Latest news with #HumanRightsReport
NBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Trump administration to scale back annual human rights reports
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is scaling back the State Department 's annual Human Rights Report and placing a new focus on restrictions on freedom of expression by U.S. allies as well as adversaries. The reports, which are widely anticipated and read around the world, have been composed by U.S. diplomats under congressional mandate for almost 50 years as a measure of countries' adherence to internationally recognized human rights. The report for last year, which normally would have been released in the spring, has already been delayed by months. 'The 2024 Human Rights Report has been restructured in a way that removes redundancies, increases report readability and is more responsive to the legislative mandates that underpin the report,' a senior State Department official said Wednesday in a briefing to reporters. 'We call out certain abuses that we think deserve highlighting, but just because we focus on one instance does not mean that we are not aware of other instances of human rights abuses,' the official added, noting that all 198 countries and territories were listed in the reports. The delay follows dramatic cuts to the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, including the elimination of almost every office as part of the mass reorganization of the agency earlier this year. The official dismissed concerns about staffing shortages and said the draft version that had been received from the Biden administration prioritized things 'the American people rejected,' noting that 'the process of revising and ensuring that the report is readable and is factually based took several months.' The official said the report is still being finalized but would be transmitted to Congress 'in the near future.' When the 2024 report is released it will reflect the values of this administration, the official said, including concerns about a global threat to freedom of expression. 'Governments around the world continue to use censorship, arbitrary or unlawful surveillance and restrictive laws against disfavored voices, often on political and religious grounds,' the official said. The official cited Vice President JD Vance's controversial speech to the Munich Security Conference in February, during which he accused European Union leaders of suppressing free speech, particularly that of far-right groups. 'We are committed to having frank conversations with our allies, our partners and also our adversaries, to promote freedom of expression around the world,' the official said. The report will also focus on the right to life, 'the most cherished fundamental human right of all,' the official said. 'When governments are using means to hurt life, to destroy life, whether that be through war, whether that be through transnational repression, whether that be through extrajudicial killings, those are issues that we're going to raise.' The official declined to directly address whether the report would address other human rights concerns such as government corruption and restrictions on participation in the political process, the denial of freedom of movement or peaceful assembly and access to free and fair elections.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Dept defends human rights abuse report changes, says streamlined process eliminates 'political bias'
The State Department is pushing back against criticism of its changes to the process of reporting human rights abuses. NPR reported last week that the Trump administration was scaling back annual reports meant to inform congressional decisions on allocating foreign aid to countries, claiming the State Department was "changing its mind on what it calls human rights." Fox News Digital is told the 2024 Human Rights Report has been restructured to remove redundancy, increase readability, and return the focus to human rights abuses – instead of a "laundry list of politically biased demands and assertions." Rubio Announces Closure Of State Department Effort That 'Was Supposed To Be Dead Already' "NPR's report that the State Department is scaling back the Human Rights Report is misleading and misguided," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. "This year's modifications are critical for removing report redundancy, increasing readability, maintaining consistency to U.S. statutes, and returning focus to human rights issues rather than political bias." Fox News Digital is told the restructuring of the reports "will be more responsive to legislative mandates that underpin the report" and "does not reflect a change in U.S. policy on promoting respect for human rights around the globe or in any particular country." The State Department notably has attempted to streamline the reports to better align with statutory requirements under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Read On The Fox News App NPR and Politico reported on an internal memo that purportedly showed the 2024 Human Rights Report, which was finished in January but has been adjusted under the new administration, will no longer include references to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or sections on discrimination or abuse against the LGBTQ+ community. State Department's 'Global Engagement Center' Accused Of Censoring Americans Shuts Its Doors The annual reports – known as "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" – normally come out in March or April. NPR said sections that called out countries for "forcibly returning a refugee or asylum-seeker to a home country" or the "serious harassment of human rights organizations" would be absent this year. NPR also stressed that prior reports had sections detailing countries' "involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices," "arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy," "serious restrictions to internet freedom," "extensive gender-based violence," and "violence or threats of violence targeting people with disabilities," but the new report would not. Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International, USA, criticized the changes under the Trump administration. He told NPR: "What this is, is a signal that the United States is no longer going to [pressure] other countries to uphold those rights that guarantee civic and political freedoms – the ability to speak, to express yourself, to gather, to protest, to organize." During President Donald Trump's first term, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited what he categorized as a "proliferation of human rights" on the global stage. "We wanted to go back to first principles, back to our founding documents, our Declaration of Independence, our Bill of Rights to focus on those things that are central to the understanding of rights here in America," he said in July 2020. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is overseeing changes at the department during Trump's second term. Last week, he announced the closure of the State Department's Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which he accused of costing taxpayers more than $50 million per year and spending "millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving."Original article source: State Dept defends human rights abuse report changes, says streamlined process eliminates 'political bias'
Fox News
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
State Dept defends human rights abuse report changes, says streamlined process eliminates 'political bias'
The State Department is pushing back against criticism of its changes to the process of reporting human rights abuses. NPR reported last week that the Trump administration was scaling back annual reports meant to inform congressional decisions on allocating foreign aid to countries, claiming the State Department was "changing its mind on what it calls human rights." Fox News Digital is told the 2024 Human Rights Report has been restructured to remove redundancy, increase readability, and return the focus to human rights abuses – instead of a "laundry list of politically biased demands and assertions." "NPR's report that the State Department is scaling back the Human Rights Report is misleading and misguided," a senior State Department official told Fox News Digital. "This year's modifications are critical for removing report redundancy, increasing readability, maintaining consistency to U.S. statutes, and returning focus to human rights issues rather than political bias." Fox News Digital is told the restructuring of the reports "will be more responsive to legislative mandates that underpin the report" and "does not reflect a change in U.S. policy on promoting respect for human rights around the globe or in any particular country." The State Department notably has attempted to streamline the reports to better align with statutory requirements under both Republican and Democratic administrations. NPR and Politico reported on an internal memo that purportedly showed the 2024 Human Rights Report, which was finished in January but has been adjusted under the new administration, will no longer include references to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or sections on discrimination or abuse against the LGBTQ+ community. The annual reports – known as "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" – normally come out in March or April. NPR said sections that called out countries for "forcibly returning a refugee or asylum-seeker to a home country" or the "serious harassment of human rights organizations" would be absent this year. NPR also stressed that prior reports had sections detailing countries' "involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices," "arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy," "serious restrictions to internet freedom," "extensive gender-based violence," and "violence or threats of violence targeting people with disabilities," but the new report would not. Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International, USA, criticized the changes under the Trump administration. He told NPR: "What this is, is a signal that the United States is no longer going to [pressure] other countries to uphold those rights that guarantee civic and political freedoms – the ability to speak, to express yourself, to gather, to protest, to organize." During President Donald Trump's first term, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cited what he categorized as a "proliferation of human rights" on the global stage. "We wanted to go back to first principles, back to our founding documents, our Declaration of Independence, our Bill of Rights to focus on those things that are central to the understanding of rights here in America," he said in July 2020. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is overseeing changes at the department during Trump's second term. Last week, he announced the closure of the State Department's Counter Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference (R/FIMI), formerly known as the Global Engagement Center (GEC), which he accused of costing taxpayers more than $50 million per year and spending "millions of dollars to actively silence and censor the voices of Americans they were supposed to be serving."
