State Dept. Cuts LGBTQ From Rights Reports

By: Paul Goldberg, Senior Editor | JRL CHARTS – LGBT Politics News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — (August 9, 2025) — Advocacy groups are blasting the U.S. State Department over reports that it plans to remove references to LGBTQ rights and protections from its annual human rights reports — a move critics say would roll back decades of progress in U.S. foreign policy.

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According to an exclusive investigation by the Washington Post, draft versions of the 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for nations including El Salvador, Russia, and Israel show all mentions of anti-LGBTQ discrimination, government abuses targeting LGBTQ people, and even instances of violence have been deleted or significantly softened.

The reports, which Congress requires the State Department to publish each year, have historically documented abuses such as police harassment, discriminatory laws, and violent attacks on LGBTQ people worldwide.

Details from the Draft Reports

El Salvador: The drafts reportedly omit references to the sexual assault of Andry Hernández Romero, a gay Venezuelan asylum seeker, inside the country’s notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) after the U.S. allegedly deported him and hundreds of others earlier this year.
Russia: The 2023 report documented the government’s ban on gender-affirming care, the arrest of LGBTQ activists, and violent crackdowns in Chechnya. Drafts for 2024 strike this language entirely.
Israel: While Israeli law prohibits some forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation, the 2023 report noted persistent bias in areas such as same-sex marriage, adoption, and parental rights. The new drafts downplay these issues.

Reaction from Advocacy Groups

“This administration only cares about the human rights of some people, in some countries, when it’s politically convenient,” said Keifer Buckingham, managing director of the Council for Global Equality.

Human Rights First condemned what it called “far-reaching cuts and politically driven revisions” under the Trump-Vance administration, warning that such changes undermine America’s credibility as a global advocate for human rights.

Political Context

The Politico news outlet reported in March that the administration was also cutting sections on women’s rights, disability rights, and other marginalized groups from the reports.

While Secretary Rubio insists the State Department “has not abandoned human rights,” the Post findings suggest a targeted rollback of LGBTQ visibility in U.S. diplomacy.

What’s Next

The State Department did not respond to multiple requests from JRL CHARTS LGBT Politics News for comment, nor did it provide a release date for the 2024 human rights report. Advocates say they are preparing to fight the revisions in Congress and in the court of public opinion.

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