Putin, Netanyahu and Trump want a new ‘predatory’ world order, says Amnesty

Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump are under fire from Amnesty International, which has accused them of being 'predatory'. Photo / AFP

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, according to rights group Amnesty International.

Launching the group’s annual report in London, secretary general Agnes Callamard condemned US President Donald Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu as “predators”.

Such leaders had rejected the multilateral system developed since World War II in favour of a “vision without moral compass”, where “war, not diplomacy, rules”, the report said.

In her opening speech, Callamard said: “Throughout 2025, Trump, Putin and Netanyahu, among others, pursued economic and political domination through international destruction, suppression and violence on a massive scale.”

These leaders were “destroying all that stands in the way of their domination and greed” and “assaulting the very foundations of universal human rights”.

She added: “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 was “just the latest example of this new predatory world order”, based on a vision of the world that is “dehumanised through racist ideology”.

The Amnesty International chief accused Trump of “an unprecedented number of actions undermining the rule of law” and “arbitrary use of power”.

Trump and Putin shared a worldview “that is highly racist, that is highly patriarchal”, Callamard told AFP - citing Russia’s crackdown on LGBT rights in the name of “family values”.

Meanwhile, under 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”.

China was not on the “predator” list because it had been “much more discreet”, Callamard said, but the country nevertheless had “supported the junta and the military operations in Myanmar” and was “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 came to facing up to these “bullies and looters”, almost every world leader “has demonstrated cowardice”, Callamard said - calling this the “era of the coward”.

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, Callamard 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.

-AFP