BEIJING - The State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China on Sunday released a report on human rights violations in the United States in 2024.
2024, as an election year in the United States, was a year of special concern that featured aggravating political strife and social division. Such a landscape offers an opportunity to review the state of human rights in the country in an intensive manner.
Money controls US politics, with partisan interests above voter rights. The total spending for the 2024 US election cycle exceeded $15.9 billion, once again setting a new record for the high cost of American political campaigns. Interest groups, operating in the "gray areas" beyond the effective reach of current US campaign laws, used money to wantonly manipulate the fundamental logic and actual functioning of US politics. The Republican and Democratic parties manipulate electoral districts in highly distorted ways to choose their voters, while meticulously designing voter compositions that favor their own chances of winning.
The US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, overturned a lower court ruling that had found a redistricting plan suppressed the voting rights of African American voters, effectively endorsing political actions that suppress voter participation. The Supreme Court decision in fact backed political action that suppressed voters. 24 states have passed voter suppression laws, while 17 states have passed new or stricter voter ID laws. As a result, large groups such as the elderly, minorities, people with disabilities, low-income voters, and students face limited or deprived opportunities to exercise their right to vote.
Extreme incidents of political violence occurred frequently, with the public deeply disillusioned with American-style democracy. The prolonged partisan gridlock fueled a culture of political obstruction, often leading to political violence against individuals. During the 2024 election, both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and their teams faced varying degrees of political violence. "Threats of violence become the new normal for politicians." Nearly half of voters expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the US political system, with 62 percent believing the government primarily served the elite rather than ordinary citizens. A vast majority of voters believed the United States was on the wrong track, and nearly 80 percent said the election had not made them proud of their country.
Skyrocketing inflation exacerbated the wealth gap, delivering catastrophic blows to low- and middle-income families. Economic and social inequalities in the United States worsened with the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Over 40 million Americans lived in poverty, and 13.5 percent of US households faced food insecurity, and 13.8 million children lived in families that did not have enough food. Educational inequality perpetuated inter-generational poverty, creating a vicious cycle. Many ordinary Americans saw higher debts than ever. US credit card debt totaled a record high of $1.14 trillion in the second quarter of 2024, and loan delinquency rates rose to the highest levels in nearly a decade. More than 700,000 people were homeless, marking an 18.1 percent increase from 2023 -- the largest rise since records began in 2007. Compounding the crisis, the Supreme Court ruled in July 2024 to allow fines, arrests, or imprisonment against homeless individuals sleeping outdoors.
Government-business collusion fueled substance abuse and drug crisis, while failed healthcare system triggers public anger. The root of America's drug abuse and opioid crisis lies in interest hijacking, government-business collusion and regulatory failure. Interest groups, driven by profit, have intensified their lobbying efforts and deceptively promoted the use of opioids. Overdoses involving synthetic opioids and stimulants surged in the past few years. Opioids have become the narcotic of the American public. Cannabis retail sales exceeded $32 billion in 2024 and drug overdose claimed over 100,000 lives. The United States is the only high-income country that does not provide universal healthcare, and it has the lowest life expectancy among its peers. Healthcare costs are spiraling upward, and insurance companies deal with policyholders through tactics such as "delay, deny, and don't pay," causing large numbers of low- and middle-income patients to go bankrupt due to medical debt.
Gun violence threatened lives and police brutality persisted in total disregard for human lives. The death toll from gun violence remained high. Frequent mass shootings and school shootings have plagued the nation. In 2024, there were 503 mass shootings and 45 school shootings in the United States. More than 40,000 Americans were killed by gun violence, including over 1,400 children. The culture of violence in the United States is deeply ingrained in its law enforcement agencies. Due to overly lax accountability standards, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system frequently harm civilians with little consequence. This culture of impunity further exacerbates police violence. US police officers use violence against at least 300,000 individuals annually, with approximately 100,000 sustaining injuries. In 2024 alone, police shootings claimed more than 1,300 lives.
Racist rhetoric runs rampant, with ethnic minorities subjected to persistent and widespread discrimination and exclusion. By exploiting racial divides, politicians covered up structural problems in society by instigating antagonism between rival groups. African Americans are three times more likely to be shot and killed by police than white Americans. Among all children sentenced to life without parole, 61 percent are black. Nearly 80 percent of urban solid waste incinerators in the United States are located in African American, Hispanic, and low-income communities. African Americans have a life expectancy nearly five years shorter than that of white Americans, an infant mortality rate more than twice as high, and a maternal mortality rate nearly three times greater. The American Indian boarding schools, which operated for over a century and a half, turned out to be hell with the discovery of the deaths of more than 3,100 native American children in them. Although Asians are the most educated segment of the American workforce, they are the least likely among all racial groups to ascend to leadership roles. About two thirds of Chinese Americans (68 percent) face at least one form of discrimination in an average month.
The absence of legal protection has led to widespread infringement of women's and children's rights. The United States has not ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. A constitutional amendment to "equal rights" for men and women has yet to be passed. About 40 percent of working women have experienced sexual harassment during their careers. 11 states in the United States have a domestic violence rate of more than 40 percent. Over 5 million women live in areas without access to maternity care. Child marriage remains "legal" in the vast majority of states. The harmful practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) remains widespread in the United States. The number of illegally employed child laborers has surged to the highest level in decades, while those in power have loosened restrictions, making it easier to exploit children. Among immigrant children, the number of illegal child laborers has reached its highest level since the early 20th century.
The humanitarian crisis for migrants in border areas continues to worsen, with migrants subjected to torture and inhumane treatment. Politicians exploit the issue of immigration to attack one another, using stigmatizing narratives to attract attention and win votes. The number of migrant deaths in the El Paso area along the southern US border surged from 72 in 2022 to 168 in 2024, with the youngest being only 1 year old. Immigration detention facilities have protected and tolerated their staff, becoming "black prisons" where torture is rampant. Hundreds of thousands of immigrant children go missing after entering the United States, with many of them possibly being lured into forced labor and sexual trafficking.
Power politics intensifies regional conflicts and causes humanitarian disasters. The US government has provided unwavering military and diplomatic support to Israel and exercised its veto power seven times to block United Nations Security Council resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict resulted in over 100,000 casualties and displaced approximately 90 percent of Gaza's population. The United States is overwhelmingly the world's biggest user of unilateral sanctions. It has increasingly imposed them in recent years, negatively affecting the lives of billions across the globe. More than 60 percent of low-income countries are now under some form of financial penalty. Despite 32 consecutive resolutions passed overwhelmingly by the UN General Assembly, the United States persisted in maintaining its economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. The torture apparatus at the Guantanamo Bay prison continued to operate, employing methods that were nothing short of appalling.
The tumultuous political stage of the United States in 2024 acts as a prism, reflecting the structural dilemmas of American-style human rights. As for the numerous human rights issues in the United States, politicians from both parties equivocated during election campaigns and dodged the question of how to earnestly fix the problems. Under the collusion of power and capital, human rights have been distorted into mere props in a political "show" and bargaining chips in a power "casino," completely deviating from the core values and fundamental principles of human rights.
