Reclaiming human rights in a changing world order

Global threats to the international rights regime today are multiple and complex. The bare power calculations of states’ national security, economic and diplomatic interests still present the primary challenge to compliance with human rights norms.

But threats to the international rights framework are emerging from three new directions: increased geopolitical competition with new powers whose views of state sovereignty are at odds with human rights obligations; the rise of xenophobic and populist domestic movements; and the spread of surveillance technologies. In addition, for billions of citizens living in poverty or conflict zones, the notion of an international legal regime to which they can appeal for the protection of their rights remains a distant fiction.

This book examines the threats to international and regional human rights in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East. It offers insights and recommendations for activists, policymakers, and academics to better understand and address the challenges. It is edited by Christopher Sabatini, Senior Research Fellow for Latin America, US and the Americas Programme at Chatham House.

Reclaiming human rights in a changing world order is part of the Chatham House/Brookings Institution Press Insights series. This is an Open Access title available under the terms of a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence. We are grateful to the Ford Foundation for supporting this project.