News & Events

2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Later this year, the Department of State will release an addendum to each 2020 country report that expands the subsection on women in Section 6, entitled “Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons,” to include a broader range of issues related to reproductive rights.  The addendum will cover maternal health issues such as maternal mortality, ... Read More»

Secretary Antony J. Blinken On Release of the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

I very much want to thank you, Lisa, and thank the many folks at the department, here in Washington but also around the world – in our embassies, in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – who researched, drafted, and edited these reports.  They brought not only their expert knowledge of the issues ... Read More»

Report: Governments target critics during COVID-19

After criticizing the Venezuelan government’s response to COVID-19 in April, human rights lawyer Iván Virgüez was arrested and tortured by the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro. Chinese reporter Zhang Zhan traveled to Wuhan, China, in February 2020 to report on the city’s coronavirus outbreak and was later sentenced to four years in prison. The journalist’s ... Read More»