Trump Administration Revises US Human Rights Report With Softer Tone On Allies
The US State Department on Tuesday released a revised edition of its annual global human rights report, covering developments and issues throughout the year 2024. This updated version includes new thematic categories such as 'Life", 'Liberty", and 'Security of the Person", which reflect a structural shift in how human rights concerns are presented.
According to sources cited by CNN, the majority of the report was drafted prior to President Donald Trump beginning his second term in January 2025. However, the final version underwent considerable revisions in the months that followed, aligning more closely with the policy positions of the new administration.
Notably, the revised report appears to soften its stance on alleged human rights violations in countries considered allies of the Trump administration. For instance, critical coverage of abuses in El Salvador, where concerns have been raised about mass detentions and arbitrary arrests, has been notably reduced in scope and detail.
Conversely, the report devotes significant attention to countries that have experienced diplomatic tensions with President Trump. It highlights what it describes as a 'general deterioration" in the human rights climate in both Germany and the United Kingdom during 2024. This marks a stark contrast from the 2023 edition of the report, published in April last year.
An appendix included in the new report explains that the country assessments 'were optimised for better ease of use in policy and among partners, and for greater compliance with legal requirements and executive orders of the administration."
Michael Honigstein, the former director of African Affairs at the State Department's Bureau of Human Rights, Democracy, and Labour, helped in compiling the initial reports. He informed CNN, 'We were asked to edit down the human rights reports to the bare minimum of what was statutorily required."
Coverage of the Middle East also reflects a shift in tone. Hamas and Hezbollah are only briefly referenced in a short section addressing war crimes and crimes against humanity. Human rights abuses reportedly committed by Israeli forces during the 2023–2024 Gaza conflict, which were detailed extensively in last year's report, are largely absent.
Additionally, the Afghanistan section has been significantly shortened. In contrast, the Russia chapter is extensive, documenting widespread human rights abuses and confirming the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison in February 2024. The report outlines extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances attributed to Russian state authorities.
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