A new report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) points out that US President Joe Biden is applying a “double standard” on human rights issues, providing “unrestricted weapons” to Israel despite its war crimes in Gaza, while condemning Russia for “similar abuses” in Ukraine.
The human rights organization’s “World Report 2025,” released on Thursday, notes that while the US has provided a record $17.9 billion in security assistance to Israel and approved over 100 weapons sales, it has also withheld funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) due to the famine crisis in Gaza caused by the Israeli siege.
The report highlights an “often overlooked reality” that liberal democracies like the US are “not always reliable human rights defenders” both domestically and abroad. It also notes that many of the 70 national elections held last year were seen as driven by “racism, hatred, and discrimination,” and that the US and EU polls were no exception.
The report also expresses concern that US President-elect Donald Trump could “cause even greater human rights damage” in his second term after taking office on January 20, which would “encourage illiberal leaders globally to follow suit.” The report also noted the rise of far-right forces in last year’s European Parliament elections, “using anti-immigrant sentiment and nationalist rhetoric to advance policies that threaten minorities and undermine democratic norms.”
The report states that some “outspoken and action-oriented” liberal democracies are far from human rights beacons, and their defense of human rights standards is “weak or inconsistent,” which has fueled the global perception of a “lack of legitimacy of human rights.” While providing a grim update on Israel's “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Gaza, the “mass killings” in the Sudanese civil war, and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, the report also points to some positive developments around the world.
The report notes that the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Syria by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham provides insight into “the limits of autocratic power,” although the report also notes that the armed groups joining the offensive have themselves committed abuses and war crimes. The report also highlights “meaningful democratic resilience” in Bangladesh, where student anti-corruption protesters overthrew Sheikh Hasina's “repressive” government, forcing the formation of an interim government under Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus.
The report also highlights: in Kenya, protesters demanded an end to President William Ruto's government's mismanagement, corruption, and misuse of public funds; in Venezuela's elections, protesters demanded fair vote counts against the backdrop of the "brutal repression" of the Nicolás Maduro government; in South Korea, President Yoon Suk-yeol's attempt to impose martial law failed miserably, with thousands marching in protest and lawmakers eventually taking action to impeach and suspend him; and in Georgia, the ruling party's decision to suspend its bid to join the European Union sparked protests, with many seeing it as a sign of the government's “turn towards authoritarianism.”
Human Rights Watch stated, "These resistance movements highlight a crucial reality: the fight for rights is often driven by ordinary people who are tired of injustice and corruption."