*EPF106 05/05/2003
Text: U.S. To Issue Human Rights Strategy Report
(Craner House International Relations subcommittee testimony) (3470)

The State Department expects to release shortly a strategy report describing U.S. efforts to improve human rights and strengthen democracies in the 94 countries identified as being the worst human rights violators, says Lorne Craner, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor.

Testifying before a House International Relations subcommittee April 30, Craner said this is the first time the Department will issue a strategy report following its annual country reports on human rights practices.

Discussing the 2002 country reports, which were issued on March 31, Craner said they cover individual, civil, political, religious and worker rights as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

He said the country reports played a role in U.S. negotiations at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, being used as a source for drafting country-specific resolutions.

Following is the text of Craner's opening statement to the subcommittee:

(begin text)

2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Testimony of Lorne W. Craner,
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
Statement before the International Terror, Non-proliferation and Human Rights Subcommittee,
House International Relations Committee

April 30, 2003
Washington, D.C.

Introduction

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today regarding the State Department's 27th Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. In our estimation, the reports reflect America's diligence in the struggle to expand freedom abroad. Together with past reports, and reports to come, this compendium provides a clear picture of the state of human rights around the globe that depicts work in progress and, very significantly, points the way to future tasks. It is a statement of our fundamental belief that human rights are universal -- that they are indigenous to every corner of the world, in every culture and in every religious tradition.

Before I discuss the contents of the reports, I would like to acknowledge those who worked so hard to produce them. These reports include descriptions of the human rights practices in almost 200 different countries. The volume is a substantial work - millions of words in all - that requires an enormous amount of research, information gathering, and editing by diplomats here and overseas. Special thanks are due to Cynthia Bunton, who heads the Office of Country Reports. Her staff, like others in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, is a dedicated and talented group of people committed to presenting the facts as accurately and objectively as possible.

The Process of Creating the Reports

The process of compiling the reports also requires our Foreign Service Officers and other staff abroad to go to great lengths, often under trying and dangerous circumstances. Our embassy officers, who prepared the initial drafts, gathered information throughout the year from a variety of sources across the political spectrum, including government officials, jurists, armed forces sources, journalists, human rights monitors, academics and labor activists.

The draft texts were then sent to Washington for careful review by DRL, in cooperation with other State Department offices. As we worked to corroborate, analyze and edit the reports, our officers drew on their own sources of information. These included reports provided by U.S. and other human rights groups, foreign government officials, representatives from the United Nations and other international and regional organizations and institutions, experts from academia, and the media. Our officers also consulted with experts on worker rights issues, refugee issues, military and police topics, women's issues and legal matters. Throughout this process, our guiding principle was to ensure that all relevant information was assessed as objectively, thoroughly and fairly as possible.

The Purpose of the Reports

Spreading democratic values and respect for human rights around the world is one of the primary ways we have to advance the national security interests of the United States. The defense of liberty is both an expression of our ideals and a source of strength that we have drawn on throughout our history. Democratic values have also been at the heart of America's most enduring and effective alliances, partnerships which continue to help us meet the challenges of tyranny and deprivation. For that reason, these reports reflect our solidarity with those brave souls who dare to dream of freedom not only in democratic societies, but also in repressive ones in which they live. They are setting the course of history and we must help them.

I introduce this point to underscore not only the utility of the reports but their necessity. This volume is one of the most significant tools available to the U.S. Government to help determine foreign policy strategies that promote the development of democratic systems and principles, and remedy abuse and disregard for human rights. They also serve as a basis for our government's cooperation with private groups to promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights.

The reports cover individual, civil, political, religious and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. By promoting these human rights, we seek to incorporate respect for human dignity into the processes of government and law everywhere. Furthermore, the promotion of human rights and human freedoms is an essential tool in the war on terror. As Secretary Powell said last year, freedom and rule of law fight terror, instability and conflict.

The Year in Review

We saw important progress in many countries in 2002 that can serve as the foundation of greater respect for human rights. In Afghanistan, human rights improvements included women and ethnic minorities serving in the government and an estimated one million girls back in school. Democratic politics continued to develop in Timor Leste and Taiwan's strides were also notable. Turkey passed extensive human rights reform packages, and the first general elections conducted by local authorities since the Dayton Peace Accords were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the Middle East, several positive steps were taken. In May, the first open municipal council elections were held in Bahrain, and in October women joined men in exercising their right to vote to elect a national parliament for the first time in nearly 30 years. Morocco saw its first open elections in September, and in Qatar, a new constitution establishing a partially elected parliament was drafted; in fact a referendum ballot to adopt it was just held yesterday.

