A Comparison - The US and Russia on Human Rights and International Law

When it comes to abiding by the principles of international law and order, the US and 
Russia can rightly be classified as rogue states, who reserve the "right" to use or threaten the use of force in any situation they deem necessary to protect their interests. The US is also the world's top arms dealer, with Russia a distant second. And, don't forget that the US has 750 military bases in 80 nations and territories around the world; Russia has about 20 bases, most of them in former Soviet Republics.

From "RootsAction", April 20, 2022

Neither the United States nor Russia is a party to the International Criminal Court – and the United States punishes other governments for supporting the ICC.

Both the United States and Russia defy the rulings of the International Court of Justice.

Of 18 major human rights treaties, Russia is party to only 11, and the United States to only 5, as few as any nation on Earth: https://indicators.ohchr.org.

Both nations violate treaties at will, including the United Nations Charter, Kellogg Briand Pact and other laws against war.

While most of the world upholds disarmament and anti-weapons treaties, the United States and Russia refuse to support and openly defy major treaties.

There is a problem in world leadership.

Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine – as well as the previous years of U.S./Russian struggle over Ukraine, including U.S.-backed regime change in 2014, Russia's annexation of Crimea, and the mutual arming of conflict in Donbas -- highlight this problem in global leadership.

Russia and the United States stand as rogue regimes outside the Landmines Treaty, the Arms Trade Treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions (prohibiting their use, production and transfer), and many other treaties. Russia stands accused of using cluster bombs in Ukraine today, while U.S.-made cluster munitions have been used by Saudi Arabia near civilian areas in Yemen.

The United States and Russia are the top two dealers of weaponry to the rest of the world, together accounting for a majority of weapons sold and shipped. Meanwhile most places experiencing wars manufacture no weapons at all. Weapons are imported to most of the world from a very few places.

Neither the United States nor Russia supports the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Neither complies with the disarmament requirement of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and the United States actually keeps nuclear weapons in five other nations and considers putting them into more, while Russia has talked of putting nuclear weapons in Belarus and recently seemed to threaten their use over the war in Ukraine.

The United States and Russia are the top two users of the veto power at the UN Security Council, each frequently shutting down democracy with a single vote.