Author: Dr. Christian Salazar Volkmann (he/him)

We live in hard times.

For several years now, a global process is unfolding which is undermining international norms and principles established in international human rights and humanitarian law. This regression has many aspects- let me run you through some of them.

Number 1: We are experiencing a significant increase in conflicts in the world.

Conflicts have increased 2.5 times only within the past five years, and today, 1/8th of the global population live in conflict zones (Armed Conflict and Event Data (ACLED): Conflict Index 2024).  In our contemporary world, this growing number of conflicts is almost always accompanied by massive and unpunished violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. There are plenty of examples where we can anxiously watch this blatant disregard for international norms by armed actors- state and non-state-, just to remind ourselves of what is happening in Gaza, Ukraine, The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Haiti and many other places.

This is a problem. Particularly for populations in marginalized and vulnerable situations who are meant to be protected by international human rights and humanitarian law, as they are most affected when such norms are disrespected and such laws are broken.

Number 2:  Authoritarian Governments are on the rise, and civic space is shrinking.

Governments in all (!) continents have pushed for, or enacted new laws or regulations, that aim at controlling civil society organizations (CSOs). Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Laws on foreign financing of NGOs, such as in Russia or Georgia.
• So-called ‘cyberspace laws’ that use alleged defamation of government officials in the social media to persecute opposition forces, journalists, bloggers and human rights activists, such as is happening in Tunisia.
• The direct closure of NGOs and the withdrawal of citizenship to all kinds of critical individuals in Nicaragua, where the Government has closed over 5600 civil society organizations since 2018.

In other words, authoritarian governments everywhere are increasingly cracking down on civil society organizations and media to restrict basic human rights, such as the right to freedom of expression or the right to peaceful protest.

Number 3: We are observing attacks on gender equality, women’s rights and LGBTQI+ rights.

Reactionary forces in practically all regions of the world are systematically launching aggressive anti-gender and homophobic narratives that discredit gender equality as „gender ideology“ or imposition of cultural norms from the „decadent“ Global North. This is not a new phenomenon. But in recent years, such narratives have gained significant ground and are threatening hard won progress in women’s rights and gender equality.

Again: there are many examples from all continents of this dangerous regression. This attack on gender equality clearly undermines ongoing efforts to guarantee human rights and so, some of the most blatant violations continue , such as the fact that every 10 minutes, a women or a girl is killed by her partner or a family member (UN Women: UNODC: Femicides in 2023: Global estimates of intimate Partner/Family member Femicides. 2024), or that hate crimes in their most brutal form are continuing in many countries against members of the LGBTQI+ community. The anti-rights and anti- gender discourse is fuelled by a number of countries which are criminalizing homosexuality and increase punishments, such as in Uganda, which in 2024 passed an anti-gay law that allows for the death penalty.

In other words, the increase of anti-gender narratives fosters a social climate in which political violence and hate speech targeted against women and girls in all their diversity, foreigners, migrants, asylum seekers or ethnic, religious or sexual minorities flourish. For example, in many of the Latin American elections in the past four to five elections cycles, numerous misogynist verbal and physical attacks against women and gender diverse political candidates have occurred. And in India, hate speech against minorities rose 74% in 2024 alone (India Hate Lab: Hate Speech events in India. Report 2024).

The backlash against gender justice is not just an expression of some radical local misogynist groups in society, but has become a political phenomenon with impact  on multilateral relations between countries.

Governments like Russia, Iran and many others are trying to eliminate formulations in international resolutions or agreements that relate to gender equality, reproductive rights or the rights of LGBTQI+ persons and thus undermine the international protection of human rights in these areas. The recent letters of the new US Government to the Executive Board of UNICEF or to the Executive Director of UN Women, pressing against language that underlines gender equality point into the same direction.

Human rights & What may come: Looking forward

The rollback of human rights and humanitarian law is accompanied by a continuous increase of social and economic inequality in the world as well as a resurgence of cultural relativism (i.e. denying the idea that human rights are universal but inciting that their validity is relative to each countries traditions) in national and international discourses about human rights. This makes the defence of universal human rights and the protection of groups in vulnerable positions even harder.

