‘Predators’: Amnesty Criticizes Netanyahu, Trump, Putin for Human Rights Violations

Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard has stated that “a global environment where primitive ferocity could flourish has been long in the making” in her annual report on human rights worldwide. The report, released on Tuesday, warns that Israel, Russia, and the United States are significantly contributing to the erosion of global human rights.

Callamard noted a pronounced “sharp U-turn” away from the post-World War II international order established after the Holocaust. She addressed a press briefing in London on Monday, stating that many governments have tended to appease predatory actors rather than confront them, while some have attempted to emulate similar conduct.

Spain was identified as an exception within Europe for its stance on Israel’s actions in Gaza and US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Callamard argued that the policies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and Russian President Vladimir Putin have had a “dramatic impact” on global affairs, emboldening similar behavior by other states.

The report documents alleged violations across numerous countries, spanning more than 400 pages and covering regions from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. It highlights ongoing conflicts such as Israel’s military operations in Gaza, Russia’s actions in Ukraine described as “crimes against humanity,” and US-Israeli strikes on Iran, where international legal norms have been widely disregarded.

The report also raises concerns about repression in multiple states, including restrictions on pro-Palestine activism in the UK, entrenching gender-based discrimination by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and failing to adequately investigate cases of gender-based violence against Dalit women in Nepal. Over 3,000 people have been killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran, nearly 2,400 in Lebanon, over 72,500 in Gaza since October 2023, and more than 15,000 in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Despite its largely critical assessment, the report highlighted developments it described as “resistance” and accountability efforts at the international level. These include youth-led protest movements, states joining South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the International Criminal Court’s charges of crimes against humanity against former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, the establishment of a Council of Europe special tribunal on the crime of aggression in Ukraine, and the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants against Taliban leaders on charges of gender-based persecution.