Does the US Trump Human Rights? Introduction

This series will give an in-depth look at the Trump administration's human rights record. Since 2016 the US has ignored human rights abuses both international and domestic. Should we still laud America as the gold-standard of freedom and protection? Trigger Warning: This series discusses human rights abuses such as racial discrimination, sexual violence, and deportations.

The series is broken into five parts; an introduction to the issues and US policy, immigration issues, black lives matter, reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, and conclusions on the glasshouse on the hill.

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America has long considered itself to be an example of moral standing and tolerance. US politicians often quote John Winthrop's 'City on a Hill' sermon when claiming this position. Winthrop argued that America would be a beacon of freedom and courage to the watching world. On this basis, the address emphasizes moral standards and responsibility.

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us” - John Winthrop

As the idea has transitioned through political campaigns, speeches, and generations, it has transformed. The 'City on a Hill' is now a symbol of American exceptionalism. The phrase now connotes a fateful journey as a beacon of freedom and democracy to free the world of discrimination and abuse.

America had established a position of international admiration for supporting human rights. As a Drafting Committee member on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Eleanor Roosevelt represented early US leadership in human rights activism. US annual human rights papers, the Country Reports, are recognized as the gold standard in comprehensive reviews, statistics, and analyses of abuses and freedoms in all nations (de Neufville, 1986). Most significantly, modern US foreign policy has committed military interventions to protect human rights globally.

Eleanor Roosevelt holding poster of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (in English), Lake Success, New York. November 1949.

This is not to suggest that the American human rights record is without fault. The US has frequently avoided ratifying international protections that may interfere with their sovereignty (Moravcsik, 2005). After 9/11 the US was widely criticized for human rights violations concerning incidents of torture and political imprisonment (Goderis and Versteeg, 2009). Additionally, US military involvement around the world has repeatedly led to civilian casualties (Amnesty International, 2019).

Despite a number of human rights violations since the turn of the century, America’s reputation has been disproportionately tarnished in recent years. The Trump administration has faced the largest human rights criticisms since 9/11. Concerningly, these accusations focus largely on domestic violations. Racial violence, families being torn apart, and stripping citizens of rights have become common news topics. It seems that when all eyes are on the city on the hill, the city is tearing itself apart.

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Sources:

Amnesty International (2019). The Hidden US War in Somalia: Civilian Casualties from Airstrikes in Lower Shabelle. [online] London: Amnesty International. Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AFR5299522019ENGLISH.PDF.

Goderis, B. and Versteeg, M. (2009). Economics of Security Working Paper Series Economics of Security is an initiative managed by DIW Berlin Human Rights Violations After 9/11 and the Role of Constitutional Constraints Economics of Security Working Paper 11. [online] Available at: https://www.diw.de/documents/publikationen/73/diw_01.c.354136.de/diw_econsec0011.pdf.

Moravcsik, A. (2005). The Paradox of U.S. Human Rights Policy. In: American exceptionalism and human rights. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

de Neufville, J.I. (1986). Human Rights Reporting as a Policy Tool: An Examination of the State Department Country Reports. Human Rights Quarterly, 8(4), p.681.

Winthrop (1892). “A Model of Christian Charity.” In: A Library of American Literature: Early Colonial Literature, 1607-1675. New York, pp.304–307.