US State Department softens criticism of Trump partner countries in overhauled human rights report

Washington: President Donald Trump's administration has significantly changed a key US government report on human rights worldwide, dramatically softening criticism of some countries that have been strong partners of the Republican president, such as El Salvador and Israel, which rights groups say have robust track records of human rights abuses.

Instead, the US State Department in its widely anticipated 2024 Human Rights Report sounded an alarm about the erosion of freedom of speech in Europe and ramped up criticism of Brazil and South Africa, both of which Washington has clashed with over a host of issues.

Any criticism of governments over their treatment of LGBTQI rights, which appeared in Biden administration editions of the report, appeared to have been largely omitted. Washington referred to Russia's invasion of Ukraine mainly as the "Russia-Ukraine war."

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. Some 61,000 people have died, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, as a result of Israel's military operations in response to an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas in October 2023.

The report was delayed for months as Trump appointees altered an earlier State Department draft dramatically to bring it in line with "America First" values, according to government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The report introduced new categories such as "Life" and "Liberty," and "Security of the Person."

"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.

Washington's bilateral ties with El Salvador have strengthened since Trump took office, as the administration has deported people to El Salvador with help from President Nayib Bukele, whose country is receiving $6 million from the US to house the migrants in a high-security mega-prison.

The Trump administration has moved away from the traditional U.S. promotion of democracy and human rights, seeing it as interference in another country's affairs, even as it criticized countries selectively, consistent with its broader policy towards a particular country.

One example is Europe, where Trump officials repeatedly weighed in on European politics to denounce what they see as suppression of right-wing leaders, including in Romania, Germany, and France, and accused European authorities of censoring views such as criticism of immigration.

For decades, the State Department's congressionally mandated Human Rights Report has been used as a blueprint of reference for global rights advocacy.

This year's report was prepared following a major revamp of the department, which included the firing of hundreds of people, many from the agency's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, which takes the lead in writing the report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio in April wrote an opinion piece that said the bureau had become a platform for "left-wing activists," saying the Trump administration would reorient the bureau to focus on "Western values."

Differing assessments

In Brazil, where the Trump administration has clashed with the government, the State Department found the human rights situation declined, after the 2023 report found no significant changes. This year's report took aim at the courts, stating they took action undermining freedom of speech and disproportionately suppressing the speech of supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, among others.

Bolsonaro is on trial before the Supreme Court on charges he conspired with allies to violently overturn his 2022 electoral loss to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Trump has referred to the case as a "witch hunt" and called it grounds for a 50 per cent tariff on Brazilian goods.

In South Africa, whose government the Trump administration has accused of racial discrimination towards Afrikaners, this year's report said the human rights situation significantly worsened. It stated that "South Africa took a substantially worrying step towards land expropriation of Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities in the country."

In last year's report, the State Department found no significant changes in the human rights situation in South Africa.

Trump, earlier this year, issued an executive order that called for the U.S. to resettle Afrikaners, describing them as victims of "violence against racially disfavored landowners," allegations that echoed far-right claims but which have been contested by South Africa's government.