The Trump administration is considerably reducing the State Department’s annual reports on international human rights, stripping away longstanding critiques of human rights abuses such as harsh prison conditions, government corruption, and restrictions on political participation, as reported by NPR.
Despite decades of established practice, these reports—which are intended to inform congressional decisions regarding foreign aid allocations and security assistance—will no longer call out governments for denying freedoms such as movement and peaceful assembly.
The updated reports will omit condemnations of the unlawful detention of political prisoners and restrictions on free and fair elections.
Furthermore, the forced return of refugees or asylum seekers to their home countries where they may face torture or persecution will no longer be emphasized, nor will serious harassment of human rights organizations be noted.
An editing memo and other documents obtained by NPR indicate that State Department employees are instructed to ‘streamline’ the reports, limiting them to only what is legally required.
The memo clarifies that the changes are designed to align the reports with current U.S. policy and ‘recently issued Executive Orders.’
Officially called ‘Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,’ these annual documents are legally mandated to provide a ‘full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights.’
Human rights defenders have voiced concerns that these cuts represent an American disengagement from its role as the global human rights advocate.
Paul O’Brien, executive director of Amnesty International, USA, stated, ‘What this is, is a signal that the United States is no longer going to [pressure] other countries to uphold those rights that guarantee civic and political freedoms—the ability to speak, to express yourself, to gather, to protest, to organize.’
A spokesperson for the State Department declined to comment on the memo or the human rights reports, although NPR confirmed the memo’s authenticity through two sources familiar with the process.
Typically released in March or April each year, the reports are highly anticipated by foreign leaders and diplomats who closely follow their countries’ portrayals.
The 2024 reports were initially completed in January before President Trump took office; however, they have since undergone revisions by the new administration.
State Department sources indicated that the revised versions will not be published until May.
The documents reviewed by NPR corroborate a report by Politico that indicates sections regarding violence and discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals will be removed, alongside any references to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).
Among the topics that have been explicitly ordered to be excluded from the reports are:
– Involuntary or coercive medical or psychological practices.
– Arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy.
– Serious restrictions on internet freedom.
– Extensive gender-based violence.
– Violence or threats of violence targeting individuals with disabilities.
By law, the State Department is required to release annual reports for every country, and these traditionally follow a basic structure.
The cuts mandated in the Trump administration’s memo do not target any specific countries, but rather eliminate entire categories of abuses from all reports.
Nonetheless, some deletions carry greater significance than others.
The Trump administration has recently negotiated the transfer of immigrants from the U.S. to El Salvador’s notorious prison system. In a draft of the forthcoming report on this country reviewed by NPR, the section regarding prison conditions has been omitted.
The only references to these violations are categorized under ‘extrajudicial killings’ and a mention of abuse by prison guards, included in a legislatively mandated section on ‘Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.’
In the report on Hungary, a marked-up version circulated as a model for applying the new directives shows that the segment labeled ‘Corruption in Government’ has been removed.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has faced accusations of authoritarianism, with previous reports denouncing restrictions on civil liberties.
President Trump has referred to him as ‘a great man and a great leader in Europe.’
András Léderer, from Hungary’s oldest and largest human rights group, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, informed NPR that the State Department’s new policy diminishes the leverage of human rights defenders in countries with problematic records on these issues.
‘You’re removing pressure, and it definitely sends the message to the perpetrators that this is not important for [the U.S.] anymore,’ Léderer conveyed.
Individuals specializing in human rights have expressed apprehension regarding the impact of these cuts on the reports’ credibility and influence within the international community.
Christopher Le Mon, who served as a deputy assistant secretary in the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor until January, stated, ‘You can’t overstate the value in the real world of the annual State Department human rights reports being credible and impartial.’
He added, ‘You also can’t overstate the damage it will do to that credibility if the Trump administration’s edits are seen to diminish—not just the scope of what are defined as human rights, but also if those edits are seen to play favorites.’
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized the prior administration for what he referred to as ‘a proliferation of human rights,’ leading to his move to scale them back.
He established a Commission on Unalienable Rights that primarily focused on rights articulated during the Revolution and post-World War II eras, while downplaying matters like discrimination and reproductive rights, and emphasizing religious freedom and the right to private property.
The memo reviewed by NPR presents changes that are substantially broader.
In 2013, then-Senator Marco Rubio emphasized the significance of these audits, noting that they highlight ‘foreign governments’ failure to respect’ fundamental rights, from the sexual exploitation of women and children to the denial of political rights to minorities.
He stated that the reports highlight that ‘the United States will stand with freedom-seeking people around the world.’
Now, as Secretary of State, Rubio is responsible for these reports.
Traditionally, he would advocate for their public release; however, under his supervision, the violations he previously cited regarding sexual exploitation and the denial of political rights are being removed from the reports.
The reports will still include human rights issues specifically required by law, such as war crimes and genocide, anti-Semitism, worker rights, and child marriage.
While attacks on press freedom must still be reported, assaults on freedom of expression for the general populace will not be noted.
For all required categories, the editing memo dictates that where multiple examples were referenced in the original drafts, reporting should be ‘reduced’ to just a single example.
Paul O’Brien from Amnesty International characterized this approach as misguided.
‘These things are not meant to be novels or cliffhangers,’ he remarked.
‘They are deeply useful as reference documents for folks with various needs. You’re trying to understand whether to invest in a country.
You’re trying to understand how to engage with a set of political actors in charge of a country and where you want to hold them accountable.’
The reports on Hungary and El Salvador are among 20 countries flagged for special review by a ‘Senior Advisor’ in the department—a political appointee.
Other countries flagged include Argentina, Egypt, South Africa, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, the Philippines, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
image source from：https://www.npr.org/2025/04/18/nx-s1-5357511/state-department-human-rights-report-cuts
