은 얼굴의 모든 부분이 드러나면서 머리 및 얼굴의 크기가 더욱 커보일 수 있어요, 마지막으로 추천하면 여자분들 이 남자가 와서 동전 떨군다 추천하면 남성분들 이런여자가 피시방 옆자리 앉아서 번호따간다. 5퍼인것 여기서 어깨나 피부톤 신체비율까지 개입되면 0. 남자들에게서든 여자들에게서든 키만 큰 남자는 그냥 오우거 취급 받고, 잘생긴 남자는 호빗이든 엘프든 이목이 집중되는 대상이 됨.
남자들에게서든 여자들에게서든 키만 큰 남자는 그냥 오우거 취급 받고, 잘생긴 남자는 호빗이든 엘프든 이목이 집중되는 대상이 됨.. 마음은 위로해주고싶은데 다시 만날거 아니면 얼굴 안보는게 맞겠죠read more..
헤어진지 6개월 지나고 연락이와서는 어머님이 위독하시다고 너무 힘들어서 연락했다고 합니다. 4등급이랑 5등급은 비슷함 190vs175 하라고 하면 필자는 190 택할거 같긴 한데둘이 키로 비벼지는거 같음 3등급 178182, 당신들 말 함부로 뱉지 말라고 적는 글이다.
당신들 말 함부로 뱉지 말라고 적는 글이다. 206 왼쪽어깨 대가리 오른쪽어깨 이렇게봐서 비율이 최소 111인 멸치들은 운동해라 왜 안하는지 모르겠네 살만붙어도 ㅅㅂ 최소 4cm이상 늘어나겠구만 키만큼 1cm 변화도 존나 큰 부위인데 2023, 키큰 남자 대두들 꿀팁 알려줌 대두 마이너 갤러리, 한국도 뭐 조진웅이나 하정우 얼굴 큼. 겉으로는 쿨한 척하면서 속으로는 열등감이 가득하다.
| 마음은 위로해주고싶은데 다시 만날거 아니면 얼굴 안보는게 맞겠죠read more. | 아니지185을 넘기고부터는 슬슬 거부감 느끼는 여자들이 많아지지 그렇다면 186이상. | 몇일전부터 형들끼리 키냐, 얼굴이냐를 놓고 싸우는데 솔직히 까놓고 말해서,키큰 애들은 자기들이 키가 크니까 외모 평가에 대한 우선적인 기준을 키 넘사벽. | 여자들 가장 이상적인 키가 180185정도잖아. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 다만 54호 이하, 60호 이상은 아무래도 특별한 두상이 아니라면. | 키 작은 남자들 특징을 보면 공통적으로 드러나는 게 있다. | Shift+enter 키를 동시에 누르면 줄바꿈이 됩니다. | 얼굴 크고 못생기면 거인병 소리 듣는 키. |
| 히히에요 이번에는 시리즈를 준비했어요 바 blog. | 190 이상 거인증 아니면 키 클수록 비율이 더 좋아진다 병신아 키 작으면 얼굴이 작아도 오히려 비율이 씹창나는데 ㅋㅋ 뭐 185가 170이랑 얼굴만 나란히. | Com › board › view키 큰 남자도 꽤나 희귀한 존재라는 게 현실이지 ㅇㅇ. | 눈이 시작하는 부분을 보면 윗눈꺼풀에서 이어진 눈꺼풀 살이 아래쪽으로 내려와 있으면서 눈을 답답하게 덮고 있다. |
| 아니지185을 넘기고부터는 슬슬 거부감 느끼는 여자들이 많아지지 그렇다면 186이상. | 일단 임시완 드립은 out임시완 얼굴은 상위 1퍼 수준도 아니고 0. | 대크운접 이러는데 키크면 충분히 운동으로 커버할수있음 일단 체지방을 15까진 빼야됨 얼굴이 갸름하면 그나마 머리 덜커보임. | 내입으로 이런말 하기 좀 그런데 일 잘하고 직장생활 잘함 친구있음 일상 매우 평범함 근데 특출나게 잘난것 소위 말하는 매력은 없음어쨋든 난 모쏠이고 난 그 이유를 암1차적으로 난 키가 작아서 외모 탈락임여혐은 없음 이해함문제는 모쏠이라하면 1차적으로 일단 ㅂㅅ취급함좀 만나라고함 만날. |
| 25% | 25% | 12% | 38% |
옷핏도 어느정도받고 몸키우면 엥간한 동양인보단 덩치가 큼 동양인 기준 확실히 크고 서양인 평균정도 되는 구간임 하지만 간혹 낮은 확률로 자기보다 큰 사람만나면 평소 많이 못느껴본 키로 인한 위압감을 배로 받아서 키가 더 커지고싶다는 소망이있음. 기만하려고 이딴 질문쓰지마라 ㅇㅇ125. 근데 키180이상 남자는 10%이하지. 키크거나 덩치 큰 대두들은 오히려 한국에서 수요있다, 대두이면서 얼큰이분들 포기하지 마세요, 마음은 위로해주고싶은데 다시 만날거 아니면 얼굴 안보는게 맞겠죠read more.
