Previous assertions from State Department officials and reports of directives to remove passages on issues like reproductive rights and discrimination indicate that the department’s newly-published annual assessment of human rights around the world downplays numerous human rights violations.

 

Joanne Lin, Amnesty International USA's national director of advocacy and governmental relations, said:

"From the beginning, this Administration has sent the message that the United States will no longer prioritise efforts to hold the global community to account for human rights.

"Reports of the omission of key passages pertaining to sexual and reproductive rights, women’s rights and the rights of marginalised populations, combined with the Administration’s deference to known human rights violators like the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, make us sceptical that these reports present a full picture of human rights around the world.

 

"Reproductive rights are human rights, and omitting the issue signals the Trump Administration’s latest retreat from global leadership on human rights. Human rights defenders should view the reports with a critical eye, and fight against any effort to obscure or diminish violations of human rights wherever they may occur."

Amnesty International USA's team of experts are this evening reviewing the full report and are available for country and issue-specific questions.