What will Trump presidency mean for global human rights?

During his election campaign, US president-elect Donald Trump showed himself happy to praise repressive regimes and strongman leaders, including Russia's Vladimir Putin.

So what will a Trump presidency mean for human rights around the world?

'A rush to repression'

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If Trump follows the course he set out during his campaign, there will be "a rush to repression in countries around the world", warns the Washington Post.

The newspaper notes that one of the first global leaders to congratulate him was Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Trump called Sisi, who took power in a military coup, a "fantastic guy" earlier this year.

"During the campaign, Trump brushed off reports of brutality and repression by the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Syria's Bashar al-Assad and Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan," says the Post. "Not surprisingly, all three regimes welcomed his Electoral College victory."

Trump in China

The reality TV star's win is a "gift" to propagandists for China's authoritarian regime, says Katie Stallard of Sky News.

A Clinton presidency would have been "four long years of criticism – of being lectured about China's record on human rights". Trump's presence in the White House will let them off the hook, Stallard concludes.

Trump repeatedly vilified China as a trade "cheat" on the campaign trail, but his team are already climbing down from that position, says The Guardian, and offering a more conciliatory tone.

In fact, experts believe Trump could initiate a dramatic rapprochement with the world superpower, says the newspaper, because he will be prepared to overlook the authoritarian regime's widespread human rights abuses.

China expert Orville Schell told the Guardian that the property tycoon could radically shake up the Sino-American relationship because of his unusual style.

"He wants to swagger into [China and Russia] and show that his acumen is not policy, it's not experience, it's, 'Let's make a deal'," he said. "Trump has this grandiose notion of his ability to make a deal. And his deals don't normally trifle with such things as human rights [or] American values."

China's human rights activists are in despair at Trump's election, says the Guardian. They will be "roadkill" in the path of Trump's "big leader machinations to... prove his acumen as a powerful and catalytic deal-maker", says Schell.

Trump and women

Trump is particularly bad news for women in China, Asia and the rest of the planet, says Stallard: "It's hard to suit-up and advocate for women's rights around the world when you're known for apparently bragging about sexually assaulting them."

Women worldwide have reason to be fearful, according to Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch. She said: "It's hard to pressure other governments to improve their human rights record when you are credibly alleged to have committed abuses.

"In order to be credible on women's rights, and indeed any human rights, president-elect Trump needs to answer allegations against him and publicly commit to upholding the United States' many and longstanding human rights commitments."