December 2024 marks the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In a world where fundamental rights and freedoms are increasingly threatened  by conflict, repression and autocracy, from North to South America, from Asia to Africa, and across Europe, including in war-torn Ukraine, this declaration continues to set a benchmark for the fundamental and universal rights which all people ought to enjoy. It is at this juncture of the commemoration of this most important moment in history, when we must also consider that we may perhaps be in a recession when it comes to human rights, and our commitment, both at home and overseas, to these fundamental freedoms may need to be made anew. 

In this paper for the IIEA, Pat Cox, Former President of the European Parliament and IIEA board member, reflects on the risks that are currently posed to democracy and human rights, arguing that many of their greatest challenges may come from within. The single greatest potential threat, unhappily, could arise in the West’s traditional anchor state, the USA. Those in Europe and elsewhere who believe in human rights and democracy must rise to the challenges this poses.