Full text: The Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2022 (6)

VI. Wanton Violation of Other Countries' Human Rights and Trampling on Justice

American scholar John Mearsheimer points out that under the "liberal hegemony" policy, the United States tends to constantly provoke wars, which increases conflicts in the international system and creates instability. "These armed conflicts usually end up failing, sometimes disastrously, and mainly at the expense of the state purportedly being rescued by the liberal goliath." The United States pursues power politics in the international community, frequently uses force, provokes "proxy wars," indiscriminately imposes unilateral sanctions, seriously violates the rights of immigrants and refuses to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, thus becoming a saboteur of global peace and development and a stumbling block to human rights progress.

Overseas military operations have caused humanitarian catastrophes. On Dec. 20, 2022, non-profit U.S. media outlet Common Dreams pointed out in an article titled "Warren, Jacobs Accuse Pentagon of Vastly Undercounting Civilians Killed by US Military" that according to data from the UK-based monitor group Airwars, U.S. airstrikes alone have killed as many as 48,000 civilians in nearly 100,000 bombings in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen since 2001. According to data released by the Costs of War project at Brown University, since the 21st century, the U.S. government undertook what it labeled "counterterrorism" activities in 85 countries, directly killing at least 929,000 people and displacing 38 million people. And the U.S. military operations around the world have violated freedom and human rights of people in the United States and other countries. A woman and two children were killed in U.S. drone strikes in the Al-Hadba area of Al-Wadi, Yemen, on Nov. 30, 2022. "... the violence that characterizes the modern United States at home and in its conduct overseas -- from the prevalence of gun -- related deaths to the controversies over preemptive military action and drone strikes."

Provoking "proxy wars" behind the scenes. In order to pursue its own interests, the United States was the one behind the scenes to provoke wars in other countries and regions. Colm Quinn, a staff writer at Foreign Policy, published an article on July 14, 2022, saying that U.S. operations are no longer confined to the Middle East, but have broadened in geographic scope, only more covertly. Katherine Yon Ebright, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice's liberty and national security program, described it as "light footprint warfare." Under a program known as 127e, U.S. special operation forces are authorized to train proxy forces to carry out U.S. missions abroad. Foreign militants have access to U.S. arming, training, and intelligence support and are dispatched on U.S.-led missions against U.S. enemies and toward U.S. objectives. From 2017 to 2020, the Pentagon launched 23 "proxy wars" under the name of 127e in the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. At least a dozen countries have participated in the operations targeting Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Tunisia, Cameroon, Libya, and others.

Long-term arbitrary imposition of unilateral sanctions. In recent years, the unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on other countries have increased exponentially, which has greatly weakened the capacity and level of human rights protection of the sanctioned countries. Bangladeshi newspaper The Daily Star reported on Dec. 28, 2022 that the United States, the most prolific enforcer of unilateral sanctions in the world, currently has sanctions in place against more than 20 countries, including Cuba since 1962, Iran since 1979, Syria since 2011 and Afghanistan in recent years. Many of them are unable to provide essential food and medicines to their populations. The Washington Post reported on June 13, 2022, that nearly half of all Afghans do not have enough to eat, and childhood malnutrition is on the rise. On Dec. 20, 2022, several independent experts of the UN Human Rights Council issued a joint statement that the U.S. sanctions against Iran contribute to environmental harm in Iran, prevent all people in Iran from fully enjoying their rights to health and life and violate Iranian people's rights to clean environment. On Nov. 10, 2022, Alena Douhan, UN Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of the unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, stated that unilateral sanctions have exacerbated the suffering of the Syrian people and constitute a grave violation of human rights. The U.S. wanton imposition of sanctions has triggered human rights crises in other countries, which has been strongly condemned by the international community. On Nov. 3, 2022, the UN General Assembly voted for the 30th consecutive time to condemn the American economic, commercial and financial embargo of Cuba with 185 out of the 193-member General Assembly supporting the condemnation.

Repeatedly and deliberately undermining global climate governance. The United States is the world's largest emitter with the most greenhouse gas emissions in cumulative terms, with its per capita carbon emissions staying high. It refuses to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, once arbitrarily withdrew from the Paris Agreement, and delayed fulfilling its commitments under the Green Climate Fund. Even after returning to the Paris Agreement, the United States has not yet turned its commitments into actions. Instead, it has used the issue of climate change as a partisan tool for political manipulation. According to estimates released by the U.S. economic research company Rhodium Group on Jan. 10, 2023, the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.3 percent year-on-year in 2022. The country lacks sincerity and effectiveness in fulfilling the obligations under the Paris Agreement. The Costs of War Project released by Brown University finds that the U.S. Defense Department is one of the world's top greenhouse gas emitters. Post-9/11 U.S. military actions around the globe have "contributed significantly" to climate change.

Exclusive immigration policies create tragedies. The United States arrests migrants on a large scale in its southern border area, creating a serious of humanitarian crises. Nearly 2.4 million migrants were arrested at the U.S. border in 2022, an increase of 37 percent over 2021 and the highest number ever recorded. Migrants' right to life is seriously threatened. Fox News reported on Oct. 22, 2022 that 856 migrants died at the U.S. southern border in 2022, the highest number on record. Mexico News Daily reported on Nov. 16, 2022 that Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared an "invasion" of migrants at U.S.-Mexico border, saying that he would take measures such as dispatching the National Guard to expel illegal immigrants and deploying gunboats to secure border security. CNN reported on Dec. 16, 2022 that U.S. immigration policies put migrants and asylum seekers at risk, with thousands abducted, sexually assaulted, or violently attacked. The immigration policy has been severely torn apart due to political polarization. Migrants have been reduced to a tool of partisan divide, facing extreme xenophobia and cruel treatment. The farce of "dumping" migrants has been staged on a large scale. CNN reported on Dec. 26, 2022 that more than 100 migrants, including children, were transported to Washington D.C. and abandoned on the roadside on Christmas Eve in 2022. The temperature was below freezing, and some migrants wore only T-shirts in the frigid weather. Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticized the U.S. government's border immigration policy as a threat to the basic rights of asylum seekers and undermines the foundation of international human rights and refugee law.

Refusing to close Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Guantanamo Bay detention camp, established in 2002, once held up to about 780 people, most of whom were detained without trial and were subjected to cruel and inhuman treatment. The camp is "an ugly chapter of unrelenting human rights violations" by the United States. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, and other independent experts issued a joint statement in January 2022, pointing out that the notorious Guantanamo detention facility is "a stain on the U.S. Government's commitment to the rule of law." They demanded that the U.S. government close it and provide remedy and reparation for those egregiously tortured and arbitrarily detained, and hold those that authorized and engaged in torture accountable as required by international law.