The report said the leaders are assaulting the 'very foundations of universal human rights' (file image)

'Predator' leaders seeking new 'world order' - Amnesty

21 Apr 2026, 07:07 · RTE.ie

The leaders of the United States, Israel and Russia are seeking to impose a new "predatory" world order while most countries are too cowardly to stop them, rights group Amnesty International said.

Launching the global group's annual report in London, Secretary General Dr Agnès Callamard condemned US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "predators".

Such leaders have rejected the multilateral system developed since World War II in favour of a "vision without moral compass", where "war, not diplomacy, rules", the report into global protection of human rights said.

The report comes at a "challenging moment" that could "destroy all that was built up over the last 80 years", Callamard warned in the preface.

"Throughout 2025, Mr Trump, Mr Putin and Mr Netanyahu, among others, pursued economic and political domination through international destruction, suppression and violence on a massive scale," she said in her opening speech.

These leaders are "destroying all that stands in the way of their domination and greed" and "assaulting the very foundations of universal human rights", she said.

"And rather than confront those predators, the majority of governments, most notably European governments, opted instead for appeasement."

The spiralling conflict in the Middle East is "just the latest example of this new predatory world order," based on a vision of the world that is "dehumanised through racist ideology", Dr Callamard said.

The Amnesty International chief accused the US President of "an unprecedented number of actions undermining the rule of law" and "arbitrary use of power".

Mr Trump and Mr Putin share a world view "that is highly racist, that is highly patriarchal", Dr Callamard said in a separate interview, citing Russia's crackdown on LGBT rights in the name of "family values".

Dr Agnès Callamard said other world leaders showed 'cowardice' in standing up to leaders trying to impose a new world order (file image)

Meanwhile under Mr Trump, the US "has done everything it could to undermine years, decades of effort to enshrine women's rights and to defend access to sexual and reproductive rights", she said.

China not on 'predator' list as 'much more discreet'

China is not on the "predator" list because it has been "much more discreet", she said, but the country nevertheless has "supported the junta and the military operations in Myanmar" and is "involved in supporting Russia".

Focusing on Israel's actions in Gaza, the report said: "The world's most powerful governments failed to take meaningful action to stop the genocide or to bring an end to Israel's unlawful occupation and apartheid."

When it comes to facing up to these "bullies and looters", almost every world leader "has demonstrated cowardice", Dr Callamard said, calling this the "era of the coward".

"Most of the world, sadly, has to be defined as a coward," she said.

"I will tell you that almost the entire European Union is concerned", she added, with the exception being Spain and Slovenia.

Slovenia is one of the few EU countries to describe Israel's war in Gaza as "genocide", along with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Governments around the world must hold Israel to account, including through economic means, the Amnesty chief said.

She urged the EU to ditch a "shameful" association agreement with Israel and impose other measures such as sanctions.

The report also criticised the United Kingdom for proscribing the Palestine Action group and arresting thousands of peaceful protesters against the ban.

"Governments should stop cracking down on and criminalising dissent, including peaceful acts of civil disobedience," the report said.