American Jewish World Service (AJWS) strongly condemns anticipated action by the U.S. State Department to drastically limit reporting on human rights abuses documented in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and calls on Congress to act to safeguard global human rights. Expected reductions in the content of these reports narrowly define who is entitled to human rights protection and who is not and are antithetical to this country’s democratic principles and the Jewish values that anchor our organization.
“Reckless omissions of violations against marginalized communities present immediate danger to women, Indigenous communities and LGBTQI+ people,” said Robert Bank, AJWS President and CEO. “By failing to spotlight serious abuse against some populations, this move creates stark divisions among people that are harmful to humanity, writ large.”
The Country Reports have historically been used globally to inform foreign policy and security decisions, support civil society, advance human rights around the world through diplomatic channels, and set international standards for accountability. Court systems worldwide also rely on these reports to assess asylum cases.
The changes eliminate sections detailing prisoner abuse, reproductive rights and discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, whose behavior is criminalized in 70 countries. Other serious human rights concerns have been downplayed or removed entirely. The administration has defended the edit, saying it “removes redundancies, increases report readability.” The truth is that these omissions will cause lasting harm.
The Country Reports have long protected human rights defenders, independent journalists, and civil society organizations—and continue to serve as comprehensive and credible annual assessments of human rights globally. Radically scaling back content not only threatens their credibility and weakens their effectiveness but diminishes the U.S. government’s ability to hold foreign governments accountable and deprives policymakers, Congress, and civil society of vital information that can help protect the most vulnerable.
We urge the U.S. Congress, which first mandated the Country Reports in 1977 and has since acted to expand their scope, to take steps to ensure the reports remain comprehensive and responsive to the injustices marginalized communities face today.
Members of Congress must act to reinclude coverage of core civil rights, including freedom of expression, association, and movement; privacy; protections against torture; and abuses targeting vulnerable populations. The integrity of the Country Reports is vital to the safety of tens of millions of people. Congress must act to safeguard their future.
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