Peoples under Threat 2018
Peoples under Threat identifies those country situations around the world where communities face the greatest risk of genocide, mass killing, or systematic violent repression. Based on current indicators from authoritative sources Peoples under Threat has been compiled every year since 2005 to provide early warning of potential future mass atrocities. Peoples under Threat highlights more than twenty situations with pressing risks – states either at the top of the index or those rising swiftly up it. It is estimated that these situations will account for the vast majority of civilians who will suffer mass killings in the coming year.
The latest analysis shows that mass killings and other atrocities continue to threaten civilian populations, especially those belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples, in many parts of the world. In recent years it is non-state armed groups that have dominated headlines and been associated with many of the most serious human rights abuses.
A look at the index also highlights how many countries featured there are in fact defined by creeping authoritarianism and the growing concentration of powers with the state. While countries in the midst of civil conflicts and mass violence continue to feature highly, a striking development is the ranking of a number of countries not traditionally associated with these threats.