Whither US Commitment to Human Rights Posted by David Shorr

Given the worries from Shadi and others over President Obama's commitment to democracy and human rights, it's very helpful to have Ted Piccone's analysis in Global Post of the emerging policy. Ted takes as his text both the president's Nobel speech and Secretary Clinton's recent speech on human rights at Georgetown. In their tone and the way they capture the genuine foreign policy dilemmas of human rights, Ted says they got it just right.

But I was even more interested in his description of the day-to-day challenges of executing such an approach:

...it means that solutions to the inevitable conflicts between human rights principles and hard national security interests will be hatched on a case-by-case basis, with an open willingness to try new approaches when old tactics fall short. This is wise, given that the political context in each country is unique and requires tailored strategies. This means our diplomats in embassies around the world really need to do their homework and get out of their secure compounds and cocktail receptions. It also means a much more well-resourced development policy with a fortified battery of analysts, practitioners and aid experts who can sustain the long-term work of investing in legal reforms and strengthening civil society.

A wise and pragmatic policy indeed requires not only hard decisions but hard work -- particularly when you measure success in terms of the rights actual people can actually exercise. This is the walk-and-chew-gum problem; or as Secretary Clinton more eloquently put it in another speech: the need "to deal with the urgent, the important, and the long-term all at once." This is really important, and I hope the QDDR explains how we will rise to this challenge.

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At the State Department, though, every week is Human Rights Week. Sixty-one years ago this month, the world’s leaders proclaimed a new framework of rights, laws, and institutions that could fulfill the vow of “never again.” They affirmed the universality of human rights through the Universal Declaration and legal agreements including those aimed at combating genocide, war crimes and torture, and challenging discrimination against women and racial and religious minorities. Burgeoning civil society movements and nongovernmental organizations became essential partners in advancing the principle that every person counts, and in exposing those who violate that standard.

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The U.S. has given Egypt billions in aid and economic assistance since the 1970s -approximately two billion dollars a year -- but I suspect we are helping to prop up a corrupt regime and not helping enough to advance the causes of self-determination and democracy out of fear that those causes would be overtaken by extremists. Edward Walker, former U.S. ambassador to Egypt, observed in 2004 that U.S. aid "offers an easy way out for Egypt to avoid reform. They use the money to support antiquated programs and to resist reforms."

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