970x125
The U.S. State Department has released its widely anticipated 2024 Human Rights Report, which has dramatically softened criticism of some countries that have been allied with President Donald Trump, while some traditional allies of Washington have been criticised for ‘erosion of freedom of speech’.
970x125
2024 Human Rights Report
The 2024 Human Rights Report, which was largely completed before Trump began his second term, reportedly underwent significant revisions in the subsequent months before it was released on Tuesday.
No credible reports on El Salvador
One of the most notable is how the US under President Trump sees the human rights situation in El Salvador.
“There were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses,” the 2024 report said about El Salvador, in sharp contrast with the 2023 report that talked about “significant human rights issues” and listed them as credible reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings, torture, and harsh and life-threatening prison conditions.
In recent months, El Salvador has emerged as a strong Trump ally, with President Nayib Bukele even accepting illegal migrants deported by the US to be housed in a high-security mega-prison there.
The report’s section on Israel was much shorter than last year’s edition and contained no mention of the severe humanitarian crisis or death toll in Gaza.
South Africa, Brazil singled out
The report, however, has been critical of restrictions on political speech by U.S. allies in Europe that American officials believe target right-wing politicians.
South Africa was also singled out for its human rights situation “significantly worsening.” The report pointed to unfair treatment of white Afrikaners, a minority that ran the country’s apartheid government.
Another country where the State Department found the human rights situation declined is Brazil.
The Trump administration has clashed with the Lula da Silva government in Brazil over several issues, including the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro, which Trump has referred to as a “witch hunt”. The 2024 Human Rights Report took aim at the courts in Brazil, stating they took action undermining freedom of speech and disproportionately suppressing the speech of supporters of Bolsonaro.
Silent on treatment of LGBTQI
Another significant change in this year’s report is how it largely omitted criticism of governments over their treatment of LGBTQI rights, which had appeared in Biden administration editions of the report.
970x125
