Concerns raised over U.S. commitment to human rights
WASHINGTON — In a possible sign of things to come, the State Department gave a decidedly lowkey launch to its annual report on human rights worldwide.
Normally the comprehensive report that looks at the human rights situation in nearly 200 countries and territories is released with a bit of fanfare.
Some years, the secretary of State has personally announced it to reporters, or, at the least, the official in charge of the agency’s democracy and rights department does so.
This year, new Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was not on hand. And only a State Department official who declined to be identified announced the release of the study on Friday and agreed to answer reporters’ questions by telephone conference call.
President Trump has indicated that promoting democracy and human rights will not be his administration’s top foreign policy priorities.
Tillerson, in his Senate confirmation hearing, alarmed some activists when he declined to label some countries with notorious human rights records as abusers.
The State Department official who spoke took issue with reporters who suggested Tillerson was less interested in human rights. The official cited a preface that Tillerson wrote for the report, which he noted showed the United States’ “unwavering commitment to advancing liberty, human dignity and global prosperity.”
Tom Malinowski, who headed the democracy and rights office as an assistant secretary of State until Trump was inaugurated, was present at last year’s launch.
“Every SecState since at least Warren Christopher [1993-97] personally released the human rights reports,” he tweeted Friday. “MIA Tillerson - bad for him and the country.”
The Human Rights First advocacy organization said in a statement that the failure to put a public face on the report’s release was “another troubling indication that the Trump administration intends to abandon U.S. leadership on human rights and universal values.”
Asked why neither Tillerson nor any other official was publicly attending the rollout, the State Department official referred back to Tillerson’s Senate testimony.
The report itself said that, despite consolidation of democracy in some parts of the world, there was also a great deal of backsliding.
Extrajudicial killings, torture and abuse of minorities, migrants, women and gays and lesbians is on the rise in many countries. Among those cited is the Philippines, where the government and vigilantes have been accused of killing thousands of people in a so-called drug war.
This is the 41st year that the report, compiled through the work of hundreds of U.S. diplomats, has been released. It is often used as guidance for congressional decisions on the distribution of foreign aid — something else the Trump administration is considering cutting back.