The United States deplores the “Deterioration” Human rights in many countries in Europe aimed in particular at restrictions on freedom of expression, according to a highly anticipated annual report from the State Department made public on Tuesday, August 12.
In Germany, the United Kingdom or France, the State Department stresses that “The human rights situation has deteriorated during the year” Passed, according to this human rights report worldwide in 2024, which was supposed to reflect new foreign policy priorities by US President Donald Trump.
Regarding France, the report targets in particular “Credible information reporting serious restrictions on freedom of expression”. He also denounced an upsurge in anti -Semitism acts. In the United Kingdom, Washington is concerned about a new online security law, which must be used to better protect children, which had aroused the strong criticism of Elon Musk social network.
A senior American official said last week, under the guise of anonymity, that the US government intended to have “Free discussions with our partners and allies about what we consider to be censorship or disadvantaged certain voices, whether political or religious”.
American vice-president JD Vance had dismayed the Germans and, more generally, the Europeans, during a speech in Munich in February in which he had affirmed that freedom of expression “Decreed” in Europe, and married the views of the parties like the AFD, recently classified “Right’s extremist” by German internal information.
“Watching and politicizing”
Brushing a picture of the human rights situation worldwide, country by country, the annual report of the State Department, which often strikes a number of governments, is generally published in the spring. Mandated by the US Congress, it is considered by experts to be referring.
But it was partly written under the previous administration of the Democrat Joe Biden, bringing the State Department to amend and restructure it in order to integrate the priorities of the Trump administration, for example against policies promoting diversity programs or even abortion.
“This year’s reports have been simplified in order to be more useful and accessible in the field and by partners, and in order to better respond to the underlying legislative mandate and to align themselves with the decrees of the administration”can be read there.
Elected officials from the Democratic opposition, as well as NGOs, were worried that the report aligns with the policy of Donald Trump and does not draw up a sincere picture of human rights violations in the world.
“The measures taken by the Trump administration to sweeten and politicize these reports compromise their very objective and harm the credibility of the State Department itself”lambasted the Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen last week, according to a statement.
No abuse in Salvador
Thus, with regard to Salvador, a close ally of the Trump administration, the State Department ensures that it “No credible information reporting significant human rights abuses”. Salvador is notably taken to task by many NGOs for its merciless war against the «Spont»the gangs which terrorized the population, as well as the Center for Confainment of Terrorism (CECOC). The United States had expelled to Salvador earlier this year hundreds of Venezuelans, detained in this high security prison and who expressed abuse.
Conversely, the American government is shooting red balls in two countries with which it maintains very tense relations, South Africa and Brazil. “The human rights situation in South Africa has deteriorated considerably during the year”notes Washington, who believes that Pretoria “Has taken a very worrying step towards the expropriation of Afrikaners and new violations of the rights of racial minorities in the country”.
The American President virled with virulence this recent law which aims to facilitate the redistribution of land, inherited from apartheid, the ex-white minority regime.
As for Brazil, the State Department denounces the fact that the courts “Have taken excessive and disproportionate measures to undermine freedom of expression (…) and democratic debate by restricting access to online content deemed + harmful to democracy +”according to the report. The judge of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Alexandre de Moraes, is targeted by multiple American sanctions.
