Geneva, Jan 25 (AFP) The United States under President Donald Trump appears set to renounce its role as an international human rights defender, Human Rights Watch said today, urging other democracies to step up. Also Read - After US Announces Ban on TikTok From Sunday, Chinese App Says Will Fight Ongoing Crackdown

“I’m very concerned that we will lose the US voice as a defender of human rights around the world,” HRW executive director Kenneth Roth told reporters in Geneva. Also Read - US to Ban TikTok, WeChat Downloads From September 20 Amid Security Concerns

This, he warned, could have dire consequences in a world where Washington has long “been an important voice for civil society, for civic space in many countries”. Also Read - 'Great Leader And Loyal Friend', Trump's Birthday Wish For PM Modi

Roth also said he feared governments could “use the opportunity of Trump’s arrival to crack down on dissent”.

He condemned several measures announced since Trump took office, including planned restrictions on refugees, visas and immigration, and a decree barring US federal funding for any foreign NGOs that provide or consult on abortion.

He was also sharply critical of Trump’s choice of cabinet members, including his yet-to-be confirmed pick for secretary of state, former ExxonMobil head Rex Tillerson.

“This does not bode well for American leadership on human rights,” he said, insisting that “there is going to be an urgent need for other governments to step up.” Western European countries alone could not handle the burden, he said, stressing the need for democratic countries around the globe to work together.

“Without a real global commitment to human rights values from all nations where there is, at least domestically, a commitment to these values, I fear that this global rise of populism is going to weaken a number of the pillars on which the United Nations (was) built,” Roth said. (AFP) KJ

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.