U.S.: Russia, China, Iran are ‘forces for instability’
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is lashing out at China, Iran, Russia and North Korea for being “forces of instability” because of human rights abuses of their own citizens and others.
In its annual global human rights reports released on Friday, the State Department singled out the four countries for egregious rights violations, including restricting the freedoms of speech and assembly and allowing or committing violence against religious, ethnic and other minority groups. It said that countries that undermine the fundamental dignity of people are “morally reprehensible” and harm U.S. interests.
“The governments of China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, for example, violate the human rights of those within their borders on a daily basis and are forces of instability as a result,” acting Secretary of State John Sullivan said in an introduction to the reports, one for each country and territory in the world.
In addition to harshly criticizing those countries by name, the reports, which cover 2017 and are the first entirely produced by the Trump administration, replace sections on “reproductive rights” with one titled “coercion in population control.” The shift underscores the Trump ad- ministration’s anti-abortion position that has already manifested itself in eliminating funding for international health programs and has been criticized by women’s health advocates.
Groups like Amnesty International denounced the report for that reason and others, maintaining that the administration’s domestic policies — as well as close relationships with countries accused of abuses — had badly damaged its credibility as a leader in human rights advocacy.
“From the beginning, this administration has sent the message that the United States will no longer prioritize efforts to hold the global community to account for human rights,” Amnesty said. “The omission of key passages pertaining to sexual and reproductive rights, women’s rights and the rights of marginalized populations, combined with the administration’s deference to known human rights violators like the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey, make us skeptical that these reports present a full picture of human rights around the world.”
The report said Beijing is responsible for arbitrary detentions, executions without due process and coerced confessions of prisoners as well as forced disappearances and “significant restrictions” on freedom of speech, press, assembly, association, reli- gion, and movement.
“China continues to spread the worst features of its authoritarian system,” Sullivan said.
The theocratic Shiite government in Iran is responsible for executing “a high number” of prisoners for crimes that don’t merit the death penalty, the report said, along with torture, jailing of dissidents, severe curbs on journalists, gays and religious minorities. It also accused Iran of taking few steps to investigate, prosecute or punish any officials who committed the abuses, citing a widespread pattern of impunity for offenders.
Moscow was lambasted in the report for allowing a “climate of impunity” for human rights abuses and doing little to punish officials who violate basic rights. The report laments Russia’s “authoritarian political system dominated by President Vladimir Putin,” in contrast with Trump’s reluctance to criticize Putin or the Kremlin directly.
Ahead of an anticipated historic meeting in the coming weeks between Trump and leader Kim Jong Un, the report accused North Korea of “egregious human rights violations” in nearly all of the categories included in the report. Forced labor, torture, coerced abortion and arbitrary arrests are all noted in the report.