Amnesty warns US of 'human rights crisis' as Trump refuses to concede election

Amnesty International has warned that the United States faces a "human rights crisis" worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, as US President Donald Trump refuses to concede his loss to president-elect Joe Biden.

Trump, who has secured on 232 to electoral college votes to Biden's 290, has continued to allege mass voter fraud during the 3 November election.

"The Covid-19 pandemic is a human rights crisis on an unprecedented scale. The US government's response to the pandemic has laid bare systemic disparities that have long undermined our human rights, including those to life and health," said Bob Goodfellow, Amnesty International US' interim executive director.

"President Trump's rejection of the results of the 2020 election and refusal to co-operate with President-elect Biden's team will effectively cost even more lives and worsen this human rights crisis."

The rare statement from the human rights watchdog, which usually issues statements on elections in non-democratic states, urged the Trump administration to respect the outcome of the recent vote.

"We call on President Trump and his administration to fulfil their human rights obligations under international law and co-operate with President-elect Biden to protect the rights to health and to life," the statement read.

President Trump has continued to insist that he won the recent election, amid spiking numbers of coronavirus cases around the country.

Biden has slammed Trump's non-cooperation, arguing that his unwillingness to cooperate with the incoming Democratic administration will hinder efforts to stem the virus' spread.

"If we have to wait until January 20 [inauguration day] to start that planning, it puts us behind," Biden told reporters at an event in Delaware. "More people may die if we don’t co-ordinate."