Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released its annual World Report 2026, warning that the global system of human rights is in “peril”, with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under “autocracy”.In the report (PDF) published on Wednesday, the rights body warned that the United States, China and Russia are “led by leaders who share open disdain for norms”, and “wield considerable economic, military, and diplomatic power”.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list“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,” Philippe Bolopion, executive director at HRW, said in a statement.“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.”Below are the highlights of the report that paint a bleak picture of the global human rights situation.United StatesThe HRW report accuses the Trump administration of a “broad assault on key pillars of US democracy and the global rules-based order”.“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 another four in January 2026, it said.The “unlawful” abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, along with its withdrawal from the United Nations Human Righ …
