US Human Rights Report Under Trump Cuts Key Abuses From Allies’ Records Critics Call It ‘Half-Truths’ and ‘Soviet-Style’ Whitewashing"










U.S. State Department Human Rights Report Cuts Key References to Abuses in Allied Nations

The U.S. State Department has released its 2024 Human Rights Report, covering nearly 200 countries — but critics say it has been heavily edited to downplay human rights violations in several allied nations, including El Salvador, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel.

This year’s report, unveiled Tuesday, is significantly shorter than the 2023 edition and omits multiple references to women’s rights, LGBTQ+ protections, and civil liberties that were present in prior reports. Analysts say these changes reflect a shift in U.S. foreign policy priorities under former President Donald Trump, who has taken a more selective approach to human rights advocacy.

Language Softened for Strategic Allies

Sections on El Salvador, Hungary, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E., and Israel have seen reduced or removed descriptions of ongoing abuses. The changes come despite the Biden administration’s historically close ties to Israel and its prior documentation of alleged human rights violations during the Gaza conflict following the October 2023 Hamas attacks.

Where the 2023 report detailed large-scale civilian casualties, mass displacement of Palestinians, and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the 2024 version offers far less detail — a move that has fueled accusations of political interference.










Trump-Era Policy Influence on Human Rights Reporting

The report reflects an emphasis on defending right-wing governments and conservative political allies. In its Brazil section, the State Department accuses the left-leaning administration of “disproportionately suppressing” supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro, journalists, and elected officials through secret proceedings lacking due process. In response, the Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on U.S. imports from Brazil.

The South Africa section warns of a “substantially worrying” legislative push toward land expropriation from Afrikaners, echoing Trump’s calls to grant refugee status to white South African farmers — a policy critics argue plays to white grievance politics.

Restructuring and Scaling Back Human Rights Oversight

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismantled key State Department offices overseeing human rights, democracy, and labor issues, firing numerous staff and ending the tradition of presenting the report publicly. While once a vocal Senate critic of China’s human rights abuses, Rubio now emphasizes diplomatic cooperation, even pushing for a U.S.–China summit between Trump and President Xi Jinping.

Although the China section of the report still mentions the U.S. finding of genocide against Uyghur Muslims, it is far shorter than before and omits previous references to crackdowns on peaceful assembly and freedom of association.

Russia, Israel, and West Bank Coverage Reduced

The State Department is also preparing a meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, despite Putin facing an International Criminal Court arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine.

Former State Department official Josh Paul, who resigned in protest over U.S. arms sales to Israel during the Gaza war, sharply criticized the latest report, calling it “few truths, many half-truths, and nothing like the truth.”

Paul argued that the new Israel section avoids critical facts from last year’s report, including tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths, widespread injuries, and a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Critics say the edits undermine the credibility of the U.S. State Department’s human rights assessments and signal a deeper politicization of the process.