A year after the arrival of the presidency of the United States, the authoritarian practices of the current Republican administration have eroded human rights in that country and in the rest of the world, the organization warned this Tuesday.
In a report released today, titled “Sounding the alarm: rise in authoritarian practices and the erosion of human rights in the United States,” AI mentions the weakening of the rule of law in that country and attacks on freedom of expression.
“We are all witnesses to a dangerous trajectory under the Trump presidency that has already caused a human rights emergency,” said AI US executive director Paul O’Brien.
By concentrating power, the government is trying to make it harder to hold them accountable, O’Brien adds.
“Without a doubt, these authoritarian practices of the Trump Administration are eroding human rights and increasing the risk for journalists and people who demonstrate or dissent, including lawyers, students and human rights defenders,” he points out.
The report mentions several areas in which the Trump Administration is undermining the pillars of a free society, such as peaceful assembly, universities, political opponents and critics, judges, lawyers or the legal system.
Heavy hand on immigration
The report also documents attacks on the rights of refugees and migrants, the rollback of protection against discrimination, the use of the Army for national affairs, the dismantling of the corporate accountability system or efforts to undermine international systems designed to protect human rights.
AI says it has long documented similar patterns in countries around the world.
While contexts are different, governments consolidate power, control information, smear critics, punish dissent, limit civic space, and weaken mechanisms designed to ensure accountability.
“The institutions designed to stop abuses of power are already seriously compromised”
“Importantly, our experience shows that by the time authoritarian practices are fully entrenched, the institutions intended to curb abuses of power are already severely compromised,” O’Brien warned.
“We can, and must, forge a different path,” said this executive, since “authoritarian practices only take root when they are allowed to become normalized. We cannot allow that to happen in the United States. Together, we all have the opportunity and responsibility to confront this difficult moment in our history and protect human rights,” he said.
