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Amid rising tensions over Greenland, Amnesty International’s Agnes Callamard called on Europe to defend human rights, values, and the rules-based international order. She criticized appeasement toward Trump and other powerful nations.
The leader of global rights organization Amnesty International called on European nations on Monday to resist US President Donald Trump and other global “bullies,” warning that continued appeasement could undermine the post-World War II rules-based order.
“We need much more resistance,” Amnesty Secretary-General Agnes Callamard told AFP on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum. “Europe's credibility is at stake.”
Her remarks come amid escalating tensions over Trump’s repeated threats to take control of Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark. European countries, she said, must stand firm against coercive tactics like tariffs and military threats.
Trump’s Greenland threat sparks European unity
Callamard’s intervention follows Trump doubling down on his plans to seize Greenland, claiming the move is necessary for world security. European powers, including Germany and France, have denounced his threats of new tariffs against countries opposing his Arctic ambitions as “blackmail.”
While condemning Trump’s approach, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasized Europe’s desire to “avoid any escalation” in the dispute ahead of his planned meeting with Trump in Davos on Wednesday.
“Say no” to bullies
Amnesty’s chief urged governments to show courage and reject one-sided deals.
“Stop thinking you can make deals with bullies, stop thinking you can agree to the rules of the predators and not become yourself a victim of them,” Callamard said.
She framed the Greenland dispute as the latest symptom of a broader global trend she sees as destructive to international norms.
“The US bid to seize Greenland is only one indication that the world is facing the destruction of the rules-based order,” she warned.
Global order under threat
Callamard criticized multiple powers for undermining the international system established after World War II.
“Superpowers seem intent on destroying what has been established after World War II, dedicated to finding common rules to our common problems,” she said.
She pointed to Trump’s actions over the past year, Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, and Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in Gaza as evidence of the system’s erosion.
“The fact that it is now being destroyed without any plan B, just for the sake of destroying the rules, should send shivers to all of us,” she added, warning that the alternative was “falling down into an abyss.”
European values and human rights
Callamard stressed that Europe’s mission extends beyond economics.
“The European project was not just about economics, but also about values, humanity, and the rule of law,” she said. “I'm hoping that our leaders will recall that… history and see in the current challenges a way of re-insisting on the European project and demanding human rights protection for the sake of humanity.”
She urged an end to the “appeasement politics” toward Washington.
“Please stop it. Resist. Resist,” she concluded.
(With AFP inputs)
English (US) ·