The United States has been added to a global human rights watchlist by international civil rights organisation CIVICUS, marking an unprecedented development for a nation once considered a global champion of democracy and human rights.
The United States was added Sunday to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, a research tool that publicises the status of freedoms and threats to civil liberties worldwide. The move represents what CIVICUS describes as “assault on democratic norms and global cooperation” under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Extensive executive action programme Following his inauguration on 20 January 2025, Donald Trump has issued at least 125 executive orders, dismantling federal policies with profound implications for human rights and the rule of law. The scale and speed of these policy changes have raised significant concerns among international human rights monitors.
Some of these orders have eliminated federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, whilst the new administration slashed federal funding for organisations supporting people most in need, dismantled USAID, and reversed progress on justice, inclusion, and diversity.
International context and implications The United States joins the first 2025 watchlist along with Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy, Pakistan, and Serbia. This placement represents a dramatic shift for a country that has traditionally positioned itself as a defender of democratic values internationally.
CIVICUS officials have characterised the situation as “an unparalleled attack on the rule of law in the United States, not seen since the days of McCarthyism in the twentieth” century. The organisation specifically highlighted concerns about “gross abuses of executive power” and warned that “the Trump administration seems hellbent on dismantling the system of checks and balances which are the pillars of a democratic society”.
Global cooperation concerns The watchlist placement also reflects concerns about America’s withdrawal from international cooperation mechanisms. The arbitrary US pullbacks from aid and multilateral cooperation, including the World Health Organisation and the UN Human rights frameworks, have contributed to the decision.
The CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist serves as an early warning system, identifying countries experiencing rapid deterioration in civic freedoms. The inclusion of the United States alongside nations with well-documented human rights challenges underscores the severity of current concerns about American democratic institutions.
The development marks a significant moment in international human rights monitoring, as it represents the first time the United States has faced such scrutiny from major global civil society organisations since the establishment of modern international human rights frameworks.
REFH – Newshub, 30 July 2025
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