HRW says Trump is 'disaster' for human rights, fuels authoritarians

Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, poses at the organisation offices in Paris, France, January 17, 2018. Picture taken January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's record on human rights in his first year in office has been a "disaster" and has encouraged oppression by authoritarian leaders from China to Russia, the head of Human Rights Watch said in an interview on Wednesday.

Kenneth Roth was speaking ahead of HRW's annual report launch in Paris, where he said French President Emmanuel Macron needed to fill a void with countries like Britain, which was distracted by Brexit, and the United States which was largely absent from the rights' landscape.