The foundations of human rights and international order are more in danger than ever. This is one of the conclusions of the annual report of Amnesty Internationalpresented in London, in which it warns of attacks by “predatory governments” determined to impose their dominance through “illicit wars” and “cheeky” “economic blackmail”in a clear reference to USA. The organization has called on countries and European institutions so that plants cara to illegal wars and the deterioration of international law.
The report, titled ‘The situation of human rights in the world’points directly to USA e Israel as two of the actors that are contributing the most to the erosion of the international order. “The escalating conflict in the Middle East is a result of this drifts towards illegality. Following the first illegal attacks by Israel and the United States, which violated the UN Charter and triggered indiscriminate retaliation by Iran, the conflict has quickly become an open war against the civilian population”warns the general secretary of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard.
The organization also focuses on the genocide in Gaza and the “system of apartheid” that Israel has imposed in the Strip, despite the ceasefire agreed in October 2025. At the same time, it warns about the expansion of illegal settlements in the Strip. Occupied West Bank and criticizes the attacks of Israeli settlers against the Palestinian population, which have the approval of the authorities and even with the praise of prominent members of Binyamin Netanyahu’s Government.
Europe’s passivity
All this before the passive look of the countries and the main European institutions, which “they didn’t want to” o “they have not been able to” report the acts of the United States, Israel, Russia or China. “Many world leaders have shown themselves excessively submissive in the face of attacks against international law and the multilateral system. There is no excuse for their silence and inaction. It is a morally reprehensible attitude that will bring nothing but the retreat, defeat and elimination of decades of hard-won progress in human rights,” says Callamard.
Other main concerns raised in the report are the repeated attacks against institutions responsible for guaranteeing respect for human rights and compliance with international legality, including International Criminal Court (CPI). The president of USADonald Trump, imposed sanctions to staff of this court and collaborating organizations, while Russia has issued arrest warrants against senior officials of this organization. Some European countries, such as Italy or Hungary, have declined to arrest people persecuted by the institution who were in their territory.
Human rights violations
The organization also warns of the repeated human rights violations in entrenched conflicts, such as wars in Ukraine and Sudanin addition to the resurgence of attacks against civil society all over the world. Countries like Nepal, China, Tanzania o Venezuela have carried out violent repressions of protests; they have promoted laws to criminalize dissent; and have perpetrated crimes such as forced disappearances or the extrajudicial executions. The report highlights the situation in Afghanistanwhere the Taliban have intensified their anti-women policies and have approved new prohibitions on their access to education, work and freedom of movement.
In a context of regression of rights and freedoms around the world, the organization celebrates the emergence of civil movements to confront authoritarian governments and technological oligarchies. Some examples are the protests of Generation Z in several countries of the Global South, as well as the demonstrations in the United States against violent operations against immigrants orchestrated by the ICE. The role of governments that go “against the current” and raise their voices against authoritarian practices, like Spain, is fundamental to guarantee the survival of the multilateralism and of rule of lawconcludes the report.
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