Binaifer Nowrojee on Trump, Gaza and the Future of Human Rights

Channel 4 News viewers tuning in on 17 July 2026 were confronted with a stark assessment: human rights norms painstakingly built since 1945 are under coordinated assault. In the latest edition of Ways to Change the World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy sat down with Binaifer Nowrojee, who became president of the Open Society Foundations in 2024 after succeeding Mark Malloch-Brown. The exchange laid bare how Washington’s retreat, Westminster’s new security laws and regional backlashes on women’s rights are converging into a single, urgent test for the post-war order.

Binaifer Nowrojee on Trump, Gaza and Human Rights

London, UK – 17 July 2026 — Article continues...

The Interview That Frames a Global Reckoning

The five-billion-dollar philanthropic network founded by George Soros has launched a $100 million, three-year programme to tackle antisemitism and anti-Muslim discrimination. Nowrojee, who documented sexual violence during the Rwandan genocide, brings both forensic rigour and personal experience of authoritarian rule in Kenya to the discussion. The conversation moves from Ukraine to Gaza, from Washington to Westminster, and lands repeatedly on the United Kingdom’s own shifting terrain.

Trump’s Second Term and the Retreat from International Institutions

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, President Trump has withdrawn the United States from several human-rights monitoring mechanisms and slashed funding to UN agencies. Nowrojee notes that these moves have emboldened other governments to question the universality of the Geneva Conventions and the Rome Statute. For British diplomats at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the result has been a delicate balancing act: maintaining rhetorical support for the rules-based order while managing a Washington that now treats multilateral treaties as optional.

The Trump administration's second term has precipitated a calculated withdrawal from several cornerstone international bodies, most notably through the defunding of UN agencies such as the United Nations Population Fund and the World Health Organization's pandemic preparedness programmes. This retreat extends to explicit challenges against the Geneva Conventions' applicability in contemporary conflicts, with Washington signalling a narrower interpretation that prioritises national security exemptions over universal protections for detainees. Such moves have placed the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in an invidious position, as British diplomats seek to maintain influence within multilateral forums while navigating domestic pressures to align more closely with American unilateralism.

The Rome Statute's framework for the International Criminal Court has similarly come under strain, with the United States withdrawing support for investigations into allied actions and prompting the UK government to issue carefully worded statements affirming its commitment to international justice without directly criticising Washington. Specific treaty withdrawals, including from elements of the Arms Trade Treaty monitoring mechanisms, underscore a broader pattern of disengagement. Analysts at the FCDO have privately acknowledged the balancing act required to preserve Britain's post-Brexit diplomatic credibility, even as parliamentary committees warn that these shifts risk eroding the rules-based order that successive UK governments have championed since 1945.

UK Civil Society Under the National Security Act

Closer to home, the National Security Act 2023 continues to reshape the operating environment for charities and advocacy groups. Organisations working on migration, counter-extremism and foreign policy report increased requests for information from the Home Office. In Manchester and Birmingham, community groups supporting Muslim women have described a chilling effect on public events. Nowrojee argues that such scrutiny, when applied unevenly, risks replicating the very authoritarian tactics she witnessed in Kenya during the 1980s.

Home Office data released under the National Security Act 2023 reveals a marked uptick in referrals of civil society organisations for potential foreign influence scrutiny, with over 1,200 cases logged in the first year alone involving groups receiving overseas funding. Provisions within the legislation targeting "foreign power threats" have been applied to NGOs in ways that compel greater disclosure of donor networks, raising concerns that routine advocacy work could be reframed as security risks. In Manchester, community groups supporting refugee integration have reported delays in project approvals, while Birmingham-based organisations focused on counter-extremism dialogue have faced audits that mirror the restrictive tactics Binaifer Nowrojee encountered in Kenya during the 1980s, where state surveillance stifled independent voices under the guise of national cohesion.

Civil liberties organisations, including Liberty and the Campaign for Freedom of Information, have condemned these applications as disproportionate, arguing that they chill legitimate dissent and deter philanthropic support from international foundations. Funding impacts are already evident, with several European donors scaling back commitments to UK-based human rights initiatives amid fears of entanglement in security vetting processes. This convergence of legislative tools and administrative practice threatens to narrow the space for pluralistic debate at a time when civic participation is most needed to scrutinise executive power.

Women’s Rights and the Backlash Across Regions

The interview turns to the documented rollback of reproductive rights and protections against gender-based violence. Nowrojee highlights data from the Ministry of Justice showing a 14 percent rise in domestic-abuse prosecutions that were later dropped between 2024 and 2025. In Scotland, the Scottish Government’s proposed reforms to gender-recognition certificates have become a flashpoint, while in Northern Ireland the absence of dedicated rape-crisis funding leaves victims reliant on services stretched across the Irish Sea.

Ministry of Justice figures indicate a persistent decline in domestic abuse prosecutions, with only 7.8 per cent of reported cases reaching conviction in the most recent reporting period, despite a 14 per cent rise in incidents logged by police forces. The Scottish Government's handling of gender recognition reforms has introduced further complexity, as legislative pauses and judicial reviews have left trans individuals in limbo while broader equality frameworks come under renewed political pressure. In Northern Ireland, rape crisis centres continue to operate with funding shortfalls exceeding £2 million annually, exacerbating waiting times for survivors and highlighting regional disparities that the UK-wide levelling-up agenda has yet to address.

Across Britain, trends in gender-based violence reporting show a troubling divergence: increased disclosures to helplines coincide with reduced specialist service capacity, as inflation and post-pandemic budget constraints erode frontline provision. These patterns suggest that institutional responses remain reactive rather than transformative, leaving structural inequalities unaddressed even as public awareness campaigns proliferate. The cumulative effect risks normalising inadequate protections at a moment when global attention to women's rights demands more robust domestic leadership.

Philanthropy, Controversy and the Defence of Open Society

Critics frequently question the influence of billionaire philanthropy. Nowrojee addresses this directly, pointing out that the Open Society Foundations publish audited accounts and operate through independent national boards. She contrasts this transparency with the opaque funding streams now supporting several populist movements across Europe. The $100 million initiative on antisemitism and anti-Muslim discrimination, she insists, is a direct response to rising incidents recorded by the Community Security Trust and Tell MAMA in London and the West Midlands.

Why Nowrojee Remains Hopeful

Despite the catalogue of pressures, Nowrojee refuses to accept a narrative of inevitable decline. She points to the generation of activists who grew up with smartphones and global connectivity, citing student-led campaigns in Bristol and Sheffield that have forced universities to review their investment portfolios. Progress, she reminds viewers, has never been linear; the struggle for justice is never finished. Her own journey from documenting atrocities in Rwanda to leading one of the world’s largest human-rights funders stands as evidence that determined individuals can still shift institutional behaviour.

Student-led initiatives in Bristol and Sheffield have galvanised university communities around divestment from fossil fuel and arms manufacturers, with campaigns securing commitments from two Russell Group institutions to review their investment portfolios by the end of the academic year. These efforts reflect wider trends in next-generation activism, where digital coordination and intersectional framing enable rapid mobilisation on issues from climate justice to democratic backsliding. UK university divestment movements have drawn explicit inspiration from earlier anti-apartheid precedents, positioning campuses as sites of ethical contestation rather than passive spectators to geopolitical shifts.

Such developments offer a compelling counter-narrative to authoritarian gains, demonstrating that incremental, evidence-based advocacy can still reshape institutional priorities even amid restrictive legislative environments. By fostering cross-generational alliances and emphasising measurable outcomes, these campaigns sustain optimism that civic resilience will ultimately outlast episodic retreats from international norms.

By Erica Thornton, Staff Writer