August 12, 2025
State Dept scrubs abuses to protect Trump dictator friends
Annual reports gutted to hide atrocities by authoritarian allies
🌍Foreign Policy🔐Ethics✊Civil Rights
State Department released gutted annual human rights reports on August 12, 2025 (six months late), removing sections on gender violence, LGBTQ+ persecution, disabilities, corruption, and peaceful assembly
Israel report was slashed by 91% (from 103 pages to 9 pages) and removes all criticism of Gaza policies, ICC arrest warrants, and humanitarian crisis
Hungary report removed all references to LGBTQ+ persecution and corruption despite documented abuses under 
Viktor Orban
Reports omitted references to women, LGBT people, persons with disabilities, corruption in government, and freedom of peaceful assembly across all countries
Immigration courts and asylum officers routinely cite these reports as evidence of country conditions for persecution claims
Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and legal organizations condemned the political editing and warned the reports are no longer reliable
Marco Rubio oversaw the gutting of human rights reports initially prepared under Biden administration
🌍Foreign Policy🔐Ethics✊Civil Rights
Test Your Knowledge
10
Q1
The changes only affect reports on countries that are enemies of the United States.
Q2
How much of El Salvador's human rights report was cut?
Q3
By what percentage was the U.S. report on Israel reduced?
Q4
Which congressional committee should citizens contact to demand unedited human rights reports?
Q5
How does censoring human rights reports affect refugee asylum cases?
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Start QuizPeople, bills, and sources
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Viktor Orban
Prime Minister of Hungary