Basic freedoms of expression and association are on the decline around the world, the US said on Friday in a report that warned of worsening conditions for opposition groups and human rights activists.
In a departure from past practice, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declined to announce the report in-person or to speak about it publicly as his predecessors have done.
Human rights groups and some lawmakers decried that decision and said it raised concerns that the US was backing away from its traditionally vocal advocacy on human rights.
Photo: EPA
Corruption, use of torture and discrimination against minorities have gotten worse in some parts of the world, the report said.
It laid out concerns about sexual abuse of women, growing crackdowns on the media and Internet freedom, suppression of political opposition groups and the inability of people to choose their own governments.
Tillerson, in a letter to the US Congress about the report, did not address any specific human rights concerns, but said promoting rights and democracy is “a core element of US foreign policy.”
“These values form an essential foundation of stable, secure and functioning societies,” Tillerson wrote. “Standing up for human rights and democracy is not just a moral imperative, but is in the best interests of the United States in making the world more stable and secure.”
Yet Human Rights Watch, whose research is cited by the US Department of State in its human rights reports, said the commitment of US President Donald Trump’s administration to human rights is already in question due to his policies related to Muslims and his plan to drastically cut the foreign aid budget.
“Tillerson’s absence from the State Department’s annual human rights report release reinforces the message to governments, rights activists and at-risk minorities that the State Department might also be silent on repression, abuse and exploitation,” the group’s Washington director Sarah Margon said.
Although the report does not rank or compare countries, its sections on some individual countries indicate areas of the most concern:
THE PHILIPPINES
The report noted a sharp increase in extrajudicial killings in the Philippines — more than 6,000 suspected drug dealers and users killed by police and unknown vigilantes in the second half of last year.
Despite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s claim that authorities would investigate actions taken outside the rule of law, the report said there were “significant concerns about impunity” of government and local officials.
TURKEY
The report said that the Turkish government has imprisoned tens of thousands of people accused of supporting last year’s failed coup attempt, often without much evidence.
The Turkish government has also suspended some due process protections as part of the state of emergency enacted after the coup and later extended, the report said.
It also detailed concerns about media freedoms and the high number of journalists arrested.
CHINA
“Repression and coercion” of those involved in civil and political rights remains “severe,” the report said. It added that tens of thousands of political prisoners remained incarcerated, despite Beijing’s denial it holds any.
Other serious human rights abuses included arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life, executions without due process, illegal detentions at “black jails,” torture and coerced confessions of prisoners, and detention and harassment of journalists, lawyers, dissidents and petitioners.
VENEZUELA
The report warned of “systematic, politicized use of the judiciary” to undermine the legislative branch and to intimidate and prosecute critics of the government.
It said “indiscriminate” police action has led to torture and limited press freedoms.
The report also said that the media and other groups have reported extrajudicial killings and torture by police and other security forces.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was