SR 136: URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE TO RESTORE THE PRIOR FORMAT, ORGANIZATION, AND SUBSTANTIVE COMPLETENESS OF THE COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.

SENATE RESOLUTION

URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE TO RESTORE THE PRIOR FORMAT, ORGANIZATION, AND SUBSTANTIVE COMPLETENESS OF THE COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES.

     WHEREAS, the United States has long asserted a national commitment to democracy, liberty, justice, and the rule of law; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices have, for decades, served as a significant public record of internationally recognized human rights conditions throughout the world; and

     WHEREAS, those reports have historically informed Congress, policymakers, advocates, journalists, scholars, and the international community regarding abuses committed by foreign governments and other actors, including arbitrary detentions, denials of due process, examples of corruption, restrictions on political participation, suppressions of speech and assembly, mistreatment of prisoners, and violence against vulnerable populations; and

     WHEREAS, comprehensive and candid reporting on human rights conditions advances accountability, promotes transparency, and reinforces the credibility of the United States in matters involving democracy and fundamental freedoms; and

     WHEREAS, federal law contemplates the submission of full and complete reports concerning internationally recognized human rights; and

     WHEREAS, on April 18, 2025, National Public Radio indicated that the United States Department of State had revised the format and scope of these reports to remove or reduce discussions of certain categories of concern that had traditionally appeared in prior reports, including discussions on prison conditions, corruption, restrictions on freedom of movement and peaceful assembly, political-process restrictions, interference with privacy, internet freedom, harassment of human rights organizations, gender-based violence, and certain due-process concerns; and

     WHEREAS, the omission or minimization of this information may impair the usefulness, comparability, and credibility of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices as instruments of public accountability; and

     WHEREAS, official reporting that is thorough, consistent, and specific is especially important for persons subjected to repression, arbitrary detention, political imprisonment, or other abuses in jurisdictions governed by authoritarian or repressive regimes; and

     WHEREAS, the preservation of meaningful reporting on human rights is consistent with the principles of freedom, liberty, and justice for all and with the role of democratic institutions in bearing witness to abuse and affirming the dignity of all persons; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the United States Department of State is urged to restore the prior format, organization, and substantive completeness of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices so that the reports continue to provide full, credible, and comprehensive accounts of internationally recognized human rights conditions; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body affirms the importance of accountability for human rights violations and the continuing value of democratic institutions that protect and promote freedom, liberty, justice, and the rule of law; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body condemns the federal government's decision to substantially revise the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices in a manner that diminishes the reporting of serious abuses, undermines the reports' completeness and credibility, erodes transparency, weakens a longstanding instrument of democratic accountability for human rights violations, represents a serious retreat from the principles of democratic governance and the rule of law, and departs from the United States' established commitment to candid and comprehensive human rights reporting; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body respectfully urges the United States Department of State to ensure that future Country Reports on Human Rights Practices fully and consistently document all material categories of abuse and conditions relevant to evaluating the protection of human rights around the world; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Secretary of State, Chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title: 

United States Department of State; Country Reports on Human Rights Practices; Format and Content