US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House next week threatens freedoms at home and abroad, the director of Human Rights Watch said Thursday, warning that his second term could be more damaging than his first.
The comments from Tirana Hassan, executive director of the New York-based independent human rights group, coincide with the launch of its World Report analyzing human rights practices in more than 100 states.
“The first term of the Trump administration showed us what they are capable of and particularly showed their lack of commitment to human rights,” Hassan told Reuters ahead of the release of the annual report.
“But Project 2025 and the statements we’ve heard from the (incoming) president have already begun to show that there will essentially be an all-out attack on immigrant rights,” he said, referring to a set of conservative policy proposals and plans to launch a mass deportation operation of immigrants.
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Hassan, an Australian lawyer who has represented asylum seekers, added that the tone set by the Trump administration could embolden autocrats around the world to enact repressive policies. Trump’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his remarks.
Hassan also criticized outgoing President Joe Biden’s policies of providing weapons to Israel in the Gaza war despite what he called clear evidence that they were being used to commit atrocities. A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced on Wednesday.
“2024 was not a proud moment for the outgoing administration,” he told Reuters, claiming its failure to protect civilians in Gaza and supply weapons was a “stain” on Biden’s legacy. Israel denies committing atrocities in Gaza.
Last month, HRW claimed that Israel had committed an act of genocide by depriving Gaza of water, an accusation that Israel rejects.
HRW’s 546-page report on Thursday said conflicts and humanitarian crises had exposed the deterioration of international protections over the past year in places including Sudan, Ukraine and Haiti.
In 2024, some authoritarians such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and leaders across the African Sahel have tightened their grip on power, he said, but there was resistance to such trends elsewhere, such as in South Korea. “This shows that it is possible to confront a frontal attack on human rights,” Hassan said.
With information from Reuters.
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