Global Rights Crises Deepen as World Leaders Shy Away, Human Rights Watch Says In World Report 2024

Governments’ double standards in applying the human rights framework not only put countless lives at risk, but they chip away at trust in the institutions responsible for enforcing and protecting rights, Human Rights Watch said.

When governments are vocal in condemning the Israeli government’s war crimes against civilians in Gaza but silent when it comes to Chinese government crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, or demand international prosecution for Russian war crimes in Ukraine while undermining accountability for US abuses in Afghanistan, they weaken the belief in the universality of human rights and the legitimacy of the laws designed to protect them.