In Africa, Kenya's free election and peaceful transfer of power in December signaled hope for the consolidation of democratic politics there. In our own hemisphere, the Organization of American States, which adopted an Inter-American Democratic Charter in 2001, put its collective commitment into action last year with vigorous efforts to resolve the political crisis in Venezuela.

But the 2002 reports also provide a comprehensive view of the work that remains to be done. Not surprisingly, many human rights abuses occurred in nations that have non-democratic forms of government. While some structural reforms in the areas of rule of law and democracy continued in China, and pressure to expand direct elections from villages to townships grew, the Chinese also continued to commit serious human rights abuses in violation of their obligations under international human rights instruments they have signed. At year's end, a spate of arrests of political dissidents, the execution of a Tibetan without due process, the continued detentions of Rebiya Kadeer, Wang Youcai, Qin Yongmin and others, and restrictions on religious freedom and repression of some ethnic minorities were particularly troubling and remain so. I also note with deep concern that April 25 marked the 14th birthday of the Panchen Lhama, Gendun Choekyi Nyima, and the eighth year the Chinese government has refused access to this young boy.

Sudan remained a serious abuser of human rights, including tragic violations such as slavery, child labor, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and attacks on civilians continued. Notwithstanding the failure of the UN Commission on Human Rights to pass a Sudan resolution this month, the Government of Sudan must make greater and more transparent improvements in the human rights conditions of its people. Zimbabwe's government used a systematic campaign of violence and intimidation against its opponents, real and perceived. This campaign has also featured politicized distribution of food aid in an environment where half the population has been at risk of malnutrition and hunger. In Côte d'Ivoire, a coup attempt and ensuing civil unrest sparked human rights violations by government and rebel forces. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, major abuses continued.

In the first six months of last year, the Government of Kazakhstan's poor human rights record worsened, including selective prosecution of opposition leaders and a pattern of media harassment suggesting an attempt to silence media critics. While there were positive steps in the first half of 2002, such as registration of the first human rights NGO and abolition of prior censorship of the media in Uzbekistan, there were also setbacks that are a cause of concern, including at least four deaths in detention due to torture.

Momentum behind the Varela Project and the Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba in 2002 gave us hope that Castro's grip on power and oppression was eroding. But we are now witnessing the Cuban government's most significant act of political repression in decades, with arrests, convictions and sentences being handed down in secret trials. Secretary Powell said three weeks ago that these citizens' "only crime was seeking basic human rights and freedoms," and we remain vigilant and unrelenting in our pursuit of remedies. Also in Latin America, Colombia showed signs of progress, with generally transparent elections and a declaration by paramilitary forces that they would negotiate peace in 2003. But problems remain serious, particularly extrajudicial killings by illegal armed groups, an inefficient judiciary and impunity.

Systematic and egregious violations of human rights in North Korea occurred, including torture, summary executions and the use of prison labor under incredibly inhumane conditions. In Cambodia, incidents of politically motivated killings began to increase as the country prepares for 2003 elections amidst a culture of impunity and with serious shortcomings in the government's investigations.

In Burma, the State Department documented accounts of rape of ethnic minority women by the Burmese military that were similar to NGO reports on the issue suggesting that rape continued to be a widespread practice. The conscription of child soldiers in Burma also remained a serious problem. Overall the human rights conditions in Burma remain bleak, as the Burmese people continue to see little to no progress toward the restoration of their most fundamental civil and political rights.

Though this is a mere sampling of the 2002 reports' findings, my testimony would be incomplete without mention of Iraq. Iraq's Republican Guard and other members of the security apparatus committed widespread and systematic human rights abuses including killings, torture, disappearances, rapes and imprisonment of Iraqi political opposition and ethnic and religious minorities. Today, the world bears witness to the depth and horror of Saddam Hussein's regime as more evidence of his brutality is uncovered during the efforts to reconstruct the country. The Iraqi people are now, for the first time in decades, reclaiming their fundamental freedoms as a direct result of the removal of Saddam and the Baathist regime from power.