스팽코리아 대크운접 이러는데 키크면 충분히 운동으로 커버할수있음 일단 체지방을 15까진 빼야됨 얼굴이 갸름하면 그나마 머리 덜커보임. 겉으로는 쿨한 척하면서 속으로는 열등감이 가득하다. 그럼 10명중 한명은 여자들의 마음에 드냐. 사람좋고 성격좋고 자존감 높으니 컴플렉스인적이 없음. 남자들에게서든 여자들에게서든 키만 큰 남자는 그냥 오우거 취급 받고, 잘생긴 남자는 호빗이든 엘프든 이목이 집중되는 대상이 됨. 쉬멜.net
시계녀 인스타 우리 인플루언서모델같은 느낌 영향력,패션,분위기를 우선시함 한국이랑 다른건 이런 스타일을 일본인 일반인사이에서도 많이볼수있다는것 2. 몇일전부터 형들끼리 키냐, 얼굴이냐를 놓고 싸우는데 솔직히 까놓고 말해서,키큰 애들은 자기들이 키가 크니까 외모 평가에 대한 우선적인 기준을 키 넘사벽. 13 일본은 키큰남자가 드물어서 키보단 얼굴을 택하고 한국은 키큰놈들이 꽤 많아서 키vs얼굴하면 논쟁이 터지는거 키작 존못은 일본에, 키큰 존못은 한국에 더 많다고 생각하라누 이쯤에서 존못 찐따남에 대한 스시녀의 태도를 알아보자 14 15 16. 대두이면서 얼큰이분들 포기하지 마세요. 페이트페스페 현재까지 나온 서번트들 뒷설정들. 시드니 유흥 디시
슈니치 마지막으로 추천하면 여자분들 이 남자가 와서 동전 떨군다 추천하면 남성분들 이런여자가 피시방 옆자리 앉아서 번호따간다. 현빈도 엄청 컸는데 돌려깍고 작아짐 dc app. 우리 인플루언서모델같은 느낌 영향력,패션,분위기를 우선시함 한국이랑 다른건 이런 스타일을 일본인 일반인사이에서도 많이볼수있다는것 2. 당신들 말 함부로 뱉지 말라고 적는 글이다. 0159 대두 윤곽 축소로 얼굴을 작게. 쉬메일 애니
시그니처 지원 porn 팁 키크고 비율좋은 남자가 별로 없는이유. 옷핏도 어느정도받고 몸키우면 엥간한 동양인보단 덩치가 큼 동양인 기준 확실히 크고 서양인 평균정도 되는 구간임 하지만 간혹 낮은 확률로 자기보다 큰 사람만나면 평소 많이 못느껴본 키로 인한 위압감을 배로 받아서 키가 더 커지고싶다는 소망이있음. 한국남자같은 일본남자 한국kpop이만든존잘남 키가 크고 얼굴이 잘생기고 하얗다 통칭 이케멘. Com › 20210610 › 뚱뚱한남자코디뚱뚱한 남자 코디, 덩치 큰 사람들을 위한 팁 osiswing. 한국도 뭐 조진웅이나 하정우 얼굴 큼.
스위터 후기 디시 1 눈의 안쪽이 피부로 덮여 눈이 답답하고 작아 보인다. 마음은 위로해주고싶은데 다시 만날거 아니면 얼굴 안보는게 맞겠죠read more. 13 일본은 키큰남자가 드물어서 키보단 얼굴을 택하고 한국은 키큰놈들이 꽤 많아서 키vs얼굴하면 논쟁이 터지는거 키작 존못은 일본에, 키큰 존못은 한국에 더 많다고 생각하라누 이쯤에서 존못 찐따남에 대한 스시녀의 태도를 알아보자 14 15 16. 4등급이랑 5등급은 비슷함 190vs175 하라고 하면 필자는 190 택할거 같긴 한데둘이 키로 비벼지는거 같음 3등급 178182. 마음은 위로해주고싶은데 다시 만날거 아니면 얼굴 안보는게 맞겠죠read more.
Security personnel stand guard during a curfew imposed after protesters clashed with security forces in Imphal, Manipur, India, on June 12, 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 12, 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 12, 2026.
Demonstrators outside Nepal's Parliament during a protest in Kathmandu condemning social media prohibitions and corruption by the government, June 12, 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.
남자들에게서든 여자들에게서든 키만 큰 남자는 그냥 오우거 취급 받고, 잘생긴 남자는 호빗이든 엘프든 이목이 집중되는 대상이 됨., Human Rights Watch’s 36th annual review of human rights practices and trends around the globe, reviews developments in more than 100 countries.