US criticises Europe in report for alleged restrictions on free speech
Donald Trump and the new US administration have a different view of the global human rights situation than President Joe Biden did in previous years. In an annual report on the matter, the focus has shifted. Long-standing partners of the US are now also facing harsh criticism.
Washington (AFP/dpa/AP/PA Media) - The United States has alleged a deterioration of human rights in European countries in an annual rights report. The US State Department said that human rights were worsening in allies Britain, France and Germany while reporting no issues in El Salvador, where migrants deported this year on US President Donald Trump's orders said they were subject to beatings and sleep deprivation in prison.
The reports reflect the new US administration’s focus on free speech and protecting the lives of the unborn. However, they also offer a glimpse into the administration’s view of dire human rights conditions in some countries that have agreed to accept migrants deported from the United States under Trump's immigration crackdown.
The new reports follow previous practices in criticizing widespread human rights abuses in China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, but they eliminate mentions of discrimination faced by LGBTQ people which were recognized in previous reports.
Amnesty International speaks of 'very selective documentation'
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch criticized the reports, accusing the Trump administration of mischaracterizing some records of abuses and omitting others to fit its political aims. "With the release of the U.S. State Department’s human rights report, it is clear that the Trump Administration has engaged in a very selective documentation of human rights abuses in certain countries,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
US broadcaster CNN cited sources as saying that the report, which had been drafted before Trump took office in January, was significantly pared down by the new administration.
“This year’s reports were streamlined for better utility and accessibility in the field and by partners,” the State Department said. The congressionally mandated reports in the past have been frequently used for reference and cited by lawmakers, policymakers, academic researchers and others investigating potential asylum claims or looking into conditions in specific countries.
German government rejects criticism
Among the countries that the new report critize is Germany. "The human rights situation in Germany worsened during the year," said an executive summary of the report's Germany entry. "Significant human rights issues included restrictions on freedom of expression and credible reports of crimes, violence, or threats of violence motivated by antisemitism." According to the report, the German government "took some credible steps to investigate, prosecute, and punish officials who committed human rights abuses."
The report on Germany relating to 2023 had not highlighted any significant changes regarding the human rights situation but did flag some crimes against members of ethnic and religious groups, including Muslims. Anti-Semitism was also mentioned in 2023, as were crimes involving violence or the threat of violence against members of the LGBTQI+ community.
The German government has rejected the new report. "There is no censorship in Germany," Deputy Government Spokesperson Steffen Meyer said in Berlin. "We have a very high level of freedom of expression in Germany, and we will continue to defend it in every form." Jens Spahn, head of the conservative parliamentary group in the German Bundestag, also rejected the accusations from Washington, stating on Welt TV: "Everyone can say what they think in Germany. This is a free country."
US sees 'serious restrictions' on freedom of expression in the UK
The US administration report also accuses the United Kingdom of backsliding on human rights over the past year, citing increased antisemitic violence and growing restrictions on free speech. The US assessment flagged what it described as "serious restrictions" on freedom of expression in the UK. "The government sometimes took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses, but prosecution and punishment for such abuses was inconsistent," the report read.
The report specifically said laws limiting speech around abortion clinics, pointing to "safe access zones", curbed expression, including silent protests and prayer. "These restrictions on freedom of speech could include prohibitions on efforts to influence others when inside a restricted area, even through prayer or silent protests," the report read.
A UK government spokesperson told the BBC: "Free speech is vital for democracy around the world, including here in the UK, and we are proud to uphold freedoms whilst keeping our citizens safe."
US partners in Africa criticised – but not El Salvador
The reports, with one notable exception, detail general poor human rights conditions in many of the countries that have agreed to accept migrants that are deported by the US government, even if they are not citizens of that nation. The exception is El Salvador, which was the first of several countries in Latin America and Africa to agree to accept non-citizen migrant deportees from the U.S.
Despite claims from rights advocates to the contrary, the report about the country says “there were no credible reports of significant human rights abuses” in El Salvador in 2024 and that “the government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.” Human rights groups have accused authorities in El Salvador of abuses, including at a notorious prison where many migrants are sent.
For Eswatini — a country in Africa formerly known as Swaziland —, South Sudan and Rwanda, the reports paint a grimmer picture. All three countries have agreed to accept third-country deportees from the United States, and in all three countries the reports noted “significant human rights issues included credible reports of arbitrary or unlawful killings, torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment ... serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, prohibiting independent trade unions or significant or systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association.”
South Africa and Brazil are also singled out
South Africa was also singled out for its human rights situation “significantly worsening.” The report pointed to unfair treatment of white Afrikaners following the signing of major land reforms that the Trump administration has said discriminate against that minority, which ran the country’s apartheid government. That system brutally enforced racial segregation, which oppressed the Black majority, for 50 years before ending in 1994. With the signing of that law in December, the report said that “South Africa took a substantially worrying step towards land expropriation of Afrikaners and further abuses against racial minorities in the country.”
Freedom-of-speech issues were raised in Brazil, which has more recently provoked Trump’s ire by prosecuting his ally — former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro — and led to the imposition of massive U.S. tariffs and sanctions against Brazil’s Supreme Court chief justice. “The human rights situation in Brazil declined during the year,” the report said. “The courts took broad and disproportionate action to undermine freedom of speech and internet freedom by blocking millions of users’ access to information on a major social media platform in response to a case of harassment”, the report read.