By Melanie Nathan, April 22, 2024
The 2023 Human rights reports are being released today. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivered on-camera remarks announcing the release of the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices today.
Senior Bureau Official Robert Gilchrist from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor then took the podium made a statement and answered questions. The department press briefing with Spokesperson Matthew Miller followed.
Mr. Gilchrist spoke to the bravery and importance of human rights defenders across the globe. These reports are mandated by Congress and must be issued every year. They usually appear in March of the year following reporting. The current reports will be 2023 reports for each country across the globe and available on the State department website. Not a SINGLE REPORTER asked a SINGLE question about the heightened criminalization of Africa's LGBTQI+ community emanating from Uganda, leading to a trend and resulting in the anti-Homosexuality surge apparent in several other countries to include Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and more... Also nothing asked about South Sudan and the major rape, killing , forced displacement and hunger crisis at this time.
State departments notes: "Promoting respect for human rights and defending fundamental freedoms is central to who we are as a country. The United States will always support those around the world struggling for human dignity and liberty. The 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices — required by U.S. law to be submitted to Congress — documents the status of respect for human rights and worker rights in nearly 200 countries and territories."
Melanie Nathan Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition, as an expert witness, provides country conditions reporting and testimony for LGBTQI+ asylum seekers in the United States and globally. These State Department Human Rights reports, which lack detail, do in fact provide an excellent and critical guideline, while lending credibility to much of what we know through our own data collection and further extensive sourcing.
If you are Counsel or an asylum seeker who has engaged Melanie Nathan for reporting / testimony and require an update, please contact Melanie directly at nathan@AfricanHRC.org .
We have reached out to all Counsel on current cases, and hope you all received the communication:
SPECIFIC REPORTING ON THIS WEBSITE COUNTRY BY COUNTRY FOR LGBTQI+ CONDITIONS TO FOLLOW. SEE WEBSITE PAGE and reviews, Melanie Nathan, Executive Director of African Human Rights Coalition is a qualified country of origin expert witness in the United States and global immigration courts, providing expert written country conditions reports and testimony for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, non-binary, LGBTQI + asylum seekers from African Countries, to include activists, allies and human rights defenders.
Melanie also consults multinational corporations regarding briefings and policy for operations and issue impacted by anti-homosexuality laws and country conditions.
COUNTRIES:
Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea-Conakry, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Malawi, Mauritania, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tanzania, The Gambia, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
You are subscribed to Press Releases for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. 04/22/2024 06:41 PM EDT HomeOffice of the SpokespersonBriefings…Senior Bureau Official for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Ambassador Robert Gilchrist on the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices hide Senior Bureau Official for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Ambassador Robert Gilchrist on the 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights PracticesSpecial Briefing April 22, 2024 AMBASSADOR GILCHRIST: Good afternoon to you all, and I express my thanks to Secretary Blinken and to Spokesperson Matt Miller for their great remarks and for the introduction. My name is Robert Gilchrist, Ambassador Robert Gilchrist, and I am the Senior Bureau Official in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. I am honored to be here with you all today to release the 48th Annual Country Report on Human Rights Practices, which was submitted to Congress earlier today. This congressionally mandated report, colloquially known as the Human Rights Report, has been a flagship effort of the DRL Bureau since 1977. It is completed only through the significant expertise and effort brought by the State Department’s dedicated public servants in U.S. missions abroad and in Washington, for which I and the Department of State are grateful. Human rights belong to everyone, and this report is one way we demonstrate our commitment to these universal rights. Even though our human rights are universal, they are far from universally respected, and the United States recognizes that standing up for these rights is often dangerous. Human rights defenders and civil society leaders around the world often work at great personal risk to improve the lives of all. That is especially the case for those whose work includes protecting women and girls; members of racial, ethnic, and religious minority groups; LGBTQI+; and persons with disabilities. Members of these groups – and those who press for the protection of human rights – are often targeted with threats and harassment, arrest, and violence. The brave individuals across the globe who risk their own life and freedom to champion the human rights and dignity of others deserve our deep thanks. In the nearly 50 years since the United States first rolled out the Human Rights Report, we have seen significant changes in respect for human rights around the world. There have been tragedies, but also triumphs. There have been times when U.S. leadership on human rights has been heralded, and times when it has been questioned. But as we look to the future, just a few months after the 75th anniversary of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, one thing is clear: U.S. global leadership in defense and support of human rights is as necessary as ever. This is not a responsibility we take lightly or for granted; we know leadership is earned. The report – unparalleled by any government in its comprehensive approach to human rights worldwide – is one of the tools towards that end. The Human Rights Report does not seek to catalog every human rights abuse or violation throughout the year, nor does it reach legal conclusions. What it does, uniquely, is present for each country a credible, carefully vetted report that provides the world with a clear window into the human rights conditions in every corner of the globe. This objective reporting is more essential than ever in a world where we increasingly see facts smeared as lies, lies presented as facts, and information manipulated to disturbing ends by autocrats and other malign actors. By shining a light on the human rights conditions of our adversaries and our partners equally, and by lifting up the selfless efforts of human rights defenders and civil society groups working to improve respect for those rights, the United States is helping contribute to a world where those rights are better protected for everyone. Although the report documents human rights conditions in countries around the world, the Biden-Harris Administration has made clear that human rights must be safeguarded at home as well. The administration has emphasized since taking office in 2021 that U.S. credibility and standing on human rights internationally depend on how well we are living up to our own obligations and commitments to advance human rights domestically. So we speak of the need to protect and respect human rights for everyone – and when we say that, we mean everyone. At the conclusion of this briefing, the State Department’s website will have the 2023 Human Rights Report available for the public. I very much appreciate your attendance today, and I am happy also to take a few questions. |