Will human rights survive the Donald Trump era?
1/2/2026: The Executive Director of Human Rights Watch warns of the end of an era in which governments accepted that state power should be constrained by law, institutions, and a shared baseline of human dignity. For human rights to survive we must build a durable alliance that defends core norms and makes repression costly.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Myanmar crisis deepens as military ballot entrenches repression
31/1/2026: The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has condemned the recent elections in Myanmar, saying they have further polarised society and intensified violence instead of providing a credible political pathway. Parties opposed to military rule were banned, and many of their leaders detained.
Source: UN News
Sweeping expansion of the Global Gag Rule will deny essential care
27/1/2026: The US government's new Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance policy expands the Global Gag Rule to its most extreme version, demonstrating the systematic subordination of scientific evidence and patient needs to ideological objectives.
Source: Medecins Sans Frontieres
What is the truth of Iran’s death toll?
27/1/2026: Local data collection is revealing the vast scale of violence inflicted on Iranians during the state’s crackdown. These estimates exceed 30,000, far surpassing official figures. Testimony from medics, morgue and graveyard staff provides evidence of the huge state effort to conceal systematic killing of protesters
Source: The Guardian
The world needs stronger UN, not Trump-led ‘Board of Peace’
21/1/2026: In an apparent attempt to sideline the UN Security Council, President Trump has proposed a so-called board of peace. The board’s proposed charter doesn’t mention human rights and it makes clear that Trump would have supreme authority.
Source: Human Rights Watch
A year into President Trump’s return, authoritarianism is eroding human rights
20/1/2026: Amnesty International has documented how the Trump administration’s escalation of authoritarian practices, including closing civic space and undermining the rule of law, is eroding human rights. Press intimidation makes violations harder to expose; and attacks on courts, lawyers, and oversight bodies make accountability harder to enforce.
Source: Amnesty International
Alarming increase in use of death penalty last year
19/1/2026: Despite a downward trend in the use of the death penalty globally, 2025 saw an alarming increase in the number of executions in a small number of retentionist countries. 170 countries have abolished or introduced a moratorium on the death penalty either in law or in practice.
Source: UN News
Blanket internet shutdown violates rights in Uganda
15/1/2026: On January 13, Uganda’s telecommunications regulator ordered all mobile network operators and internet service providers to suspend public access, two days before the general elections. Human Rights Watch says that blanket shutdowns undermine fundamental rights and threaten election integrity.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Iran’s internet blackout concealing atrocities
12/1/2026: Since January 8, the Iranian authorities have imposed a country-wide internet blackout, which has severely hampered efforts to corroborate unlawful killings of protesters. Iranian civil society organizations and the media have reported that the death toll has reached the thousands.
Source: Human Rights Watch
UN human rights chief ‘deeply disturbed’ over right to protest in Iran
9/1/2026: The UN human rights chief has called for an independent and transparent investigation into reports of deaths and widespread arrests during ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, amid mounting concerns over the use of force by security forces. Multiple news outlets have reported nationwide internet and communication shutdowns.
Source: UN News