On February 10, 2025, 16 US human rights experts – current and former members of UN bodies, including 2014-20 UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David A. Kaye – issued a statement condemning “the most extensive assault on human rights and accountability by any U.S. administration in modern history.” The experts call on President Donald Trump and his subordinates to reverse course. 

The statement recounts the Trump administration’s multiple violations of domestic and international legal obligations, with many of its actions defying the US Constitution. The signatories stress that the US has historically helped establish “the international systems for human rights protection.” The current administration, they argue, is forsaking the US global rule of law legacy:

“The Trump administration betrays that history and those values in ways that promote the interests of authoritarians and demagogues worldwide and will strip Americans and others of fundamental human rights. Its assault on the rule of law fails to advance any conceivable American national interest, which lies in a worldwide system founded on principles of human rights, the non-use of force, collaboration to solve global problems, and the sovereign equality of states. The administration’s actions betray each of these well-established international principles.”

Read the full statement here.