Leading the Way in the Defense of Freedom: Our Work in 2025

In 2025, the world’s autocrats tested the limits of democratic solidarity and resilience. According to Freedom in the World, global freedom had already declined for 19 consecutive years, while Freedom on the Net found that only 16 percent of the world’s internet users live in countries considered Free. Journalists, activists, and ordinary people who fled repressive regimes are realizing that they’re unsafe in their new host countries as authoritarians reach across borders—including into democracies—to attack or intimidate them. And autocratic states are working together to create a world where rigging elections, imprisoning rivals, silencing journalists, and looting public coffers incurs less scrutiny, and where defending people’s fundamental rights is no longer a priority.

Since we became presidents of Freedom House in January, we’ve had the privilege of leading this organization’s nonpartisan team as it champions the defense of democratic values and the fight for justice and liberty in an increasingly dangerous world.

• Our expert researchers are uncovering the increasingly sophisticated strategies authoritarians use to shut down free speech and democratic activism.

• Our programmatic teams are directing support to frontline advocates, political prisoners, journalists, and lawyers who courageously stand firm in the face of tyranny, as well as people who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs.

• Our policy experts are in constant conversation with business, government, philanthropic, and civil society leaders on actions that—if undertaken decisively, and together—can defend democracy.

Earlier this year, this critical work was severely impacted by the sweeping cuts to US foreign assistance. We were forced to close programs that supported democracy’s bravest defenders, and projects that provided insight on how to push back against authoritarian regimes. Despite these challenges, Freedom House was able to continue with its essential mission, thanks to the generous support of democracy advocates like you. Here’s a look at what we accomplished together this year in pursuit of our vision of a world where all people are free—and why Freedom House is not only the United States’ oldest, but also its foremost organization working to defend democracy.

Freedom House’s impact in 2025

Analyzing global freedom. The 52nd edition of Freedom in the World, released in February, found that global freedom had declined for the 19th consecutive year in 2024. The declines were driven by violence and repression during national elections, and by ongoing armed conflict and militant or criminal organizations whose activities made the world less safe and less free. We also highlighted vibrant, competitive elections and promising political reforms around the world—and ultimately underscored the fact that democracy’s defenders must act to protect democratic rights and the rule of law in order to ensure long-term freedom, security, and prosperity. A new edition of the report, examining political rights and civil liberties around the world during 2025, will be released next year.

Supporting freedom’s bravest defenders. In the last year, more than 400 at-risk human rights defenders and organizations in 56 countries received emergency assistance from Freedom House, despite the impact of US funding cuts to these programs. We helped these courageous individuals with relocation, legal representation, trial monitoring, technical equipment, and medical expenses, among other assistance, allowing them to continue their work promoting democracy and freedom around the world.

Tracking dissent within China. Freedom House’s China Dissent Monitor analyzed protests inside China—explaining what motivates dissent and how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime responds to it. We documented more than 5,000 protests in 2025, a considerable increase from 2024 that appears to be linked to the country’s economic slowdown. Our analysis shed light on the main types of economic protests (including those by home buyers, workers, investors, and small-business owners), as well as recent trends in dissent related to education access and school safety. While it’s back online thanks to a tranche of short-term funding, the China Dissent Monitor database went dark for much of 2025 due to the cuts to US foreign assistance, depriving policymakers and researchers of a uniquely valuable public resource that exposes social and political developments on the ground that the CCP tries to hide.

Sounding the alarm on persecution of judges and lawyers. Our policy brief Justice in Shackles: The Global Persecution of Judges and Lawyers found that in at least 78 of 112 countries assessed, judges, prosecutors, or lawyers faced politicized detention, prosecution, or imprisonment between 2014 and 2024. These abuses threaten the basic legal order required for peace, security, and economic growth. We offered actionable recommendations on how democratic governments and civil society organizations can fight back against this assault on the rule of law.

Fighting back against harmful surveillance. We launched a new reporting tool to combat the abuse of powerful spyware and surveillance technologies, which can pose a grave threat to human rights and national security. Using our new template, civil society activists from around the world can report abuses to the US and UK governments, helping them to respond with targeted sanctions and other tools capable of holding perpetrators accountable.

Working to free political prisoners. Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners is working on more than a dozen cases in which people were imprisoned for their democratic activism. In June, for example, we petitioned the United Nations to declare that the detention of Pakistani human rights defender Idris Khattak is arbitrary and unlawful—a step toward, we hope, securing the release of a man known for his work documenting enforced disappearances and defending Pakistan’s Pashtun ethnic minority from persecution. Our field offices have continued to provide direct aid to political prisoners, including a group that was released from Belarus earlier this month. Freedom House has provided consular and psychosocial support to these individuals, and assisted them as they integrate into new host countries.

