Trump's first 100 days supercharged a global ‘freefall of rights', says Amnesty

The Guardian

28-04-2025

The first 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency have 'supercharged' a global rollback of human rights, pushing the world towards an authoritarian era defined by impunity and unchecked corporate power, Amnesty International warns today.
In its annual report on the state of human rights in 150 countries, the organisation said the immediate ramifications of Trump's second term had been the undermining of decades of progress and the emboldening of authoritarian leaders.
Describing a 'freefall' in human rights, the report said growing inaction over the climate crisis, violent crackdowns on dissent and a mounting backlash against the rights of migrants, refugees, women, girls and LGBTQ+ people could be traced to the so-called Trump effect.
Amnesty warned the situation would deteriorate further this year as Trump continued to dismantle the rules-based world order that Washington helped to build from the devastation of the second world war.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK's chief executive, described the US president's swift and deliberate targeting of international institutions designed to make the world safer and fairer as 'terrifying'.
'You look forward to the end of this decade and wonder whether the basic frameworks and underpinnings of not just human rights but international law will still be standing. You probably haven't been able to say that since 1935,' he said.
Amnesty's report also documents how mass arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and lethal force are becoming increasingly widespread tools of repression.
In Bangladesh, 'shoot-on-sight' orders during student protests led to hundreds of deaths; Mozambique's disputed elections similarly sparked a deadly crackdown; and Turkey also imposed draconian bans on demonstrations.
The report also identified global inaction as an area of concern, particularly in relation to Sudan's ruinous civil war. One of the warring sides there, the Rapid Support Forces, has been accused of repeatedly carrying out mass sexual violence against women and girls yet international action remains muted.
Trump's sweeping foreign aid cuts had made conditions worse across the world, Amnesty said, closing crucial programmes in states such as Yemen and Syria, leaving children and survivors of conflict without access to food, shelter or healthcare.
Amnesty also raised concerns over failures to uphold international humanitarian law, citing Israel's military operations in Gaza.
In Europe, Amnesty said Russia killed more Ukrainian civilians in 2024 than the previous year and continued to target non-military infrastructure. Trump is proposing that Ukraine cede territory to Russia as part of peace proposals dismissed as appeasement by critics.
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Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International's secretary general, said: 'Trump has shown only utter contempt for universal human rights – emboldening anti-rights movements worldwide and letting corporate allies run amok.'
Looking further ahead, the report warned that governments risked failing future generations on the climate, economic inequality and corporate power.
It cited the collapse of the UN's Cop29 climate conference, under fossil-fuel corporations' influence, while rich countries 'bullied' low-income nations into accepting inadequate climate financing.
Trump's exit from the crucial Paris climate agreement threatened 'to drag others with him', Amnesty warned.
Elsewhere, against a backdrop of scapegoating migrants, 'billionaires gained wealth as global poverty reduction stalled', it said.
Women, girls and LGBTQ+ people faced intensifying attacks in a number of countries including Afghanistan and Iran, while LGBTQ+ rights were targeted in Uganda, Georgia and Bulgaria.
'The Trump administration fanned the flames, cutting support for gender equality and dismantling protections for trans people and women globally,' Amnesty said.