According to Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director of the NGO, interviewed by "Le HuffPost", the American president has shaken up his country but also the international order.

Donald Trump's first year in the White House has already brought about upheaval in the United States (and far beyond). This is the alarming conclusion of the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), whose annual global report, released on Wednesday, February 4, highlights the "challenge Trump poses to human rights," primarily in his own country, but also internationally.

Justice under pressure, freedom of expression weakened, immigrants persecuted, minorities in danger… The picture HRW paints of the United States just over a year after Donald Trump's inauguration reveals the extent of the damage done by the Republican in barely a few months. “The list is almost too long for a single interview; it's dizzying,” says Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director of the NGO, interviewed by Le HuffPost.

“Donald Trump has led his country down the very dangerous path of authoritarianism,” she summarizes, describing a “frightening” record after only one year in office. “The administration is systematically and broadly attacking checks and balances, rights, and freedoms; it is an assault on the pillars of American democracy.”

A justice system and media under pressure

Justice is one of the pillars undermined by the White House occupant since his return to office. "Over the course of the year, we've documented challenges to judicial decisions, as well as constant attacks and denigration of the justice system," explains Bénédicte Jeannerod. In immigration matters, in particular, the Trump administration sometimes simply and completely ignored legal rulings that were hindering its policies.

Worse still, the American president did not hesitate to incite public outrage against the judges, accusing them—here last May on Truth Social—of being “radicalized” and of preventing him from “eliminating” the migrants who had “invaded” the United States. These attacks from the highest levels of government created a climate of fear among some judges, several of whom received threats.

According to Human Rights Watch, the press is another pillar of democracy under attack by Trump supporters, who do not hesitate to put pressure on journalists or their employers. "This also affects major American media outlets that have seen their access to certain institutions reduced," explains Bénédicte Jeannerod, before citing the case of the Associated Press. "Trump and his administration attacked the agency for referring to the 'Gulf of Mexico' and not the 'Gulf of America,'" recalls the France director of Human Rights Watch.

“The intended effect is undoubtedly self-censorship and intimidation,” continues Bénédicte Jeannerod, noting that Donald Trump has also “used his power to intimidate associations, law firms, businesses, but also actors and comedians.” One of the most striking examples from last year remains the suspension of host Jimmy Kimmel by ABC because of a sketch—a suspension that has since been reversed by the network.

"Anti-immigrant policies are appalling."

Among the victims of the Trump administration listed by HRW are also "immigrants or people perceived as immigrants." "The anti-immigrant policies implemented are appalling," says Bénédicte Jeannerod, "they are accompanied by rhetoric that stigmatizes entire populations portrayed as undesirable."

Following the “mass raids and arrests” by ICE and the Border Patrol, notes Bénédicte Jeannerod, there have been “expulsions to third countries” such as Costa Rica and El Salvador. In the latter country, cases of “rape, torture, and sexual abuse” have been reported to HRW. Furthermore, these expulsions sometimes take place “without due process and without any possibility of appeal.” This represents yet another challenge to due process.

Beyond immigrants, the rights of LGBT people, particularly transgender people, and women's rights are also being targeted, she explains, recalling "the restrictions on access to abortion which have multiplied in several states."

A "global disorder" that cannot go unanswered

The consequences of Donald Trump's return to Washington extend far beyond the United States, with the HRW report referring to a "global disorder." "The point is not to say that the world order was irreproachable in its defense of rights," insists Bénédicte Jeannerod, "it was already quite powerfully undermined by other powers like Russia and China." But according to HRW, the Trump administration added "unprecedented excess and ferocity."

Washington has, for example, targeted key institutions of the international system such as the International Criminal Court (ICC). “It has its own imperfections, but it remains a real step forward in the fight against impunity in the most serious crises,” argues Bénédicte Jeannerod. The France director of Human Rights Watch denounces, among other things, the sanctions imposed by Washington “against the prosecutor or against the judges who worked on the arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu.”

Bénédicte Jeannerod also notes Donald Trump's "support" for "illiberal forces, particularly in Europe," where his main supporter remains the Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán. While many states are "in a state of shock" in the face of "brutal and outrageous" American policy, coupled with threats of a trade war, HRW calls for a "wake-up call."

“Should we be talking about an alliance? A coalition? In any case, states must unite to counter efforts to destroy the international order,” insists Bénédicte Jeannerod, who wants to remain optimistic despite this grim assessment. Because, at the same time, the France director of HRW emphasizes the “vitality of civil societies,” a source of “a great deal of hope.”