Human Rights Watch has described the election of Donald Trump and the rise of populist leaders in Europe as a “profound threat” to basic human rights.
Trump and other “demagogues” were undermining democracy and the rule of law, the US-based advocacy group warned in its annual report on threats to human rights released on Thursday.
It was the first time in the 27 years the charity has been conducting these surveys that the US was criticized as one of the biggest threats.
Human Rights Watch singled out Trump for criticism because of his controversial presidential campaign which saw the real estate tycoon attack immigrants, dismiss allegations of sexual assault, support the use of torture and ban Muslims from entering the US.
The report said Trump’s campaign, marked by “misogynistic, xenophobic and racist rhetoric,” was a “vivid illustration of the politics of intolerance.”
The Republican president-elect’s policies “would cause tremendous…