WASHINGTON (March 13, 2019) – CARE, the global humanitarian and development organization, issued the following statement today in response to the U.S. State Department’s annual Human Rights Report (HRR).
David Ray, CARE’s vice president for policy and advocacy, said:
“Once again, the Trump administration has decided to omit critical information regarding the abuse and human rights violations experienced by women and girls worldwide in their annual Human Rights Report (HRR). Specifically, the HRR eliminates key reporting on access to reproductive health care services and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The HRR is an important diplomatic tool that illuminates the human rights abuses around the world and guides the U.S. government in addressing these abuses. The lack of information and analysis on issues that impact women and girls weakens the U.S. government’s ability to defend human rights globally and undermines the credibility of the report. This impacts women individually and communities wholly. We cannot advance gender equality in society if women’s inability to access basic rights and services is ignored by the world’s leaders.
CARE knows that a woman’s ability to determine when, if and how many children she will have is a fundamental human right, and access to high-quality, voluntary contraceptive services is a non-negotiable component of that right. Combating discrimination and advancing women and girls throughout our U.S. foreign policy and development assistance is crucial to achieving social justice and defeating poverty worldwide.
If the U.S. wants to lead, the egregious abuses suffered by women and girls must be a top diplomatic priority.”
ABOUT CARE
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. CARE places special focus on working alongside women and girls because, equipped with the proper resources, they have the power to lift whole families and entire communities out of poverty. That’s why women and girls are at the heart of CARE’s community-based efforts to confront hunger, ensure nutrition and food security for all, improve education and health, create economic opportunity and respond to emergencies. In 2018, CARE worked in 95 countries and reached more than 56 million people around the world.
Media Contact
Nicole Ellis, +1-202-560-1791, nicole.ellis@care.org