WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released the following statement regarding the State Department’s annual human rights report released today:
“The State Department’s 2020 human rights report provides an opportunity to reflect on how fortunate we are as Americans to be able to exercise our unalienable rights every day. The freedoms of assembly, speech, religion, and the press are the foundation of our enduring democracy.
“Unfortunately, this report also reminds us that these freedoms are constantly under attack around the world. Dictators, authoritarian regimes, kleptocrats, and autocrats alike deny their citizens access to the most basic human freedoms. These bad actors will stop at nothing to cling to power, all the while they detain, abuse, torture, and even murder those who dare to dissent. This report serves as an important diplomatic tool that gives us the resources to name and shame those who undermine or suppress the will of the people.
“The United States will always advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. We will continue to work to hold accountable those who abuse their power, and we will continue to support justice for all.”
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