US under Trump ‘turning against entire ecosystem of human rights', says HRW director

Trump's return to the White House has intensified a "downward spiral" on human rights that was already taking place under pressure from Russia and China, according to the annual World Report published by Human Rights Watch.

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In its report, the global human rights watchdog asserted that the world has been in a “democratic recession” over the past 20 years, with democracy declining to historically low levels not seen since 1985, before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

But while pressure on democratic systems around the world is increasing gradually, the "speed at which the US democratic system has been deteriorated by the Trump administration in only one year" is "staggering," HRW executive director Philippe Bolopion said in an interview with Euronews.

This "very rapid decline of democracy in the US" has international consequences, Bolopion said, warning that the Trump administration is "turning against the entire ecosystem of human rights," which is "now under unprecedented threat from the Trump administration."

The Trump administration has "gone after the independence of judges, journalists, academic institutions, law firms and large companies" and "has tried to undermine the trust in the sanctity of elections."

"It's really a multi-front attack on all the checks and balances that in the past have made US democracy strong and resilient," he added.

The World Report pointed to the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to cities in the US, which have carried out "hundreds of unnecessarily violent and abusive raids."

"The administration's racial and ethnic scapegoating, domestic deployment of National Guard forces in pretextual power grabs, repeated acts of retaliation against perceived political enemies and former officials now critical of him, as well as attempts to expand the coercive powers of the executive and neuter democratic checks and balances, underpin a decided shift toward authoritarianism in the US," the report said.

'Global coalition' needed to protect rules-based order

"The decline of human rights and democracy in the US is sending the wrong message to the rest of the world," including Europe, where Bolopion says similar efforts were recorded that "demonise migrants and minorities" and "attack the rights of LGBT people and women."

"People in Europe should remember that when you go after the rights of some disfavoured members of societies or more vulnerable parts of societies, eventually it comes back to haunt everyone."

To combat the threat, Human Rights Watch is urging nations to push back against "aggressive superpowers" such as Russia, China and now also the United States.

"The European Union can be playing a key role in fostering this new alliance a bit along the lines of what the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney called for in his speech at the World Economic Forum," Bolopion said.

In his speech, which took place in Davos last month, Mark Carney called on "middle powers" to "build a new order that embodies our values, like respect for human rights, sustainable development, solidarity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of states."

"If we want to go back to a world where atrocities are no longer tolerated," Bolopion said, "countries from around the world will have to pick up the slack and stand up for human rights, international justice, for the rule of law, and for the entire architecture that the world has invested in to prevent atrocities."

Documenting human rights abuses becoming 'more dangerous'

Human Rights Watch has not been immune to the attacks on international institutions that it describes in its report.

"As the world is becoming more authoritarian, the civic space is shrinking," Bolopion said. "And the work of Human Rights Watch becomes more complex, more difficult, more dangerous, in some cases."

Internally, Human Rights Watch has also been roiled by several resignations from researchers in recent weeks, who claim a report on Israel denying Palestinian refugees the right of return was shelved due to a "fear of political backlash".

Omar Shakir, the former HRW Israel and Palestine director, announced he was quitting his post in early February after a decision by the executive director to pull a report on the issue just ahead of its scheduled release for early December.

When asked about Shakir's resignation, Bolopion said "no political pressure" was put on the organisation to pull the report, saying it was shelved due to an internal disagreement "on the best way to address" the issues presented in it.

"If you look at our record on Israel and Palestine, you will see that we've never held back, whether it's under the very serious crimes committed by Israel over the last two years."

At the same time, documenting human rights abuses is becoming more of a challenge, even for Human Rights Watch. "It's a time of crisis. It can't be business as usual," Bolopion said. "We as a human rights organisation need to be more coordinated with others in the field, with governments that still care about human rights institutions."

"The most basic rights are under attack all over the world, but also in the US. And so we have recognise that it's a new, dangerous reality. But it should not be a call for despair. It should be a call for action."