Hume's account of State Department report suggested only recent U.S. adversaries abuse human rights

Written by Raphael Schweber-Koren

Published

Fox News Washington managing editor Brit Hume's report on the State Department's newly released annual survey on human rights practices worldwide suggested that it had singled out only countries that are current and recent enemies of the United States. Hume reported on the February 28 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume that “Iran, Libya and Syria were singled out for falling short of international norms, along with North Korea and Burma,” but he neglected to mention that U.S. ally Saudi Arabia and economic partner China, along with Cuba, were similarly singled out during the same State Department briefing that accompanied the report's release.

From the February 28 edition of Fox News' Special Report with Brit Hume:

HUME: The State Department presented the annual report on human rights practices around the world today. Iran, Libya and Syria were singled out for falling short of international norms, along with North Korea and Burma. But undersecretary [for global affairs] Paula Dobriansky said today's report sends a signal of hope and promise to people who are living in tyranny and struggling for a better life.

From the State Department's February 28 on-the-record briefing:

DOBRIANSKY: As these reports show, though, there is still much to do. Freedom and the ability to choose one's government still elude many people and many portions of the globe. In much of the broader Middle East people are increasingly conscious of the freedom deficit in the region and eager to taste the freedom and liberties that are being enjoyed elsewhere. If freedom and democracy work in Muslim nations like Indonesia, Turkey, Afghanistan and Iraq, why should they not be the norm in Iran, Libya, Syria and Saudi Arabia? Cuba's government remains a blight on the stunning advancement of freedom worldwide. China's human rights conduct remains one of the top concerns of the U.S. Government. Throughout China, and notably in Tibet, affronts to the dignity of human life abound. In North Korea and Burma, citizens languish under repressive regimes, which do not govern for their people but rather against them.