Amnesty blames Trump, others in global rollback of rights

PARIS — Amnesty International says “toxic” fear-mongering by antiestablishment politicians, among them President Trump and the leaders of Turkey, Hungary and the Philippines, is contributing to a global pushback against human rights.

Releasing its 408-page annual report on rights abuses around the world Wednesday, the watchdog group described 2016 as “the year when the cynical use of ‘us vs. them’ narratives of blame, hate and fear took on a global prominence to a level not seen since the 1930s,” when Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany.

Amnesty named Trump, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte among leaders it said are “wielding a toxic agenda that hounds, scapegoats and dehumanizes entire groups of people.”

“Poisonous” rhetoric employed by Trump in his election campaign exemplified “the global trend of angrier and more divisive politics,” Amnesty said.

Jose Noel Olano (center) and Wilnor Papa of Amnesty International take a reporter’s question in Quezon, Philippines, after the group released a report on human rights abuses worldwide. Jose Noel Olano (center) and Wilnor Papa of Amnesty International take a reporter’s question in Quezon, Philippines, after the group released a report on human rights abuses worldwide. Photo: Bullit Marquez, Associated Press Photo: Bullit Marquez, Associated Press Image 1 of / 74 Caption Close Amnesty blames Trump, others in global rollback of rights 1 / 74 Back to Gallery

“The limits of what is acceptable have shifted. Politicians are shamelessly and actively legitimizing all sorts of hateful rhetoric and policies based on people’s identity: misogyny, racism and homophobia. The first target has been refugees and, if this continues in 2017, others will be in the crosshairs.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

In the Philippines, Duterte’s spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said the president has recently toned down his rhetoric. Duterte previously said he would be “happy to slaughter” 3 million drug addicts and talked of fattening fish in Manila Bay with corpses.

His crackdown on illegal drugs is feared to have killed more than 7,000 mostly poor drug users and petty drug pushers since he took office last June.

The Hungarian government, which has come under fire from human rights groups for its treatment of refugees and migrants, also rejected the report.

John Leicester is an Associated Press writer.