The recent measures of the new US Government are accelerating these trends, and further embolden actors that try to weaken international norms and standards. There are so many examples in recent weeks that it is almost impossible to mention all of them in a short article like this one:

• the exit of the Paris Accords on Climate Change, of the World Health Organization, of UNRAW and of the UN Human Rights Council;
• the closure of USAID and the abrupt freezing of international development aid;
• the announcements of sanctions against members of the international criminal court and their families in cases of investigations against US citizens,
• the exclusion of trans persons from sports and the military or the aggressive enforcement of hard line migration policies,

….the list goes on and on and on.

Be that as it may…

… there are also some positive developments we need to recognize, to show that progress IS possible.

Internationally, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), where member states are reviewing each other’s human rights compliance, is in its 4th cycle and still alive and kicking – 14 countries are being reviewed in 2025, often with close involvement of civil society and UN agencies. 

The human right to a clean and health environment was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021, and the mandate of a UN Special Rapporteur for Environment – currently Astrid Puentes Riano from Colombia – has been strengthened.

Governments in Latin America and the Caribbean have supported the work of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights: in 2024, Caribbean Governments have unanimously voted for the establishment of a regional office of the High Commissioner in the Caribbean and representatives of Latin American and Caribbean States at the UN in New York have recently supported an upgrading of its regional office.

Also, there are still many examples in countries, where progress has been made:

• Colombia ratified the regional Escazu Treaty – Acuerdo regional sobre el Acceso a la Información, la Participación Pública y el Acceso a la Justicia en Asuntos Ambientales en America Latina y el Caribe – to protect environmental defenders,
• Mexico strengthened its social protection systems,
• Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty,
• Indonesia took measures to protect student press against intimidation,
• and in Nepal, the Supreme Court strengthened the rights of trans people.

Conclusions: Holding the line on feminist and human rights.

1. The norms and principles of international human rights law and international humanitarian law are under attack and the normative structures that bind the world together are being weakened. So it’s imperative, that all forces for the defence of human rights work together and build alliances to stem the tide and defend the international system of norms and rights.

2. The rise of authoritarian governments and the closure of civic space mean increased persecution of human rights defenders and civil society activists. Here, it is imperative that civil society and well-meaning governments and multilateral institutions work together to strengthen national and international systems of protection of human rights defenders, especially in the field of environmental and feminist justice.

3. While the global political polarization and economic conflicts will continue, there are spaces at national and local level where progress in human rights and gender equality is possible. Hence, it is important to continue to identify such spaces for national and local progress and to strengthen and defend them in each country, and in each community where this is possible.

4. For multilateral organizations such as the UN, the EU as well as individual states and individual donors it is imperative to prioritize funding for civil society organizations and activists in all walks of live to defend civic space. This is an urgent necessity in order or compensate the massive budget cuts that governments like the US and the Netherlands have made or which are going to come in the wake of the massive arm spiral we are witnessing.

There is much more to say, as the waves of attacks and regression of human rights and gender equality are so frequent, big and intense that they send shocks into society almost every day, and in particular into the community of activists and human rights defenders almost every day.

But one thing is clear: in our world today the fight for gender equality and environmental justice has become a battle field at the forefront of the defence of human rights for all.

In other words: those who engage in feminism, climate justice and social activism are not only defending these just causes for themselves and their constituencies. They are at the vanguard of the defense of human dignity of all – against forces that seek to hurt populations in vulnerable and marginalized positions everywhere, against forces that would like to turn back the time towards unquestioned patriarchy, against forces that work for a world of unhindered exploitation of the environment and towards an undemocratic society dominated by a culture of bullying and discrimination.

We cannot let that happen!  We must hold the line and continue to strive for progress towards an ecofeminist future, in which the rights of everyone and of mother earth are respected and fulfilled.