The United States recklessly trampled on international rules amid COVID-19, becoming the biggest troublemaker for global security and stability, according to the newly released Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States.
China’s State Council Information Office issued the report on March 24
that condemned the double standards and hypocrisy of the US on human rights. It urged the US to show humility and compassion for the suffering of its own people, drop hypocrisy, bullying, “Big Stick” and double standards, and work with the international community to build a community with a shared future for humanity.
“The US government, instead of introspecting on its own terrible human rights record, kept making irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in other countries,” the report said.
Zhang Wei, a professor of human rights studies at China University of Political Science and Law, said the US withdrew from international organizations when the organizations refused US manipulation.
Zhang cited the example of the US announcing its withdrawal from the World Health Organization in July amid the worst time of the global fight against COVID-19 despite the opposition of the international community. The Joe Biden administration sought to rejoin the WHO earlier this year.
Noting that the US should bear the greatest share of emission reduction based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, the report said that the US’ withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement was politically short-sighted, unscientific, and morally irresponsible.
By imposing sanctions against International Criminal Court staff and bullying other countries, the US escaped from international probes into possible war crimes in other countries and police violence on its citizens.
The unilateral sanctions imposed by the US government on countries such as Iran, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria made it difficult for the countries to obtain needed anti-pandemic medical supplies in a timely manner, according to the report.
Asylum seekers were treated cruelly in the US, the report said, noting that a huge number of migrant children were stranded in custody for the long haul and dozens of women claimed that they were subjected to unnecessary gynecological surgeries without their consent, including uterus removal in some cases.
The report also said the US government had expelled at least 8,800 unaccompanied immigrant children despite serious protection risks during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The then US president’s pardon of Blackwater contractors convicted of war crimes in Iraq violated US obligations under international law and had the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes in the future.
Zhang said this also shows that the US is not adopting democratic methods to solve the problems of the international community and is not fighting for human rights and freedoms as it says it is.
The report said that incompetent pandemic containment in the US has led to tragic outcomes, as data has shown that by the end of February, the US, home to less than 5 percent of the world’s population, accounted for more than a quarter of the world’s confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The US also accounted for nearly one-fifth of the global deaths from the disease. More than 500,000 US residents lost their lives due to the virus, data showed.
The report said that disorder in the US democratic system led to political chaos, further tearing American society apart, with people’s confidence in the US democratic system dropping to the lowest level in 20 years.
Ethnic minority groups suffered systemic racial discrimination. African Americans were three times as likely as white people to be infected with the virus, twice as likely to die from it, and three times as likely to be killed by police, it said.
The 15,000-Chinese-character document also mentioned continuous social unrest threatening public security in the US, growing polarization between rich and poor aggravating social inequality, and the US’ trampling of international rules, resulting in humanitarian disasters.
Chang Jian, a professor of human rights studies at Nankai University in Tianjin, said: “By releasing the report, China is not interfering in the internal affairs of the US, but presenting the real human rights situation in the US to the public.”
Chang added: “Although China has made progress in the development of human rights, including poverty reduction and rights protection, some countries constantly smear China’s human rights situation for political gains, regardless of their own deteriorating human rights situation.”
Though media are independent in the US, there is a huge bias among them in reporting on China, he said, adding that they are full of criticism while reporting on epidemic prevention measures in China.
Xinhua contributed to this report.
