THE WORLD CANNOT BE BUILT ON VIOLENCE
As this document is written, the United States and Israel are conducting ongoing airstrikes against Iran that have killed over 1,255 people in their first
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A Comprehensive Global Mapping of Authoritarianism, Armed Conflict, and Violations of International Law—And a Call for Accountability, Diplomacy, and Fundamental Peace
Executive Summary
We are living through a moment of profound moral crisis. In March 2026, the world is witnessing simultaneous wars on multiple continents, a dramatic surge in authoritarian governance, and systematic violations of international law by the very nations that once championed the rules-based order. The International Committee of the Red Cross is now working across more than 130 active armed conflicts — more than double the number from just fifteen years ago. The V-Dem Institute reports that autocracies now outnumber democracies for the first time in over two decades. The Human Rights Foundation’s Tyranny Tracker classifies 80 countries as fully authoritarian, with approximately 75 percent of the world’s population living under some form of authoritarian rule.
As this document is written, the United States and Israel are conducting ongoing airstrikes against Iran that have killed over 1,255 people in their first twelve days, including an attack that Iran says killed over 100 schoolgirls near a military base. Iran is retaliating with strikes across nine countries. The war in Ukraine grinds through its fourth year. Gaza’s humanitarian catastrophe continues unabated. Sudan’s civil war has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. And the mental health toll of all this violence — the anxiety, depression, PTSD, moral injury, and suicide that ripple outward from every bomb and every bullet — is creating a shadow pandemic of suffering that will haunt generations.
This document, issued by the World Happiness Foundation, serves three purposes. First, it provides the most comprehensive mapping we can offer of the leaders, regimes, and regions where violence, domination, and violations of international law have become normalized — identifying over 45 countries and their leaders. Second, it documents the devastating mental health consequences of this violence. Third, and most importantly, it is a call to the global civil society to reject the normalization of violence in all its forms, to demand that all responsible leaders be brought before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and to champion a new paradigm of diplomacy that separates those who fight rather than arming them.
I. The State of the World: A Planet on Fire
1.1 The Global Escalation of Armed Conflict
As of March 2026, international monitors track active, high-intensity armed conflicts in over 30 countries. The most devastating include the Russia-Ukraine war (entering its fifth year, with estimated Russian casualties alone reaching 200,000–285,000), the Israel-Gaza conflict (with over 21,000 killed between mid-2024 and mid-2025 according to ACLED), the Sudanese civil war (over 20,000 killed in the same period, with millions displaced and facing famine), and the Myanmar civil war (over 15,000 casualties in the latest reporting period). Wars rage across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, Central Africa, Colombia, Yemen, Haiti, and numerous other regions where civilians pay the highest price.
1.2 The Bombing of Iran: The Escalation Spiral in Real Time
On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on multiple cities across Iran, including Tehran, Isfahan, Qom, Karaj, and Kerman. The strikes killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, destroyed military and government infrastructure, and opened a devastating new war. Within two weeks, more than 5,000 targets were struck in Iran. Preliminary casualty figures report over 1,255 dead in Iran, at least 13 in Israel, 8 US soldiers, and 17 killed in Gulf states. Iran says one attack killed over 100 girls at an elementary school near a military base.
Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes across nine countries — Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Israel itself. A strike on Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem killed nine Israelis. The conflict has shut down Dubai International Airport (the world’s busiest for international flights), threatened the Strait of Hormuz, pushed oil prices to $100 per barrel, and created cascading economic and humanitarian consequences across the entire Middle East and beyond.
This escalation — launched during active negotiations when the Omani mediator had just reported significant progress and Iranian agreement to zero enriched uranium stockpile — represents the most egregious sabotage of diplomacy in recent memory. The stated aim of regime change through military force violates the most fundamental principles of the UN Charter. As Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson told international media: this is an unjust war imposed on a nation. And as the Iranian President declared, Iran considers revenge its legitimate right and duty.
This is precisely the trap. When violence is answered with more violence, when revenge becomes a ‘right,’ when each side sees its own strikes as defensive and the other’s as aggression, the spiral has no bottom. Each act of retaliation creates the justification for the next. The bombing of Iran will not create peace in the Middle East. It will create the conditions for decades of further conflict, radicalization, and human suffering.
1.3 The US Intervention in Venezuela
On January 3, 2026, the United States launched coordinated airstrikes on Caracas and forcibly apprehended President Nicolás Maduro. This operation was widely condemned as a flagrant violation of Venezuela’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, in direct contravention of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter. President Trump subsequently framed the intervention as a strategic maneuver to secure Venezuelan oil and rare earth elements — a strikingly colonial articulation of motive. The intervention has triggered armed resistance by Venezuelan militia groups, Colombian rebel fighters (ELN), and further refugee flows across the hemisphere.
