Global human rights deteriorated sharply in 2024, with more than 60% of countries receiving failing grades in an annual watchdog report released Thursday, reflecting what researchers called a “systemic breakdown” in protections for basic freedoms worldwide.
The second annual assessment by the Global Rights Project (GRIP) found just 18% of nations achieved A or B ratings, with Nordic countries dominating top positions. Meanwhile, the United States earned a D grade, performing poorly on worker protections and physical integrity rights.
The GRIP report based its grades on a review of the CIRIGHTS Data Project, which collects human rights data from around the globe. Skip Mark, an assistant professor of political science and the director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies at the University of Rhode Island (URI), stated: “The CIRIGHTS project shows that global respect has declined over the past decade. Despite a growth in human rights law, institutions, NGOs, and technology to document and disseminate information about human rights, things are getting worse.”
The report was based on a set of human rights that included rights on physical integrity, such as disappearances and torture, and empowerment rights, such as women’s rights and free speech. The rights of workers and justice were also measured, including protection from child labor and the right to a fair trial.
The worst-performing countries according to the report were Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, Yemen, and South Sudan. These countries have faced dire human rights situations in the past year. In Afghanistan, for example, states have recently urged legal action against the Taliban for violations of women’s rights and condemned the use of capital punishment.
The United States’ D grade was prompted in part by its failure to ratify certain international human rights treaties, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which the report found hinders its protection of human rights in some areas.
A group of researchers based at URI developed the GRIP project. Although this year’s global median score was 52, up two points from the 2023 report, the assessment still presents a general disregard for human rights, which requires international attention. The researchers stated, “The current tools used to improve human rights and hold leaders accountable are not working and a new approach may be necessary to improve human rights globally.”
