Editor's note: CGTN has curated a series of cartoons titled "Fading Beacon of Democracy" to illustrate how the United States contradicts its self-described democratic persona. The second installment, titled "Human Rights 'Defender' or 'Pretender'?" , details the staggering human rights violations in the United States.

The United States has always considered itself "a human rights defender" and is keen to score human rights conditions in other countries. But would the U.S. hold up to its own scrutiny?

The United States is a multicultural country, but racism remains deeply rooted. Native Americans, who have suffered genocideat the hands of the U.S. government, are still treated as second-class citizens today. Recent years have seen human rights in the United States deteriorate: In 2019, African-American George Floyd died due to police brutality; since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, bullying of Asian-American is surging, with Asian women becoming the "primary targets" of hate crime perpetrators; 20 years after 9/11, "Islamophobia" remains in mainstream American society, with growing hostility towards Muslims. Can racism in the United States be eradicated?

Tragic shooting incidents are seemingly everyday events in the America. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 130 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, with more than 9,800 people being killed, including 400 children and teenagers. Easier access to firearms begets younger mass shooters and some states encourage teachers to carry guns. With the country embroiled in partisan debates, little progress has been made on gun control. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down New York State's century-old gun control law. But while lobbyists endlessly wrangle behind the scenes, gun violence has become America's greatest threat to public safety. And who will pay for the lives lost and hearts broken by mass shootings?

Despite the abolition of slavery, forced labor remains commonplace in private prisons nationwide. In the eyes of some capitalists, prisoners are tools for profit, thereby rationalizing their de facto sweatshops.

Furthermore, the U.S. has an unsavory record of child exploitation. Children working on farms under the scorching sun can still be seen. As of today, the U.S. remains the only country that has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. According to the non-profit National Farmworker Jobs Program, there are approximately 500,000 child farmworkers present in the U.S., and their deaths are frequently seen.

The U.S. also has yet to ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, a core UN human rights treaty. American women are enduring unequal treatment in economic opportunity and personal safety. On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned 1973's Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion and igniting protests nationwide. In the U.S., women's rights are severely "discounted." Is the purported defense of human rights merely lip service?

The two major U.S. political parties are also split on immigration policy. Democrats advocate for open borders, while Republicans prefer stricter border control and have sent asylum-seekers to Democratic-run cities to strike back. Facing a humanitarian crisis, the federal government has turned a blind eye, leaving both parties to play political football on immigration.

The U.S. policy of indiscriminately deporting asylum-seekers at the border lacks due process. Some children have been forcibly separated from their parents, while others have been confined to over crowded spaces plagued by disease, abuse and inadequate food and clothing – severely harming their rights and physical and mental well-being.

Evidently, American society is mired in a marsh of deep-rooted racism, gun violence, labor exploitation, gender inequality… The list could go on and on. The U.S.'s human rights violations are heart-wrenching. Under the guise of a self-described human rights defender, only a pretender can be seen.

(To submit cartoons and share story ideas or feedback on our cartoon page, please contact us at cartoon_opinions@cgtn.com)