The criticism from Sen. Marco Rubio is particularly notable because he was on the fence about voting to confirm Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. | Getty Rubio chides Tillerson over absence on Human Rights Report's launch The secretary of state traditionally unveils the report, but sources say Tillerson won't be involved this year.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is coming under fire by Sen. Marco Rubio and others for breaking with tradition and staying away from the upcoming public release of the State Department’s annual Human Rights Report.

Some activists and former officials fear it's just another sign that President Donald Trump's administration intends to downplay human rights issues while also sidelining the State Department in general.


The report, a widely respected document cataloging human rights advances and abuses in nations across the world, is expected to be released Friday. Numerous U.S. diplomats are involved in preparing the document, which is frequently referenced by researchers and read carefully by other governments.

The report's unveiling almost always includes a press event and remarks by the secretary of state, a standard approach used by Republican and Democratic administrations. The secretary’s presence is intended to send a signal about the importance of human rights to the United States. In the rare event that the secretary is unavailable, another high-ranking department official leads the launch.

In recent days, sources at the State Department and among human rights activists have said they’ve been told Tillerson, who has been very press shy since taking office a month ago, will not follow that tradition this year. Instead, the report's release is expected to involve merely a background telephone briefing for the media.

Late Thursday, Rubio, a Florida Republican who has made human rights issues a key part of his foreign policy portfolio, used Twitter to chide Tillerson over the topic.

“For 1st time in a long time @StateDept #humanrights report will not be presented by Secretary of State. I hope they reconsider,” tweeted Rubio, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Sarah Margon, Washington director for Human Rights Watch, noted that the Trump administration also has proposed slashing the foreign aid budget and is trying to impose a temporary ban on refugees entering America, both actions that have rattled the human rights community.

The administration also is considering quitting the U.N. Human Rights Council, which is often alleged to be biased against Israel, but which activists consider an important forum. And Trump has been vocal about his desire to have better relations with strongmen leading countries such as Egypt and Russia.

"If Secretary Tillerson is absent from the State Department's annual Human Rights Report release he will reinforce the message to governments, rights activists and at-risk minorities that the State Department might also be silent on repression, abuse, and exploitation," Margon said.

Rubio's slam is particularly notable because he was on the fence about voting to confirm Tillerson, the former CEO of ExxonMobil. The senator, who lost to Trump in the GOP primary race for president, was especially unhappy after Tillerson declined to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal over his actions in Syria and elsewhere. He ultimately chose to support Tillerson.

In his testimony, Tillerson did pay some heed to the importance of human rights, but he also noted that it "is unreasonable to expect that every foreign policy endeavor will be driven by human rights considerations alone."

State Department spokesmen would not confirm what Rubio wrote on Twitter, what exactly Tillerson's plans are, or why he would choose to stay away from the report's launch. And it's entirely possible that, in the hours before the report's release, Tillerson may heed Rubio's advice and choose to get involved.

For several days, however, State Department spokesmen have resisted answering POLITICO's queries about what Tillerson will do about the report. The report’s release is not listed on Tillerson’s public schedule for Friday, but he is taking meetings, including with the Indian foreign secretary, at the department.

Tillerson has almost entirely avoided reporters so far and, compared to many of his predecessors, kept a very low profile. That has led to questions about how much clout Tillerson really has in the Trump administration, which has proposed drastic cuts to the State Department's budget. The department appears to have been cut out of much of the administration's decision-making process.

The department's first formal press briefing under the Trump administration is set for Monday. It's not clear why the department would release the Human Rights Report before that briefing is held. But simply the fact that Tillerson would even consider not being involved in the report's launch has distressed some State officials.

“I’m disappointed,” said one State Department source. “It appears the U.S. is walking away from its leadership in human rights.”

Tom Malinowski, a former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, who served in the Obama administration under Secretary of State John Kerry, also expressed chagrin.

“When I was at the State Department, Secretary Kerry delayed the release of the reports a couple of times so that he could personally roll them out,” Malinowski said.