Human Rights Watch: global pushback against autocrats grows

Ken Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, poses for a photo prior to an interview with the Associated Press in Berlin on Jan. 16, 2019. AP

BERLIN — Human Rights Watch says there is a growing resistance around the world against the abuses of autocrats by coalitions of states, civic groups and popular movements, which are all pushing back against populists seeking to curtail freedoms.

The advocacy group said in its annual report that the big news of the past year isn’t the continuation of authoritarian trends but the growing opposition to them.

The group’s director, Kenneth Roth, says “the same populists who spread hatred and intolerance are fueling a resistance that keeps winning battles.”

The report, released Thursday in Berlin, said pushback can be seen in efforts to resist attacks on democracy in Europe, prevent a bloodbath in Syria or to stop the Saudi-led bombing and blockading of Yemeni civilians. /ee