Human rights violated: Human Rights Watch denounces the global crisis

Israel's violent oppression of the Palestinian population, the war between Ukraine and Russia and the situation in Syria. But also Donald Trump's United States. And Giorgia Meloni's Italy. Here is the denunciation of human rights violated in the world published today, like every year, by Human Rights Watch

The international human rights system is going through one of the most critical phases since the end of the Second World War. This is reported by Human Rights Watch's World Report 2026, over 500 pages that analyze the situation of fundamental rights in more than 100 countries and convey the image of a world in which authoritarianism, impunity and double standards are becoming the norm.

Now in its 36th edition, the report describes a general retreat in legal protections, while multilateral institutions appear increasingly weak and incapable of curbing governments that consider human rights an obstacle, not a pillar of stability.

“The global human rights system is in danger,” warns Philippe Bolopion, executive director of the NGO. “Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and steadily weakened by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is collapsing.”

Human rights in the United States: Trump's offensive

In the World Report 2026, the United States occupies a central place, not only for the severity of internal violations, but for the global impact of Washington's choices. According to Human Rights Watch, Donald Trump's second term marked an unprecedented acceleration in the demolition of democratic guarantees. “It has been a relentless and pervasive attack on rights and freedoms,” says Tanya Greene, director of HRW's United States program.

The report documents pressure on judicial independence, the use of executive power to intimidate media, universities, law firms and civil society organizations, as well as increasingly severe restrictions on freedom of expression.

Particularly alarming is the management of migration policies: large-scale raids, mass arrests, arbitrary detentions of asylum seekers and deportations of migrants to third countries where there is a real risk of torture and inhuman treatment. On the social and civil rights front, the administration has dismantled health care and food programs, further limited access to abortion, and eliminated protections for trans and intersex people.

Internationally, Washington has cut off nearly all foreign aid, including humanitarian aid, and has withdrawn from key institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council, the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Agreement, further weakening these institutions' ability to protect rights.

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Human rights violated in the European Union

The European Union also emerges from the report as an increasingly contradictory actor. According to HRW, the inability of European institutions and member states to prioritize the protection of fundamental rights is undermining the rule of law, the democratic space and the credibility of the EU.

The 2026 World Report documents illegal border pushbacks, agreements with third countries that lack guarantees on civil rights, arbitrary detentions of migrants and an increasing use of surveillance technologies without adequate privacy protections. Furthermore, the reforms of the Pact on Migration and Asylum risk normalizing practices already considered incompatible with international law.

Domestically, the EU has failed to act decisively against persistent violations in member states such as Hungary, which announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court in 2025 and hosted the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, without carrying out the ICC arrest warrant.

“From migration to the rule of law to foreign policy, the EU is neglecting human rights in ways that damage democracy,” warns HRW's Benjamin Ward. A drift that risks emptying the founding values ​​of the EU itself from within.

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Human rights violated in Italy

In the European framework, Italy stands out for its central role in border externalization policies. HRW highlights among the main critical issues the cooperation with unsafe countries to control migratory flows, the limitations on the work of NGOs involved in rescue at sea and the increasingly restricted access to international protection.

The report also highlights the growing use of security and administrative tools that impact fundamental rights, in a context in which the protection of human rights is often subordinated to the management of public order.

The new security decree, which became law in 2025, has in fact introduced restrictions on freedom of expression and protest, attracting criticism from the UN and the Council of Europe.

On an institutional level, as is known, Italy also ignored an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against a high-ranking Libyan official, reinforcing fears of selective impunity.

The war in Ukraine: civilians in the crosshairs and justice suspended

Ukraine remains one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world. In 2025, Russian attacks against civilian targets increased in intensity and precision, making the year the deadliest for the civilian population since the invasion began in 2022. According to the United Nations, at least 14,534 civilians have been killed and over 38,000 injured since the start of the war, with a 27% increase in casualties in the first ten months of 2025 compared to the previous year.

HRW reports deliberate drone attacks, bombing of energy infrastructure and extensive use of landmines. The war has forced approximately 3.7 million people into internal displacement and 5.7 million into exile.

In terms of accountability, Ukraine's accession to the International Criminal Court represents a significant step, but temporary limitations on the jurisdiction of the ICC and the absence of a compensation fund risk delaying justice.