USDOS publishes annual report on human rights for 2022

The US Department of State released its annual report on human rights, covering 2022.

The country chapters are currently uploaded on ecoi.net and available under this link.

Update 11 April 2023: More information on the preparation of the reports (including changes) can be found in Appendix A:

"For purposes of focus and streamlining, the reports select a few illustrative examples of alleged abuses or violations and follow up in most instances only on the previous year’s high-profile unresolved allegations. In recent years the Department of State’s annual instructions on the update of the Country Reports removed the requirement that information be provided even when no abuse or violation was alleged. An example is a reduction in information on prison conditions when there have not been allegations of inadequate conditions. [...]

Additionally, the Department of State’s annual instructions also made changes to sharpen the focus on reports of violations and abuses of internationally recognized human rights and each government’s actions regarding such violations and abuses. For example, the executive summary of each report is sharply focused on credible reports of the significant types of violations and abuses of internationally recognized human rights, if applicable to the country concerned. These include reports of extrajudicial killing, torture, harsh and life-threatening prison conditions, and the worst forms of restrictions on freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, association, and religion or belief, as well as bias-motivated crimes of violence and similar abuses. The summary does not include many other common issues, such as overcrowding in prisons and societal discrimination, but these matters continue to be covered in the body of the reports.

In 2022 there is increased attention to reporting of threats and violence against human rights defenders, particularly those exercising their civil and political rights to advocate for the environment and land as well as Indigenous peoples’ rights. Additionally, in section 1.e. of this year’s reports, as has been the case since the 2019 reports, there is an expanded subsection on politically motivated reprisal against individuals located outside the country (otherwise known as “transnational repression”). The 2022 reports in section 6 contain new and expanded information on abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex individuals. Finally, in section 1.f., the 2022 reports include greater information, when known, about the use of technology to arbitrarily or unlawfully surveil or interfere with the privacy of individuals (e.g., citizens, civil society, journalists, members of minority groups).

While the reports continue to report on societal conditions, including discrimination, that can affect the enjoyment of internationally recognized human rights, we have reduced the amount of statistical data in the subsections of the report illustrating those conditions. In the age of the internet, the underlying data are generally available. We have provided links to relevant sources rather than repeat the data in the text of the reports. Such links are consolidated in appendix C." (USDOS, 20 March 2023, Appendix A)

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