By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies
Human Rights Watch has warned that the return of US President Donald Trump to office is accelerating a global decline in democracy, describing the current moment as one of exceptional danger for fundamental rights and institutions.
In its latest annual World Report, the international watchdog argues that democratic norms have been weakening worldwide for roughly two decades, falling to levels not seen since the mid-1980s.
While countries such as Russia and China have long been associated with pressure on liberal democratic systems, the organization says developments in the United States over the past year mark a sharp and alarming shift.
Philippe Bolopion, executive director of Human Rights Watch, told Euronews that the “speed at which the US democratic system has been deteriorated by the Trump administration in only one year” is “staggering.”
He described a “very rapid decline of democracy in the US,” adding that the administration is “turning against the entire ecosystem of human rights,” which he said is “now under unprecedented threat.”
According to the report, the administration has targeted what it describes as the structural pillars of American democracy.
Bolopion said officials have “gone after the independence of judges, journalists, academic institutions, law firms and large companies” and “have tried to undermine 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 also raises concerns about domestic security measures, pointing to the deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in US cities. It says these operations involved “hundreds of unnecessarily violent and abusive raids.”
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