The US in its “2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” raised concern over human rights violations in China, Pakistan and Myanmar.
In Xinjiang, in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the country report described how genocide and crimes against humanity continued to occur against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups.
“Genocide and crimes against humanity occurred during the year against predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes were continuing and included: the arbitrary imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians; forced sterilization, coerced abortions, and more restrictive application of the country’s birth control policies; rape and other forms of sexual and gender-based violence; torture of a large number of those arbitrarily detained; and persecution including forced labor and draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement,” read the report.
In Myanmar, the report relays how the military regime continues to use violence to brutalize civilians and consolidate its control, reportedly killing more than 2,900 people and detaining more than 17,000 since the February 2021 military coup.
It also dealt with genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya, most of whom are Muslims in Myanmar.
On Afghanistan, the report said that the Taliban’s oppressive and discriminatory measures against women and girls have been relentless.
“No other country in the world bars women and girls from getting an education, which is an internationally recognized human right. The Taliban’s edict barring female employees of non-governmental organizations from the workplace imperils tens of millions of Afghans who depend on humanitarian assistance for their survival,” added the report.
Meanwhile on Pakistan, the report focussed on unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; forced disappearance by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including violence against journalists, unjustified arrests and disappearances of journalists, censorship, and criminal defamation laws, and laws against blasphemy; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws for the operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations; severe restrictions of religious freedom; restrictions on freedom of movement; serious government corruption; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of racial and ethnic minorities; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; the existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; and existence of the worst forms of child labor, added the report.
The individual reports cover 198 countries and territories, providing factual, objective information based on credible reports of the events that occurred throughout 2022.
These reports are meticulously compiled by US Department of State.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken will deliver on-camera remarks on the release of the 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices at 11:30 am on March 20, 2023, in the Press Briefing Room at the US Department of State.
Acting Assistant Secretary Erin Barclay of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor will take questions in the Briefing Room immediately following Secretary Blinken’s remarks.
Each country report speaks for itself, describing reports of practices in calendar year 2022 in light of international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some of the reports highlight record violations and abuses that are appalling in their scale and severity.
Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine beginning in February 2022 has resulted in massive death and destruction, with reports of members of Russia’s forces committing war crimes and other atrocities, including summary executions of civilians and horrific accounts of gender-based violence, including sexual violence against women and children, read the report.
In Iran, the regime responded with brutality and violence to peaceful protests across the country following the tragic death of Mahsa Jina Amini while in the custody of the so-called “morality police.”
This year’s country report documents in detail the Iranian regime’s violent crackdown and its continued denial of the Iranian people’s universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedoms of expression and religion or belief, added the report.