The European Union has published its 2025 annual report on human rights and democracy, saying rights and democratic standards continued to deteriorate worldwide amid conflict and growing authoritarianism.
The report says attempts to undermine democracies are becoming “more brazen and better coordinated”, citing disinformation, tighter media control, pressure on human rights defenders, and opposition to gender equality, diversity and pluralism, the European External Action Service (EEAS) noted in a release on Wednesday.
The EU said its external human rights work in 2025 included regular contact by its 145 delegations and EU member states’ embassies with human rights defenders, as well as monitoring trials and visiting people in detention.
More than 10,000 human rights defenders received material assistance through ProtectDefenders.eu, a mechanism backed by the EU.
The EU added that it deployed seven additional election observation missions in 2025, with such missions involving teams that assess how elections are run and whether they meet international standards.
Accountability and international justice
The EU stated it helped set up a Special Tribunal to prosecute those responsible for Russia’s “war of aggression”, and a Claims Commission to allow Ukrainians to register damages and seek compensation.
At the UN Human Rights Council, the EU led efforts to establish an international investigative mechanism for Afghanistan to pursue justice for victims of human rights violations.
The EU described itself as the world’s top humanitarian donor “from Gaza to Sudan”, and said it continued to support the International Criminal Court amid what it called targeted attacks on the court.
The report also notes shifts in the global funding landscape in 2025, including the United States cutting “much of its funding and political support for human rights and democracy around the world” and withdrawing from a number of UN bodies.
