Human Rights Watch criticized him today US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders because of their weak defense of democracy and their failure to tackle the climate crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, poverty, inequality, and racial injustice.

Unlike former US President Donald Trump, whom Human Rights CEO Kenneth Roth described as a “friendly autocrat”, Biden took office in January 2021 with a promise to put human rights at the center of his foreign policy.

“But he continued to sell arms to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Israel despite their constant repression,” Roth wrote in the annual Human Rights Watch annual report released today.

“Other Western leaders have shown similar weakness in defending democracy,” Roth wrote, naming French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Roth also said that during key summits, “Biden seemed to have lost his voice when it came to publicly condemning serious human rights abuses.”

“The US State Department has issued occasional protests against repression in certain countries, and in extreme cases the Biden administration has imposed sanctions on some senior officials, but the president’s influential voice has often been absent,” he wrote.

U.S. officials have defended the Biden administration, saying diplomats have often expressed human rights concerns to foreign leaders, including difficult talks with adversaries such as China and Russia.

– If democracies want to prevail in global competition with autocracy, their leaders must do more than point out the inevitable shortcomings of autocrats. They must give a stronger, more positive argument for democratic governance, Roth said.

Source: MIA