stand up for human rights. Yet two decades later, those who take up the mantle of defending human rights often face the gravest of consequences. In 2017, the tragic death of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo in China was emblematic of the contempt in which too many governments hold human rights defenders. He died in custody from liver cancer on 13 July, after the Chinese authorities refused to allow him to receive medical treatment abroad. Meanwhile, narratives of national security and counter-terrorism have continued to provide justification to governments seeking to reconfigure the balance between state powers and individual freedoms. States have a clear responsibility to protect people from acts of violence that are designed to terrorize; yet, increasingly, they have done so at the expense of rights rather than to protect rights. Europe has continued to slip towards a near-permanent state of securitization. France, for example, ended its state of emergency in November, but only after adopting a new anti-terror law, which embedded in ordinary law many of the provisions of the emergency regime. However, despite the gravity of these assaults on human rights, an understanding of the global struggle for the values of human dignity and equality demands that we resist any simple equation of repressive government versus principled people-power. Today’s public spaces are contested between often-polarized extremes. While both Poland and the USA saw significant rallies calling for human rights protections not to be undermined, a large-scale nationalist march with xenophobic slogans in Warsaw and a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville called for policies that are profoundly antithetical to human rights. Abusive policies and practices that deny human rights to certain groups enjoyed popular support in many countries. Today, many of our most important public spaces exist online, where the tools for addressing emerging challenges have at times proved wholly inadequate to the task. The avalanche of online abuse, particularly against women, and the incitement of hatred against minorities, drew weak and inconsistent responses from social media companies and scant action from governments. The impact of “fake news” as a tool for manipulating public opinion was widely discussed throughout 2017. Technological capabilities to blur the distinction between reality and fiction are only likely to grow in future, raising significant questions about people’s access to information. These concerns are compounded by the extreme concentration of control in only a handful of companies over the information people view online, and by the huge power asymmetry between individuals and the companies and governments who control vast amounts of data. The capabilities deriving from this to shape public attitudes are immense, including virtually unchecked potential for incitement to hatred and violence. As we approach the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in December 2018, the challenge ahead is clear. This is a moment to reclaim the essential idea of the equality and dignity of all people, to cherish those values, and demand that they become a foundation for policy-making and practice. The artificial boundaries erected by a politics of demonization lead us only towards conflict and brutality, a nightmarish vision of humanity governed by naked self-interest and blinded to the plight of others. Too many leaders in the world have allowed the exponents of vilification to set the agenda, and failed to articulate an alternative vision. It is time for this to change. We must refuse to accept narratives of demonization and build instead a culture of solidarity. We must hone our capacity for generosity towards others. We must assert the right of all people to participate in building the societies to which they belong. And we must seek constructive answers – rooted in human rights – to the frustrations, anger and alienation that provide a ready context for toxic political narratives of blame. The coming year provides a vital opportunity for a renewed commitment to the transformative idea of human rights, as we ask what kind of societies we want to live in. We must not squander it. 14 Amnesty International Report 2017/18