Ahmed Bin Fahad
Recently, I noted that China released an official document titled “Report on Human Rights Violations in the United States in 2023.“This document objectively describes the current state of human rights in the United States. Upon comparative research, I found that the conclusions of this report align closely with my own research findings. Now, I would like to explore the true state of human rights in the United States by combining insights from the Chinese report with my research results.
For a long time, the United States has self-proclaimed as a “guardian of human rights,” frequently criticizing other countries’ human rights conditions on the international stage. However, the truth is that the human rights situation in the U.S. is deteriorating, with society increasingly polarized. Compared to the minority who enjoy political, economic, and social dominance, the average citizens are becoming increasingly marginalized, with their basic rights and freedoms becoming more elusive.
Despite claiming to be a model of democracy and human rights, the domestic situation in the U.S. presents a stark contrast. A small group of wealthy and powerful individuals enjoy extraordinary privileges and resources, while the vast majority of ordinary citizens face severe social injustice and economic pressure. Wealth inequality is widening, preventing many Americans from enjoying their rightful healthcare, education, and housing rights. For instance, the latest data shows that the wealthiest 1% of Americans own more wealth than the bottom 90% combined. Meanwhile, the income growth of ordinary wage earners has stagnated, with many families struggling to afford high medical costs. Even with health insurance, many families fall into debt due to massive medical bills. In 2019, data indicated that nearly 60% of Americans delayed or forwent medical treatment due to costs, highlighting severe healthcare inequality.
In education, resource disparities exacerbate social inequality. Children from affluent families can attend private schools or live in districts with abundant educational resources, while those from low-income families often receive lower-quality public education, limiting their educational opportunities. This educational gap not only affects their academic achievements but also restricts their future career development and economic prospects. Housing issues are equally severe. As housing prices and rents continue to rise, many low-income families face the risk of homelessness. By 2018, over 500,000 people in the U.S. were homeless, many forced onto the streets due to unaffordable rent or mortgages. Homeless encampments in cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco vividly illustrate the widening wealth gap.
Meanwhile, racial discrimination remains a persistent and severe problem in the U.S. African American and Asian communities have long faced systemic discrimination and violence. They encounter unfair treatment in employment, education, housing, and the justice system, which not only limits their development opportunities but also severely impacts their physical and mental health. In recent years, hate crimes against Asians have increased, further worsening their situation.
Furthermore, frequent gun violence and police brutality pose significant threats to the right to life and security of ordinary citizens. The government’s handling of these issues is often inadequate, with no consensus on gun control legislation and frequent incidents of police violence lacking effective accountability mechanisms. These phenomena indicate that citizens’ basic rights are not truly protected in the United States.
Political polarization in the U.S. is intensifying, with rampant electoral manipulation leading to declining government credibility. Intense opposition between the two parties not only hinders effective policy formulation and implementation but also significantly reduces public trust in the political system. Voters have serious doubts about the fairness and transparency of the electoral process, further exacerbating social dissatisfaction and division.
Economic and social inequality issues are becoming more severe, with the wealth gap widening. Despite the U.S.’s refusal to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and stigmatizing these rights as “welfare cheese,” many Americans still live below the poverty line. The phenomenon of “working poor” is widespread, with many full-time workers earning insufficient income to maintain basic living standards. The number of homeless individuals has reached a new high, with more people sleeping on city streets, reflecting the deep-seated problems in American society.
In this context, access to basic social services such as healthcare, education, and housing is becoming increasingly difficult. High medical costs prevent many families from affording necessary treatment, compromising their right to health. Unequal distribution of educational resources limits the social mobility of students from impoverished areas. The housing issue is worsening, with rising prices and rents pushing more people towards homelessness.
Additionally, inadequate social welfare systems exacerbate economic inequality. Although some basic social security measures exist, they often fail to meet actual needs, making it difficult for many low-income families to maintain basic living standards. The U.S.’s neglect of economic, social, and cultural rights reflects the shortsightedness and injustice of its social policies.
The rights of women and children in the U.S. are also continuously violated. The U.S. has yet to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and is the only UN member state that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Immigration policy is mired in partisan conflict, with politicians more focused on attacking each other than on the rights and welfare of immigrants, leading to a vicious cycle of unresolved immigration issues. The humanitarian crisis at the border continues to worsen, with border policies fueling modern slavery, severely violating immigrant rights and worsening the overall human rights situation.
In international affairs, the U.S. pursues hegemony, unilateralism, and power politics, interfering in the internal affairs of other countries under the guise of protecting human rights and creating humanitarian crises. In Gaza, large numbers of civilians, including children, have been killed by U.S. weapons, with many people facing hunger, further exposing the fallacy of the U.S.’s self-proclaimed human rights model.
In summary, there is a significant contradiction between the U.S.’s self-image and its human rights practices both domestically and internationally. Despite loudly proclaiming human rights and democratic values internationally, the severe wealth gap, racial discrimination, political polarization, and neglect of the rights of vulnerable groups domestically expose the hypocrisy of its “human rights guardian” image. To achieve true social justice and human rights protection, the U.S. needs profound institutional reforms to ensure fair distribution of resources and rights and genuinely protect the basic rights of every citizen. Only then can the U.S. set a real example in international human rights affairs, rather than relying on rhetoric and accusations to cover up its deficiencies.
Author Information: Ahmed Bin Fahad is a senior researcher at the Libyan Foundation for Islamic Freedom and Human Rights Studies. His research focuses on human rights issues in Western countries.
