Author: Prof. Engr. Zamir Ahmed Awan, Founding Chair GSRRA, Sinologist, Diplomat, Editor, Analyst, Consultant, Advisor, and Non-Resident Fellow of CCG. (E-mail: awanzamir@yahoo.com).
The State Council Information Office of the People’s Republic of China has released a detailed 25-page report on human rights violations in the United States in 2023. This document reveals the significant gap between the U.S.'s proclaimed commitment to human rights and its actual practices both domestically and internationally. While the U.S. presents itself as a global champion of human rights, the report highlights the political motives behind America’s use of human rights as a tool for global dominance.
The United States frequently uses human rights to justify its global actions and influence. However, this report exposes contradictions within its own borders, including political dysfunction, systemic racism, economic inequality, and civil liberties violations. These issues challenge the moral authority the U.S. claims in its human rights advocacy.
China’s report serves as more than a critique; it is a guide for the international community. By revealing these inconsistencies, it invites countries to scrutinize the true motivations behind the U.S.’s human rights discourse. It encourages global leaders to question whether the U.S. is genuinely committed to the principles it espouses or if these principles are being used to maintain geopolitical power.
Moreover, this document calls for a more balanced and fair approach to human rights globally. It urges nations to look beyond the surface of U.S. policies and consider the broader implications of its actions. By doing so, it promotes a more inclusive dialogue on human rights, one that respects the sovereignty of nations and recognizes diverse paths to achieving human dignity and justice.
Manipulation of Human Rights as a tool.
Since the late 1970s, the U.S.’s emphasis on human rights and universal values has often served as a cover for its diplomatic maneuvers. U.S. administrations have taken the moral high ground, promoting concepts like human rights diplomacy, humanitarianism, and humanitarian intervention, particularly after the Cold War. Washington has positioned itself as a global protector of human rights, using these values as a pretext for interventions worldwide.
The reality of U.S. human rights diplomacy is exposed by its reaction to recent pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses, calling for an end to Israeli atrocities against Palestine. This response highlights how the U.S. and its allies decide who deserves human rights. The U.S.’s double standards and contradictory humanitarianism, shaped by a powerful elite, pose a significant global concern.
Obvious Civil Rights Violations
The report outlines the U.S. government's failures in handling political disputes, internal dysfunction, and safeguarding civil and political rights. The rivalry between the two main political factions has led to a stalemate, showcasing a distinct aspect of American democracy. Both political parties skillfully manipulate elections, with money playing a significant role. In the 2023 Kentucky gubernatorial elections, candidates spent a staggering $91 million on campaign advertisements, over three times the amount spent in 2019.
Gun violence is another pressing issue, with nearly 43,000 people dying from gun violence in 2023, averaging 117 deaths per day. Despite these tragic figures, meaningful gun control measures remain elusive, highlighting the government's failure to address one of the nation's most urgent crises. Police brutality is also significant, with at least 1,247 deaths attributed to police violence in 2023, the highest number since 2013. This lack of accountability perpetuates violence and mistrust between the police and the communities they are meant to protect.
Discrimination and Racial Injustice
The U.S. is described as a ‘carceral state,’ with only 5 percent of the global population but 25 percent of the world’s prison population. This reflects systemic issues within the criminal justice system, where mass incarceration is the norm. Political manipulation of elections through gerrymandering and repeated crises in the House of Representatives further erode public trust in the federal government, which stood at 16% in 2023.
Racism is deeply entrenched in American society, particularly within the police force and the criminal justice system. The report cites United Nations experts highlighting systemic racism against African Americans. This racism extends to healthcare, where African American women face a maternal mortality rate nearly three times that of white women. Asian Americans also face significant discrimination, with nearly 60 percent reporting racial bias, exacerbated by policies like the China Initiative targeting Chinese scientists. The proliferation of racist ideologies across sectors, including social media, music, and gaming, makes the U.S. a major exporter of extreme racism globally.
Economic disparity and huge gap between rich and poor
Economic inequality in the U.S. is a significant concern, with an increasing number of “working poor” struggling to make ends meet. The report underscores long-standing disparities in income distribution, resulting in the most severe wealth gap since the Great Depression of 1929. Despite 11.5 million low-income working families, the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant since 2009, reducing its purchasing power. This economic strain forces many families to sacrifice basic necessities such as food, rent, and energy, leading to over 650,000 people experiencing homelessness, the highest number in 16 years. The disillusionment of the working poor undermines the American Dream and contributes to widespread labor strikes.
Gender abuse and Children’s Rights violations
The U.S. faces criticism for its systematic disregard of women’s and children’s rights, notably lacking constitutional provisions for gender equality. Remarkably, the U.S. remains the only UN member state yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women or the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2023, the Senate rejected a constitutional amendment for gender equality. Pregnancy discrimination leads to around 54,000 women losing their jobs annually, and more than 2.2 million women of childbearing age lack access to maternity care. Stringent abortion laws in at least 21 states further diminish women’s rights. Sexual violence remains prevalent, and children’s rights are threatened by inadequate healthcare, gun violence, and drug abuse. The underreporting of missing foster children further highlights the neglect of children’s welfare.
Discriminatory visa regime
U.S. immigration policies are marked by exclusion and discrimination, continuing a legacy from the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the recent “Muslim Ban” of 2017. Immigration has become a tool for partisan gain, with policies reduced to political theatrics that ignore the rights and welfare of immigrants. This results in widespread arrests, human trafficking, and exploitation of immigrants, highlighting the hypocrisy and polarization in U.S. politics.
International meddling and Military Interventions
Internationally, the U.S. faces accusations of pursuing hegemony, engaging in power politics, and exploiting its military strength. The ongoing supply of weapons, including cluster munitions, worsens regional conflicts and leads to numerous civilian casualties and humanitarian crises. Extensive operations involving “proxy forces” destabilize societies in other countries, while the continued operation of Guantanamo Bay prison symbolizes the U.S.’s defiance of international human rights standards.
Use of Human Rights for Geopolitical motives
The U.S.’s disregard for human rights is starkly evident in its apathy towards the deaths and injuries of over 110,000 civilians in Gaza, alongside its repeated vetoing of four UN Security Council resolutions urging an immediate ceasefire. This is compelling evidence of the U.S.’s disdain for human rights principles.
Human rights serve as tools for the U.S. to rally its allies and partners against its adversaries. Despite the need for cooperation with China on various fronts, the U.S. simultaneously denigrates China, revealing that human rights and democracy are not genuinely valued but used as bargaining tools in its foreign policy.
Domestically, the U.S. has consistently failed to uphold its promises of protecting human rights. Internationally, the U.S. government’s supposed commitment to human rights covers its agenda of seeking global dominance.
The annual U.S. human rights reports target China by addressing Taiwan separately, challenging the one-China principle and politicizing human rights. Year after year, Washington uses these reports to denigrate and defame China on issues like Taiwan, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong. For four decades, the U.S. Human Rights Report has categorized nations based on their alignment with U.S. interests. Countries deemed “unfriendly” or competitors are frequently highlighted, whereas U.S. allies receive minimal attention. The U.S. prioritizes a country’s alignment with its geopolitical goals over its human rights record and democratic practices.
The U.S. State Department publishes the “Human Rights Report” annually, using it to exert pressure on and influence other nations. It criticizes and marginalizes competitors while serving as a political reward for allies, categorizing countries into various tiers. The U.S. prioritizes its own interests over global welfare, using tactics of dominance under the guise of “human rights,” and persistently resorting to interference and sanctions to advance its global agenda.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
