T
he assessment drawn up by the international organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), in its annual report published on Wednesday, February 4, is bleak. With three-quarters of the world's population now under the control of a broad spectrum of authoritarian regimes, democracy has been dramatically rolled back around the globe, returning to levels last seen in 1985, at the height of Latin American dictatorships and the Eastern Bloc. For years, China and Russia have been at the forefront of a determined offensive to achieve this. Now, however, they are receiving significant support from a power that long touted itself as the guardian of the rule of law, despite its abuses.
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Human Rights Watch's Philippe Bolopion: 'The US has become hostile to human rights'
As demonstrated by the State Department Africa Bureau head's deferential visit to the leaders of Mali's ruling junta in early February, it has become clear that the United States can no longer be relied upon to stand in the way of democratic erosion, which has not spared any part of the African continent. The rights referenced in the US national security strategy, released in December 2025, are now limited to customs rights and "God-given natural rights" of US citizens. All the Trump administration needs to do is cite a distorted vision of the principle of sovereignty for it to look the other way.