1.4 The Authoritarian Wave
The 2025 V-Dem report found that 45 countries are experiencing autocratization, while only 19 are democratizing. Autocracies (91) now outnumber democracies (88) for the first time in over two decades. The Tyranny Tracker classifies 74 democracies, 25 hybrid authoritarian regimes, and 80 fully authoritarian regimes. Among the most consequential findings, the V-Dem report identified the United States as undergoing the fastest evolving autocratization episode in its modern history. This represents a seismic shift in the global democratic landscape.
1.5 The Erosion of International Law
In January 2026, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the General Assembly that the world faces brazen violations of international law. He specifically criticized Russia for invading Ukraine, the United States for its military operations in Venezuela, and the general culture of impunity. His words bear repeating in their essence: when leaders pick and choose which rules to follow, they undermine global order and set a perilous precedent.
As legal scholars have documented, violations of international law are contagious. When one powerful nation breaks the rules, others follow, and democracies too lower their standards. The rules-based order built after World War II is under existential threat.
II. Comprehensive Mapping: Leaders, Countries, and Violations
The following table provides the most comprehensive mapping we can offer of the leaders, regimes, and situations where violence, authoritarian rule, or violations of international law are documented by credible international institutions. It includes over 45 countries and covers every continent. Sources include the ICC, ICJ, V-Dem, Freedom House, the Economist Intelligence Unit, ACLED, the ICRC, the Human Rights Foundation’s Tyranny Tracker, and the Council on Foreign Relations.
| Country / Region | Leader / Regime | Key Violations | Accountability Status |
| Russia | Vladimir Putin | Full-scale invasion of Ukraine (2022–present), annexation of Crimea, war crimes, bombing civilian infrastructure, mass deportation of children | ICC arrest warrant (March 2023); estimated 200,000–285,000 Russian casualties |
| Israel | Benjamin Netanyahu | Military operations in Gaza (21,000+ killed 2024–25), starvation as method of warfare, bombing of hospitals and schools, operations in Lebanon, joint strikes on Iran (Feb–Mar 2026) | ICC arrest warrant (Nov 2024); ICJ genocide case (South Africa v. Israel); multiple countries filed intervention declarations |
| United States | Donald Trump | Military intervention in Venezuela (Jan 2026), joint strikes on Iran killing supreme leader (Feb 2026), 5,000+ targets struck in Iran, sanctions on ICC, withdrawal from Paris Agreement, tariff violations of WTO rules | Multiple int’l law analyses cite violations of UN Charter Art. 2(4), WTO rules; V-Dem: fastest autocratization episode in US modern history |
| China | Xi Jinping | Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang (credible genocide allegations), suppression of Hong Kong democracy, threats to Taiwan, digital surveillance state | Fully authoritarian per all indices; not ICC member; UN Commission documentation |
| Iran | Ali Khamenei (killed Feb 2026) / Mojtaba Khamenei (successor) | Violent crackdown killing thousands of protesters (Jan 2026), retaliatory strikes on Israel and US bases across 9 countries, support for proxy militias | Fully authoritarian; retaliatory strikes in 12 countries; Strait of Hormuz closure |
| North Korea | Kim Jong Un | Nuclear weapons program, political prison camps (est. 80,000–120,000 detained), systematic torture, executions, total information control | UN Commission found crimes against humanity; fully authoritarian; not ICC member |
| Myanmar | Military junta (Min Aung Hlaing) | 2021 military coup, ongoing civil war (15,000+ casualties 2024–25), mass atrocities against Rohingya and other ethnic groups | ICC investigation; ICJ genocide case (The Gambia v. Myanmar); hearings concluded Jan 2026 |
| Afghanistan | Taliban (Haibatullah Akhundzada) | Systematic persecution of women and girls, elimination of rights to education/movement/expression, destruction of civil liberties | ICC arrest warrants issued (July 2025) for crimes against humanity; gender-based persecution landmark case |
| Philippines | Rodrigo Duterte (former president) | Extrajudicial killings (est. up to 30,000) in ‘war on drugs’, Davao Death Squad operations | ICC indicted March 2025, arrested and transferred to The Hague; first Asian leader at ICC |
| Sudan | SAF / RSF leaders | Civil war since April 2023, mass atrocities in Darfur/Kordofan, famine affecting millions, 20,000+ killed 2024–25 | ICC conviction of Al-Rahman (Oct 2025, 20 years); one of world’s deadliest conflicts |
| Libya | Fragmented governance / militia leaders | Ongoing armed conflict, detention center torture, militia rule | ICC warrant for Osama Almasri (Libyan judicial police chief); arrested Nov 2025 |
| Mali |
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