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Miami Herald
04-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Trump's new office of ‘Western values' will be a showcase of double standards
The Trump administration's plan to create a State Department office of 'Democracy and Western values' sounds like a great idea — on paper. But given the administration's recent actions abroad and at home, this new bureau is likely to have less than zero credibility. According to a 130-page report to Congress by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the proposed office is part of a State Department overhaul that aims to cut 3,448 jobs. The shake-up would scrap most of the existing Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, merging its remnants into a smaller office led by a deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy and Western values. But based on the Trump administration's track record, this new department is shaping up to be a textbook case of political double standards. Expect plenty of finger-wagging at Cuba, Venezuela and Iran — which is fine and necessary — while turning a blind eye to the destruction of democratic institutions in Mexico, El Salvador or Hungary. What's worse, it may echo Trump's praise for some Trump-friendly dictatorships, such as Saudi Arabia, or near-dictatorships like El Salvador. During his visit to Saudi Arabia in March, Trump praised its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as an 'incredible' and 'great' leader. The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in 2021 that bin Salman had approved the operation that killed Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. In recent months, Trump has also rolled out the red carpet for El Salvador's authoritarian president, Nayib Bukele, describing him as a 'remarkable president' and showering him with praise at the White House. While Bukele is popular for slashing El Salvador's crime rates, human rights groups — and, until Trump took office Jan. 20, even the U.S. government — have accused him of widespread abuses and bending the law to seize absolute power. Recently, Bukele passed a law cracking down on human rights, pro-democracy and anti-corruption groups that receive foreign funding. His government has also stepped up arrests of critics. As a headline in The Economist magazine put it this week, 'First he busted gangs. Now Nayib Bukele busts critics.' The Trump administration has also been shy about criticizing Mexico's slow-motion slide into an elected autocracy. On June 1, Mexico held controversial elections to elect judges and Supreme Court justices by direct vote — a far cry from the merit-based appointment system used in most countries. Critics fear — rightly — that the ruling Morena party rigged the voting process to seize the judiciary and give the President Claudia Sheinbaum control over all branches of government. Only 13% of Mexican voters went to the polls. Furthermore, the Trump administration is slashing U.S. aid for human rights and press freedom groups worldwide, including independent pro-democracy websites in Venezuela and Cuba. At home, the administration has little to show when it comes to its defense of 'Western values.' Is it consistent with 'Western values' to try to deport hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Haitians who are legally in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS), often separating them from their U.S.-born children? Is the United States really upholding 'Western values' when its president ignores court rulings, as has happened recently in several immigration cases? Can America really preach about 'Western values' when its president said that there were 'very fine people on both sides' after a group of neo-Nazis clashed with protesters at the infamous 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017? Unless the Trump administration stops praising autocrats and shows respect for America's own constitution, the new 'Democracy and Western Values' office will quickly become a joke. Don't be surprised if it's soon dubbed the Office of Selective Outrage. Its acronym, OSO, means 'bear' in Spanish, which would be fitting for an office that hibernates whenever democracy is under threat. Don't miss the 'Oppenheimer Presenta' TV show on Sundays at 9 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Blog:
Korea Herald
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
US special envoy for NK human rights remains vacant
The position of US special envoy for North Korean human rights issues has remained vacant for more than three months since the start of US President Donald Trump's second nonconsecutive term. According to the US Department of State on Wednesday, Julie Turner — who had held the post since October 2023 — now serves as acting deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Her departure came as part of a broader reshuffle during the administrative transition — a common process in which many special envoy positions are dissolved or reassigned. However, no successor has so far been appointed to the North Korean human rights envoy role. A new nomination appears unlikely in the near term. Before Turner's appointment, the post had remained vacant for six years since her predecessor, Robert King, stepped down in January 2017, just before Trump's first term began. The role remained unfilled until former President Joe Biden nominated Turner at the midpoint of his term in January 2023. Established under the North Korean Human Rights Act, which took effect in October 2004, the envoy position is tasked with coordinating US efforts to improve human rights conditions in North Korea.
