Democracy and Human Rights

As dictators and armed groups employ increasingly sophisticated means to undermine free societies, deny civil rights, crush dissent, and sow division, the United States faces a practical and moral choice: will we continue to lead international efforts to make the world safe for free societies, with protections for human rights for all, or seek instead to accommodate the world’s authoritarian governments? 

Call on Congress to maintain funding for U.S. assistance and diplomatic efforts to support human rights and democracy around the world. 

The Latest 

After months of delay, the State Department released its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Relative to previous editions, the 2025 reports removed or narrowed sections on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, instances of racial violence, and discrimination against women, and more. The reports also cut abuses of governments friendly to President Trump that had been included in prior versions, “another sign of the Trump administration’s sharp move away from criticizing human rights offenses.”

Earlier in the summer, a series of “reduction-in-force” cuts at the Department eliminated all positions in the global programs office and the multilateral and global affairs office in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL). The global programs office was responsible for managing foreign assistance and had 391 active grants at the time of the layoffs.