U.S., Ivanka Trump slam China over trafficking
He instead wrote a brief introduction, and a lower State Department official answered reporters’ questions anonymously. There was no ceremony.
The contrast with Tuesday’s high-profile suggests concerns over human trafficking could take precedence over a broader human rights strategy.
Some independent human rights groups saw weakening in this year’s report, noting that Iraq and Myanmar were removed from a list of countries that rely on child soldiers.
“Taking (Myanmar) and Iraq off the list when they continue to use child soldiers is both contrary to U.S. law and harms children still in the ranks,” Jo Becker, children’s advocacy director at the New York-based Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.
Tillerson singled out China for special criticism, pointing to its use of “forced laborers from North Korea.”
“Their pay does not come to them directly,” he added. “It goes to the (government in Pyongyang). which confiscates most of that, obviously.”
Criticizing Beijing now may be a negotiating tactic, a way to apply more pressure on Beijing to act against North Korea, analysts said.