Clinton Speech Should Make Clear America's Commitment To Human Rights

Today, Secretary Hilary Clinton is scheduled to make a major foreign
policy address setting out the Obama Administration's vision for U.S.
global leadership in the 21st century. In anticipation of her remarks,
Human Rights First is calling on Secretary Clinton to make clear
America's commitment to human rights.

To date, the administration has consistently stressed its commitment
to promoting human rights abroad and has emphasized that broader and
better respect for human rights globally serves the national security
interests of the United States. In talking about this approach, senior
officials - including President Obama and Secretary Clinton - have
talked about engagement with America's rivals and adversaries, as well
as with friends and allies. They have spoken of the mutual interests and
mutual responsibilities of governments to uphold human rights, and they
have termed their approach principled pragmatism.

"Secretary Clinton has asked that America's human rights record be
judged not on rhetoric, but on results. She is right that actions speak
louder than words. But by clearly outlining the administration's human
rights objectives and priorities in today's speech, Secretary Clinton
can better make the case for how engagement is designed to achieve
them," said Elisa Massimino, Human Rights First's President and CEO.

Human Rights First notes that while it is true that many human rights
problems are challenging and some may be beyond the capacity of U.S.
foreign policy to remedy, given the importance that the Obama
Administration attaches to human rights as a foundation of international
peace and security, it is not unreasonable to expect credible,
principled policy proposals that respond to pressing global human rights
problems. Until now, it has been hard to point to successes for the
Obama administration in this regard.

Secretary Clinton's speech is a time to address these concerns head
on and to tell the world how the Obama Administration plans to address
specific challenges, including:

• Russia: The much-heralded reset of relations with
  Russia has not impacted the disturbing slide towards authoritarianism in
  that country. Basic freedoms of expression and assembly are curtailed
  for the government's non-violent critics. Human rights defenders and
  independent journalists and threatened, assaulted and even killed with
  impunity. Tomorrow, Secretary Clinton should make clear that the United
  States will no longer rely on the U.S-Russia bilateral commission as
  the primary mechanism for promoting human rights in that country. She
  should go beyond stating that the Obama administration disagrees with
  Russia on human rights and should say publicly that continued human
  rights violations will interfere with developing closer relations in
  other areas.
• Iran: In Iran, U.S. diplomatic efforts have
  focused on building international support for efforts to prevent Tehran
  from developing nuclear weapons capacity, not on ways to support
  protesters struggling for the right to choose their own leaders or for
  women and religious minorities seeking equal treatment. As evidence of
  severe violations of human rights continues to mount - such as activists
  in prison, peaceful protesters killed in the streets or subjected to
  torture and rape in prison, and human rights defenders forced to flee
  for their lives - the absence of an urgent policy response from the
  United States has become a glaring omission. Secretary Clinton should
  make clear that the State Department will build a substantial
  international effort with likeminded countries on human rights as part
  of the security issues that dominate the international agenda.
• Egypt: Even in countries with which the U.S.
  government enjoys close bi-lateral relations, like Egypt, the lack of
  clear policies to address well-known and long-standing human rights
  problems is a concern. For example, the U.S. government continues to
  call for Egypt to hold free and fair elections in forthcoming
  parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for later this year
  and 2011. U.S. officials continue to make these statements, even though
  they know that measures taken by the Egyptian government after the last
  round of elections in 2005 make it virtually impossible for opposition
  candidates to stand in the presidential election and have undermined
  domestic efforts to carry out independent election monitoring to
  minimize abuses. Tomorrow, Secretary Clinton should lay out clear
  benchmarks identifying the reforms necessary for free and fair elections
  to take place and pledge to hold the administration's Egyptian partners
  accountable for these commitments.
• Sudan: It has been almost a year since the
  Obama administration unveiled a new Sudan policy. In addition to being
  unevenly implemented, this policy has been ineffective in dealing with
  the government in Khartoum. It is now a matter of months before two
  critical referenda on that country's future. How the U.S. galvanizes
  international action to prepare for this moment and avoid a return to
  war in Sudan will be a major test of this administration's global
  leadership. Tomorrow, Secretary Clinton should commit to providing
  strong U.S. leadership on Sudan and, more broadly, commit to taking
  action whenever atrocities are threatened by - among other efforts -
  addressing the role of third-party enablers who help sustain the world's
  worst crimes.

Though it would be unfair to demand instant results from policies
designed to promote human rights abroad, Human Rights First notes that
leadership demands a candid appraisal of problems that exist. It also
demands a willingness to confront violators with their responsibilities
and, at the end of the day, to implement policies that set a course for
tangible improvements in conditions on the ground. A U.S. government
that is seen as advancing human rights and freedom at home and around
the world will make America stronger and contribute to improved global
peace and security.