The Trump Administration's Partisan Global Human Rights Report Will Have 'Devastating Consequences'
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What an observer says about a situation often reveals more about themselves than the object of their commentary.
Such is the case with the latest annual global human rights report issued by the State Department earlier this month, which reveals far more about the US's changing priorities than anything about the actual state of human rights and democracy in the world.
Previous iterations of this report, mandated by Congress since 1978, aimed to provide an objective assessment of a country's performance against the benchmark of standards in the main international human rights conventions.
This year's report is a vastly scaled-back affair, with entire categories of abuse watered down or erased, and countries' reports cut by dozens of pages in many cases.
It is also nakedly partisan in its assessments, giving countries perceived to enjoy friendly relations with the Trump administration far softer treatment than those with which it is perceived to be in conflict.
According to the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, a coalition of former State Department officials opposed to the Trump administration's foreign assistance cuts and many of its other policies, "This is not an oversight; it is deliberate erasure."
Friends With Benefits
Amongst the countries coming in for softer treatment are El Salvador - whose authorities have cooperated closely with the Trump administration in receiving deported migrants from the US into the notoriously abusive CECOT prison, and Hungary, whose strongman leader, Viktor Orban, has formed a strong bond with Trump, and whose autocratic rule is seen as a role model for right wing conservatives in America.
For example, the 2023 report noted El Salvador's overcrowded prisons and reports of "arbitrary killings; enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention," and more.
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The 2024 report found "there were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses", celebrated that "reports of gang violence remained at historic low" thanks to mass arrests, and even commended the government for its "credible steps" to identify and punish officials guilty of abuses.
By contrast, elsewhere in Latin America, Brazil, whose leader, Lula da Silva, has repeatedly clashed with Trump over the treatment of former President and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro, comes in for scathing criticism.
The 2024 report asserts that the human rights situation there has declined, with the government allegedly undermining freedom of speech and democratic debate, disproportionately targeting supporters of Bolsonaro, and failing to tackle reported abuses credibly.
It is no coincidence that Brazil-US relations are at their lowest level in decades, in the wake of Trump's decision to levy 50% tariffs on Brazil and impose sanctions on its main judges as punishment for Brazil's prosecution of Bolsonaro for attempting to overturn the result of the 2022 election. Ironically, the effect has been to boost popular support for Lula and accelerate Brazil's strategic pivot towards China.
Likewise, this year's executive summary for Hungary notes, "there were no significant changes" and "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses". Last year's report included extensive mention of "serious government corruption" and restrictions on media freedom.
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Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
What an observer says about a situation often reveals more about themselves than the object of their commentary.
Such is the case with the latest annual global human rights report issued by the State Department earlier this month, which reveals far more about the US's changing priorities than anything about the actual state of human rights and democracy in the world.
Previous iterations of this report, mandated by Congress since 1978, aimed to provide an objective assessment of a country's performance against the benchmark of standards in the main international human rights conventions.
This year's report is a vastly scaled-back affair, with entire categories of abuse watered down or erased, and countries' reports cut by dozens of pages in many cases.
It is also nakedly partisan in its assessments, giving countries perceived to enjoy friendly relations with the Trump administration far softer treatment than those with which it is perceived to be in conflict.
According to the Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, a coalition of former State Department officials opposed to the Trump administration's foreign assistance cuts and many of its other policies, "This is not an oversight; it is deliberate erasure."
Friends With Benefits
Amongst the countries coming in for softer treatment are El Salvador - whose authorities have cooperated closely with the Trump administration in receiving deported migrants from the US into the notoriously abusive CECOT prison, and Hungary, whose strongman leader, Viktor Orban, has formed a strong bond with Trump, and whose autocratic rule is seen as a role model for right wing conservatives in America.
For example, the 2023 report noted El Salvador's overcrowded prisons and reports of "arbitrary killings; enforced disappearance; torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by security forces; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention," and more.
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The United States' former ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, tells Alexandra Hall Hall that she couldn't "in good conscience" execute the President's plans for the country
Alexandra Hall Hall
The 2024 report found "there were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses", celebrated that "reports of gang violence remained at historic low" thanks to mass arrests, and even commended the government for its "credible steps" to identify and punish officials guilty of abuses.
By contrast, elsewhere in Latin America, Brazil, whose leader, Lula da Silva, has repeatedly clashed with Trump over the treatment of former President and Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro, comes in for scathing criticism.
The 2024 report asserts that the human rights situation there has declined, with the government allegedly undermining freedom of speech and democratic debate, disproportionately targeting supporters of Bolsonaro, and failing to tackle reported abuses credibly.
It is no coincidence that Brazil-US relations are at their lowest level in decades, in the wake of Trump's decision to levy 50% tariffs on Brazil and impose sanctions on its main judges as punishment for Brazil's prosecution of Bolsonaro for attempting to overturn the result of the 2022 election. Ironically, the effect has been to boost popular support for Lula and accelerate Brazil's strategic pivot towards China.
Likewise, this year's executive summary for Hungary notes, "there were no significant changes" and "no credible reports of significant human rights abuses". Last year's report included extensive mention of "serious government corruption" and restrictions on media freedom.
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