Press Release
Published on May 29, 2025
WASHINGTON D.C — Human Rights First today condemned the proposed reorganization of the State Department under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, which would eliminate most offices in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), slashing staff by up to 80 percent and halting or cutting hundreds of millions in funding for human rights programs worldwide.
“This so-called reorganization is a cover for unprecedented U.S. retreat and regression on human rights, defying decades of bipartisan support.” said Uzra Zeya, President and CEO of Human Rights First. “Rubio’s claim that U.S. human rights capacity would be sustained and folded into regional bureaus has proven false. Instead, he’s eviscerating that capacity, and the impact will be devastating. ”
The restructuring would gut the U.S. government’s capacity to promote human rights, democracy, civil society and refugee protection across the globe. If enacted, the plan would leave $400 million in already-appropriated human rights grants in limbo and eliminate human rights experts on some of the most repressive countries in the world such as Cuba, Iran, and Eritrea and on cutting edge topics like Internet freedom and business and human rights.
The reorganization would also eliminate top human rights leadership posts at the State Department, and repurpose a massively diminished Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration to focus on the administration’s mass deportations to other countries rather than protecting refugees. The overhaul includes plans to cut the State Department’s Afghan programs, including the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE) Team, which was established in 2021 and statutorily authorized in 2024 for three years.
“By decimating PRM humanitarian and migration policy offices and swiping funds essential to supporting the ability of front-line nations to continue to host the vast majority of the world’s refugees, this reorganization is short-sighted, counterproductive to U.S. interests and will inevitably lead to greater instability and onward displacement,” continued Zeya. “It endangers the lives of Afghans who put their lives on the line to work with the United States and countless other people who have fled war and persecution and abandoned the countries. This is counter to our historic commitment to refugees and also undermines our national security.”
Human Rights First urges members of Congress to take immediate action to stop this proposed reorganization, ensure appropriated funds are used for their Congressionally mandated purpose, and support America’s capacity to uphold human rights worldwide.
Media contact: press@humanrightsfirst.org