Leading the fight against transnational repression. Transnational repression (TNR)—the set of tactics used by governments to reach across borders and silence dissent among exiles—is a serious threat to human rights, democratic institutions, and state sovereignty, as well as a disturbing manifestation of global authoritarianism. Freedom House maintains the world’s most comprehensive database of physical TNR incidents. This year, we also examined transnational repression within three democracies—Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom—analyzing their governments’ responses and offering policy recommendations to counter the threat. The monthly TNR Watch feature provided the latest updates on this growing global menace. Early next year, Freedom House will release new data on TNR incidents from 2025.

Tracking internet freedom. Freedom on the Net 2025: An Uncertain Future for the Global Internet found that global internet freedom had declined for the 15th consecutive year. Our analysis described the sophisticated strategies that authoritarian regimes have deployed to control online information and dominate digital spaces over the past decade and a half. The next wave of new technologies will transform how people exercise their rights online; Freedom on the Net offered recommendations on how governments and companies can address authoritarian encroachment and create a free and open global internet.

Revitalizing democratic momentum. In October 2025, Freedom House convened the inaugural Global Freedom Summit at Sea Island, Georgia, bringing together senior leaders from government, business, civil society, and philanthropy to discuss strategies for countering authoritarian expansion and renewing democratic momentum worldwide. The summit culminated in the release of a Declaration of Principles that called for the establishment of a multibillion-dollar fund to invest in and strengthen global freedom and democracy.

Delivering clear insight into global affairs. This year, Freedom House experts testified before Congress about the Chinese government’s ongoing campaign of religious persecution. We also produced analysis that examined challenges faced by Guatemala’s new reformist president, how civil society strategies in South Africa can be emulated to protect information integrity online, how authoritarian governments enable transnational repression through their diplomats abroad, why democracy is the best system for economic growth and innovation, how the US administration can encourage rights improvements in Saudi Arabia, and how international organizations can best support human rights defenders on the front lines.

Honoring democracy’s leading champions. At our annual awards ceremony in May, María Corina Machado, the leader of Venezuela’s democracy movement, appeared by video to accept our Freedom Award on behalf of the Venezuelan people and “all those who have never stopped fighting for freedom with immense courage and moral clarity.” Machado later received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy; her daughter Ana Corina Sosa accepted that prize at a December ceremony in Norway, which Freedom House President Gerardo Berthin attended as Machado’s guest. In October, Freedom House awarded the Mark Palmer Prize—recognizing exceptional achievements by diplomats or civil servants in protecting and advancing democracy—to pioneering dissident, writer, and diplomat Miklós Haraszti. “Having grown up in an unfree Hungary,” he said, “I am reminded that the work of advancing democracy and human rights can never rest.” Others who received awards from Freedom House in 2025 for their work to expand and defend democracy included US Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Roger F. Wicker (R-MS), representatives from the government and civil society of Taiwan, and Server Mustafayev, an unjustly imprisoned Crimean Tatar human rights defender.

Standing in solidarity with Ukraine. The people of Ukraine are defending their liberty, their sovereignty, and their lives against the Kremlin’s unprovoked aggression, which aims to destroy their identity and their nation. As diplomacy intended to stimulate peace talks continued, Freedom House reaffirmed that an end to the war on Ukraine’s terms is the only acceptable outcome, and that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his enablers—including Belarusian President Alyaksandr Luksahenka—must be held fully accountable for their role in the invasion. We also offered recommendations on how democracies can support the Ukrainian people.

Making our voice heard. Freedom House demanded that fundamental rights around the world be protected in a number of public statements and advocacy letters, often alongside our partners. We demanded the release of political prisoners in Bahrain, China, Egypt, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam, and called on Turkish authorities to cease the persecution of journalists. To enhance global security, we urged member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to allocate money for programs that support democracy and human rights beyond the alliance’s borders.

The fight for freedom can’t wait 

Standing up to the authoritarian assault on freedom and democracy is the challenge of our era. How we respond now will determine the survival of freedom for generations to come. As our work in 2025 shows, Freedom House is prepared to rise to the moment.

Your support before December 31 will help us meet our funding goals, strengthen our foundation for 2026, and ensure that we are ready for the many challenges ahead.

Can we count on you to make a gift, of any size, before December 31? Your support today will fuel decisive action—powering our work to protect courageous activists, elevate their voices, and equip a global community of researchers, students, teachers, faith-based leaders, journalists, policymakers, and business leaders to advance lasting democratic change. Please join us: donate to Freedom House today to help expand and defend freedom at a moment when it is most under threat.

With gratitude and appreciation,

Gerardo Berthin and Annie Boyajian