New York Times: Critics Hear Political Tone as Pompeo Calls Out Diplomatic Rivals Over Human Rights
“…In previewing the 2019 human rights report — an assessment of 199 countries and foreign territories — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo named China, Cuba, Iran, and Venezuela as among the worst violators, saying their governments had systematically attacked political protesters, oppressed free speech and journalists and, in some cases, spied on their citizens. … Critics also noted that the report’s shifting language — on the recognition of Palestinian territories in the section about Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as its diversion from protecting sexual identity and women’s reproductive rights — as a signal of political influence in the document’s conclusions. (It did, however, condemn forced abortions in North Korea, as well as the persecution of gay people in Russia.)…” (Jakes, 3/11).