In late April, the U. S. Department of State released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the year 2017. “These reports are a natural outgrowth of our values as Americans,” said John Sullivan, who was serving as Acting Secretary of State at the time of the Reports’ rollout:
“Promoting human rights and the idea that every person has inherent dignity is a core element of this administration’s foreign policy. It also strengthens U.S. national security by fostering greater peace, stability, and prosperity around the world.”
The United States does not rank countries by their human rights record, nor do we pass judgment. However, we would like to point out a few countries with the most egregious human rights records, said Mr. Sullivan.
Syria has committed horrendous human rights abuses in 2017, including barrel bombing of civilians, attacks on hospitals, widespread reports of rape and abuse by Syrian Government personnel.
In Burma, ethnic cleansing has caused nearly 670,000 Rohingya people to flee to Bangladesh in recent months. Thousands have died. “Those responsible for the violations, abuses, and attacks must be held accountable.”
The North Korean regime systematically neglects the well-being of its people to finance its illicit weapons programs via forced labor, child labor, and the export of North Korean workers.
China continues to impose restrictions on activists, civil society, freedom of expression, and the use of arbitrary surveillance.
Iranian authorities continue to deny their people the right of peaceful assembly and freedoms of association and expression.
In Turkey, the detention of tens of thousands of individuals under an ongoing state of emergency has undermined the rule of law there.
In Venezuela, the Maduro regime represses the human rights of the Venezuelan people and denies them their right to have a voice in their government through free and fair elections.
Finally, the Russian Government continues to quash dissent and civil society, even while it invades its neighbors and undermines the sovereignty of Western nations.
“America leads the way globally to promote human rights. We will also continue to impose consequences on those who abuse human rights,” Mr. Sullivan declared.“No human rights abuser, no matter where in the world, is out of our reach. The Human Rights Reports are a significant part of that overall effort.”
