HRW: US, China & Russia Weaken Global Human Rights System

Human Rights Watch (HRW) argues that the global architecture protecting civil liberties and political freedoms is entering a period of structural stress, with its “World Report 2026” warning that the human rights system is now in “peril.”

The report says 72 percent of the world’s population lives under autocracy, a concentration of power HRW links to sustained pressure from the United States, China, and Russia - states it describes are led by figures who show open disdain for international norms while wielding decisive economic, military, and diplomatic leverage.

The NGO frames the current moment as a test of whether multilateral safeguards can survive great-power rivalry.

Philippe Bolopion, HRW’s executive director, said the rules-based international order is being crushed under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump and persistent undermining by Beijing and Moscow, warning that this trajectory threatens “the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms.” He urged governments and civil society to form “a strategic alliance to push back.”

Pressure on Democratic Pillars

In its U.S. chapter, HRW accuses the Trump administration of a “broad assault on key pillars of US democracy and the global rules-based order.” The report documents conditions facing migrants and asylum seekers, stating that 32 people died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2025, followed by another four deaths in January 2026.

It also highlights Washington’s withdrawal from the United Nations Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization, alongside sanctions targeting Palestinian human rights organizations, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), ICC judges, and a UN special rapporteur.

HRW further points to the “unlawful” abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as emblematic of a wider erosion of international legal constraints.

The report concludes that Trump’s second administration has shown “blatant disregard for human rights and egregious violations,” while seeking to weaken institutions designed to enforce standards and hold perpetrators accountable.

Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, China

The report levels some of its strongest language at Israel, stating that Israeli armed forces have committed acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, and that global responses have been uneven and insufficient. It adds that Trump’s proposals for Gaza “would be tantamount to ethnic cleansing,” as Israel continues lethal operations in Gaza and demolitions and restrictions in the occupied West Bank.

On Ukraine, HRW catalogs Russia’s “indiscriminate bombing,” forced conscription in occupied areas, systematic torture of prisoners of war, deportation of children, and the use of quadcopter drones against civilians, arguing these abuses have not triggered meaningful international pressure.

Inside Russia, authorities continue to intensify repression. Election monitor Golos head Grigory Melkonyants received a five-year prison sentence, while three lawyers tied to Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation were jailed. Navalny himself died in prison in 2024.

HRW also notes prosecutions for merely commemorating Navalny and bans on groups including Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders.

China’s section documents pervasive censorship, surveillance, and repression, with critics facing imprisonment or forced disappearance.

The report highlights draft legislation titled Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress as a mechanism to justify tighter controls over minorities, including Tibetans and Uighurs.

Coalitions Beyond Great Powers

Despite the bleak assessment, HRW identifies emerging coalitions. It points to countries such as Costa Rica, Ghana, Malaysia, Mexico, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Vanuatu as contributors to targeted rights initiatives. It also cites Chile’s Democracy Forever summit, which brought together Brazil, Colombia, Spain, and Uruguay, and the formation of The Hague Group in solidarity with Palestinians.

Student protests over Gaza, demonstrations against ICE abuses in the U.S., and Gen Z mobilizations in Nepal, Indonesia, and Morocco are presented as evidence that civic pressure remains a counterweight to authoritarian drift.

The report lands days after Human Rights Watch’s Israel-Palestine director Omar Shakir and assistant researcher Milena Ansari resigned, protesting HRW’s decision to block publication of a 33-page report that accused Israel of crimes against humanity for denying Palestinian refugees the right of return. Shakir, who had worked at the organization for more than 10 years, said the episode shattered his confidence in HRW’s internal review process and commitment to principled legal analysis.