The United States on Tuesday accused Western European nations of worsening human rights conditions due to internet regulations, according to its annual global report, which has been notably abbreviated under Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The report, a requisite by Congress, typically details human rights records worldwide, addressing issues such as unjust detention and extrajudicial killings, reports 24brussels.
In this iteration, the State Department focused on countries that have attracted President Donald Trump’s ire, including Brazil and South Africa, while also highlighting concerns in key US allies like Britain, France, and Germany related to restrictions on online hate speech.
Following tragic events in Britain, where three young girls were killed, authorities targeted social media users spreading false claims about the involvement of a migrant and inciting violence. The report claimed that British officials have “repeatedly intervened to chill speech.”
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce emphasized that online restrictions have been aimed at “disfavored voices on political or religious grounds,” stating, “No matter really how disagreeable someone’s speech may be, criminalizing it or silencing it by force only serves as a catalyst for further hatred, suppression or polarization.”
‘Shocking’ omissions
Despite the criticisms aimed at allies, Rubio’s administration is also under scrutiny for alleged inconsistencies, particularly regarding omissions identified by former State Department officials, such as issues of LGBTQ rights in Uganda, where a strict anti-homosexuality law was enacted in 2023.
Democratic lawmakers have accused Trump and Rubio of wielding human rights as a weapon against adversaries while inviting accusations of hypocrisy from global critics, such as Beijing and Moscow. Representative Gregory Meeks, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, stated that the report has devolved into a tool for advancing political grievances rather than a genuine assessment of human rights.
The report mentioned that there were “no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in El Salvador, instead commending the country for a “historic low” in crime rates, attributed to President Nayib Bukele’s stringent crackdown on crime, which critics argue has resulted in the detention of many innocent individuals.
The report was less thorough regarding Israel, acknowledging cases of arbitrary arrests and killings while suggesting that authorities have taken “credible steps” to address these issues. In contrast, it criticized Brazil for allegedly suffocating democratic dialogue by limiting access to online content viewed as harmful to democracy. The rights situation is reported to have significantly worsened in South Africa as well, particularly against the backdrop of Trump’s support for the white minority.
Amnesty International’s Amanda Klasing described the report’s tone as sending a “chilling message,” indicating that the US might overlook human rights violations if they align with its political objectives. “We have criticized past reports when warranted, but have never seen reports quite like this,” she stated.