Korea Herald
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
US envoy post for N. Korea human rights left vacant
The State Department's special envoy post for North Korean human rights has been left vacant since January, its website showed Tuesday, as the department pushes for a reorganization plan that includes a reduction of human rights-related offices. Former Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights Issues Julie Turner left the post in January, and currently serves as the acting deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, according to the department. Turner took the special envoy post in October 2023, filling a vacancy that had lasted more than six years. It remains uncertain whether President Donald Trump will appoint a new special envoy in charge of North Korean human rights. During her stint, Turner played an active role to highlight the "inextricable" connection between the North's rights abuses and its security threats on the grounds that the "repressive political climate" in the North allows its regime to divert a large share of public resources to weapons development programs. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled the department's reorganization plan that will remove the under secretary post for civilian security, democracy and human rights and create a new post -- the coordinator for foreign assistance and humanitarian affairs. (Yonhap)
Bloomberg
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Britain's Free-Speech Retreat Can't Be Denied
Britain can brace itself for another scolding from US Vice President JD Vance. On Friday, a second anti-abortion activist was convicted of breaching a protest buffer zone outside a clinic, the same offense that prompted Vance to accuse the UK of backsliding on free speech in his February address to the Munich Security Conference. The Veep is right that Britain's climate for free expression is deteriorating — he just picked the wrong case to illustrate the point. Livia Tossici-Bolt, a 64-year-old retired medical scientist, was found guilty of breaching a legal perimeter when she stood near a clinic in southern England holding a sign that said 'Here to talk, if you want.' She was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £20,000 ($26,000). The US State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor said it was disappointed by the outcome and freedom of expression 'must be protected for all.'
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Campaigner defiant over abortion clinic breach
A woman convicted of breaching an abortion clinic protection zone has said she will continue her "fight for free speech". Livia Tossici-Bolt, 64, was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £20,000 for two charges of breaking a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO). The anti-abortion campaigner held a sign reading "Here to talk, if you want" outside a clinic in Bournemouth on two days in March 2023. Her legal representative told the BBC Tossici-Bolt had been offering a "consensual conversation" and would explore "all legal options" following the ruling. The case has been highlighted by US Vice-President JD Vance and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour - a bureau within the US State Department. The bureau said it was "disappointed" by the ruling, in a post on X. "Freedom of expression must be protected for all," it added. Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Tossici-Bolt said: "It was nothing to do with protesting, harassing or intimidating. It was inviting a conversation." She said her actions were "certainly not to make any woman unhappy or distressed". "Anyone could have approached me - including women attending the clinic. It was up to them," said Tossici-Bolt. "I was there to listen to them. Not that I was there to convince them or change minds or not." Asked what she would do next, she said: "I was given a conditional discharge. I will continue my fight for free speech." At Poole Magistrates' Court on Friday, District Judge Orla Austin said Tossici-Bolt's presence "could have a detrimental effect" on the women attending the clinic. The judge continued: "It's important to note this case is not about the rights and wrongs about abortion but about whether the defendant was in breach of the PSPO." The prosecution had been brought by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council for breach of a PSPO under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The zone at Ophir Road came into force in October 2022, running from 07:00 to 19:00, Monday to Friday. Tossici-Bolt's legal counsel, Jeremiah Igunnubole, from the Alliance Defending Freedom, said they would "explore all legal options". He said the conviction and costs imposed were "unprecedented". "Never before have we seen entirely peaceful conduct being criminalised for nothing other than offering a consensual conversation," he said. Speaking earlier this week, former supreme court justice Lord Sumption said: "Women having an abortion - it's a very agonising decision and most people feel they are entitled to protection. "Anti-abortion campaigners can shout their views from the rooftops, broadcast or write in the press. "Freedom of speech is in no way inhibited, except they cannot stand outside abortion clinics so as to harass the women trying to get in." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Woman guilty of abortion clinic safe zone breach Buffer zones set to come in around abortion clinics
