The Trump Administration has made a significant shift in its human rights policy by introducing new criteria in the annual reports that the State Department submits to Congress. The guidelines, previewed by The Daily Signal, represent an explicit break with the approach of the Joe Biden Government, which had incorporated ideological concepts such as gender identity, DEI, or restrictions on “hate speech” within its international action framework.
“Destructive Ideologies” and Covert Abuses
The principal deputy spokesperson of the State Department, Tommy Pigott, explained that these new guidelines respond to the expansion of “destructive ideologies” that, in his opinion, have served in recent years to justify serious violations of human rights. Pigott emphasized that the Trump Administration considers it unacceptable that practices such as the “mutilation of minors” through sex change procedures, the imposition of limits on freedom of expression, or hiring policies based on racial criteria continue to be normalized under the umbrella of supposed social advances. “We say enough”, he stated emphatically.
New Obligations in International Reports
The Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, mandatory documents since the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 and the Trade Act of 1974, must now include a comprehensive review of these practices in all countries evaluated. Hormonal or surgical transition treatments in minors will be considered human rights violations, as they violate the basic principle of child protection.
The new guide also requires reporting on states that fund abortions or distribute drugs intended to interrupt prenatal life. Governments must report the estimated number of abortions performed in their territory, introducing a level of public accountability that did not exist in previous reports.
Freedom of Expression Against Ideological Laws
The new framework also requires documenting measures that, under the label of “hate speech”, have led to arrests, sanctions, or investigations against citizens for expressing opinions that contradict official orthodoxy. For the Trump Administration, this type of legislation puts freedom of expression at risk and must be openly denounced in the international arena.
In addition, there is a critical evaluation of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, as well as any form of affirmative action that grants job privileges based on race, sex, or membership in certain groups. According to Washington, these practices do not reduce inequalities but generate new institutionalized discriminations.
Other Areas Included: Migration, Euthanasia, and Religious Freedom
The shift in focus also affects issues such as irregular migration. Reports must indicate when a state facilitates or tolerates the massive passage of migrants to other countries, a phenomenon that the Trump Administration interprets as a factor of social and political instability.
Similarly, the document will include the denunciation of practices that pressure people to accept euthanasia, along with a detailed analysis of violations of religious freedom, with special attention to the increase in antisemitism and harassment of faith communities. The most serious medical abuses will also be addressed, such as performing tests without consent, forced organ extraction, or eugenic genetic experimentation with human embryos.
A Return to a Classical View of Human Rights
Overall, this new framework marks a return to a classical conception of human rights, oriented toward the defense of life, religious freedom, and human dignity. The Trump Administration considers that, in recent years, certain ideological agendas have distorted these fundamental principles, fostering an international climate of moral confusion. With these reforms, the United States seeks to reestablish clear and objective criteria for evaluating the human rights situation in the world.