Amnesty International’s annual report, The State of the World’s Human Rights, warns that 2025 marked a deepening global crisis driven by sustained attacks on multilateralism, international law, and civil society. The organisation argues that powerful states, corporations, and anti-rights movements are actively shaping a more unequal, authoritarian world order, while weakening the institutions designed to protect human rights. It describes the current moment not as gradual erosion, but as an accelerating collapse of global norms and accountability systems.
The report highlights widespread violations of international law across multiple conflict zones, including Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, and Lebanon. It cites continued civilian harm, unlawful military actions, forced displacement, and systemic repression, alongside weakening respect for the UN Charter and international justice mechanisms. Amnesty also points to growing attacks on institutions such as the International Criminal Court, with sanctions, arrest warrants against officials, and withdrawal from international treaties undermining global accountability.
Amnesty International criticises the lack of consistent global response, stating that many states, including EU members, have failed to take decisive action against violations or to uphold international legal obligations. It argues that political inaction, selective enforcement of international law, and diplomatic appeasement have enabled further escalation of abuses. According to the report, this failure risks entrenching impunity and accelerating the breakdown of the rules-based international order.
The report also documents a global rise in repression of civil society, with governments using force, legal restrictions, surveillance technologies, and digital censorship to silence protests and human rights defenders. It highlights cases from multiple regions where peaceful dissent has been criminalised, NGOs restricted, and journalists and activists targeted. At the same time, cuts to international aid and increasing corporate influence are said to be weakening protections for vulnerable communities and reducing support for human rights work globally.
Despite these challenges, Amnesty notes widespread resistance from civil society, protest movements, and some international institutions. It highlights global demonstrations, legal actions, and renewed multilateral efforts to hold violators accountable, including new investigations, tribunal initiatives, and human rights mechanisms. The organisation stresses that these efforts demonstrate ongoing global commitment to justice and accountability, even amid political resistance.
Amnesty International concludes that the world is at a decisive turning point, where continued inaction could solidify an unjust and authoritarian global system. It calls on states to reject appeasement, strengthen international cooperation, and actively defend human rights and the rule of law, warning that the choices made now will shape the global order for generations to come.
