In February, the vice-president of the United States had stunned Europe during a speech in Munich. JD Vance explained then that freedom of expression was “behind” on the continent and that it worried him more than the threat of “Russia or China”. Several months later, the Trump administration released its annual report “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices”, supposed to take stock of fundamental freedoms in the world and, once again, Europe is pointed out for its “decline in human rights”. But many observers and NGOs have criticized the new version of this annual meeting, amputated many clauses under the aegis of Donald Trump.
“The omission of key sections by the Trump administration and the manipulation of human rights violations committed by certain countries degrade and politicize the report,” reacted Human Rights Watch in a statement transmitted to 20 Minutes. Pushed back by several months and weight in relation to its previous versions, the report notably ignores all violations related to the Queer community. “If he was partly written under the old administration, Donald Trump largely put his paw there before he was broadcast. He was very watered down, but also politicized, ”analyzes Anne Savinel-Barras. The president of Amnesty International France also believes that it is “not a credible report”.
A “tool that serves Trump’s policy”
A Kyrielle from other NGOs evoke a politicized report by the Trump administration. According to anonymous government officials, cited by Reuters, the report was delayed several months to make it conform to the values of “America first”. Thus, the “Reproductive Rights” section, integrated under Barack Obama, was purely and simply deleted. A decision that aligns with the massive attacks which aim for the right to abortion in the United States. Divided by four, the report also ignores women’s rights, gender -based violence or discrimination. “Donald Trump wanted to make this report a tool that serves his policy above all and especially before establishing the facts,” regrets Anne Savinel-Barras.
Foreign policy has also played on the contours of the report. The allies of the new American administration are thus particularly pampered. In Hungary, the report does not note “significant human rights violations” even though the pride march has been prohibited. Even if she did not go under popular pressure, the mayor of the capital is still risking up to a year in prison. No mention is made of the 61,000 dead in the Gaza Strip, the blockade and the use of famine as a weapon of war by Israel or even deadly attacks targeting journalists. And two days before a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Washington talks about the invasion of Ukraine as a “war between Russia and Ukraine”.
A global “human rights”
Conversely, some countries are not spared, especially those of the European continent where fundamental freedoms would have “deteriorated”. “We are going through a human rights crisis all over the world, not just in Europe. Yes, there is also a regression in Europe and France, confirms Anne Savinel-Barras. But we are much more worried about what is going on in the United States. “For President France of the NGO, the conclusion is not false, but” it is not necessarily the right criteria “. Thus, Washington believes that freedom of expression regresses in the United Kingdom, in particular because the country has set up buffer areas around abortion clinics in order to prevent the harassment of women who came to receive care.
Our file on the United States
In France, the report mentions “credible information” reporting “serious restrictions on freedom of expression” without citing concrete examples, such as specific laws, judicial affairs or specific incidents. Associations, on the contrary, show a decline in fundamental freedoms, in particular of expression and manifestation “around Palestinian questions, but also of the defense of the environment”. By ignoring certain violations while insisting on others, Washington therefore draws up a picture of human rights which leaves large gray areas, and in particular on itself.
