The State Department is Cutting Out Human Rights Abuses from Annual Reports
The State Department’s Human Rights Reports were mandated by Congress in 1974 to ensure funding did not go toward torture, involuntary detention, and suppression of fundamental freedoms. The reports collect information on human rights abuses around the world. But this year’s human rights reports were created under completely rewritten instructions, featuring a huge reduction in information on human rights abuses. Amanda Klasing, National Director of Government Relations and Advocacy at Amnesty International USA, sits down to talk with us about these devastatingly slashed human rights reports.
The reports provide a human rights overview for any given country for the year, and they require human rights desk officers in embassies to engage with human rights defenders within the country and document any abuses. This allows Congress to make fact-based decisions and protect asylum seekers. This year’s human rights reports featured a complete rewrite of the instructions for dramatically reduced sections related to fundamental freedoms for particular populations (including women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, and more). The reports are 1/3rd shorter than they were before.
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Follow Amnesty International USA on Facebook and X to stay up-to-date on their important work.
Call your Senators and urge them to support the Safeguarding the Integrity of Human Rights Reports Act, introduced by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). You can reach the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Always look for and use a host of sources. You can find the more comprehensive story, told beyond the now heavily slashed State Department Human Rights Reports, through organizations such as Amnesty International, Amnesty International USA, and Human Rights Watch.