Efforts to Improve Human Rights Problems Described in the Reports

The reports serve a valuable role in focusing public attention on human rights violations throughout the world, but they are also a call to action to those of us at the State Department and other agencies to direct our efforts of democracy promotion and human rights protection toward those nations whose records on these issues need improvement. We have several programs and mechanisms that can be used to encourage better progress.

To remedy the abuses chronicled in past editions of the country reports, in the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan for example, we have doubled our resources to advance human rights and democracy. In Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, our resources to advance human rights and democracy have nearly quadrupled since September 11. At the same time, we have sharpened our human rights and democracy programs in the region as a whole.

For decades the Middle East has been considered the "democratic exception." This year's reports indicate that the democracy gap between many countries in the Middle East and the rest of the world remains large.

The U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative is one program that we believe will help overcome that gap. Launched by Secretary Powell in December, MEPI has the aim of comprehensive reform and a prosperous future for the region. The initiative acknowledges the economic, political and educational challenges facing the Arab world and reflects the U.S. Government's resolve to address them. MEPI reinforces programs begun before September 11, 2001 - programs that are aiding democratic experiments under way in countries such as Morocco, Bahrain and Qatar. MEPI will extend them into countries where democracy has not yet taken root.

The region's democratic experiments, along with the experience of millions of Muslims living in established democracies, offer hope that achieving democracy in this region, while not an overnight process, is a realistic goal. Indeed, MEPI is not the only area of new dedicated funding for democracy; we are developing concerted efforts to help democracy evolve in non-Arab parts of the Muslim world too.

I noted earlier that our 2002 report details China's serious human rights abuses, from systematic abuses of political and religious freedom to the denial of fundamental worker rights to the jailing of dissidents. But the reports also notice increased pressure inside of China for political reform. This year, the Bush Administration is not only supporting dissidents outside China, we are supporting those Chinese inside the country who are trying to advance structural reforms. Again, we will not see change overnight, but over the long term, these processes offer, perhaps, the best hope for a democratic China.

On a global scale, one of our highest priorities is to reshape the incentives for democratization. The President's Millennium Challenge Account does just that by creating a new, innovative and accountable framework for how foreign assistance is delivered.

The MCA in fact increases the importance of sound reporting on human rights and democracy and is yet another example of the practical integration of human rights monitoring and foreign policy implementation. Establishing standards of democratic governance, economic freedom and development objectives for health and education, the MCA will provide another vehicle for reducing the gap between human rights ideals and actual practices. The 2002 country reports are helping us identify those gaps and address the challenges.

Encouraging democracy and human rights is not an exclusive purview of the United States, as seen in important international developments. Last November, government representatives of more than 100 nations met at the Community of Democracies conference in Seoul and affirmed democracy as the best weapon to fight terrorism, saying, "Democracy provides a solid foundation for peaceful, thriving societies by empowering people, holding governments more accountable and responsive to the people's needs, and facilitating sustainable economic development."

The proclamation credited democracy with, above all, enhancing respect for protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. One of our goals is to see more nations join that community through our diplomatic efforts and by aiding democratic endeavors through programs like the MCA and MEPI.

Human Rights and Democracy Strategy Report

This year, for the first time, DRL will compile a Human Rights and Democracy Strategy Report describing our efforts to improve human rights and strengthen democracy in the 94 countries identified in the country reports as being the worst human rights violators. This report will provide you as Members of Congress with a snapshot of our efforts in the most problematic countries.
The strategy report should be released by June 1. Divided by region, it will report on U.S. programs to promote human rights, democracy, press freedom, religious freedom, and worker rights and our efforts to combat human trafficking. Though the report will be much smaller in size than the report on human rights practices, it will be of a similar caliber, intensity and utility.

DRL's Human Rights and Democracy Fund is used to support innovative, cutting-edge projects that address the foreign policy interests in countries of strategic importance to the United States. We put emphasis on pilot projects or "seed funds" that will have an immediate impact with the potential for continued funding beyond HRDF resources. The Fund is set up to act rapidly on political openings and niches where we believe progress can be made in strengthening democracy and building civil society and, in some instances, where other funding agents are not prepared to work.

While DRL supports human rights and democracy initiatives worldwide, in fiscal years 2002 and 2003, my bureau is focusing a large part of our HRDF programming efforts on countries with significant Muslim populations, particularly those in the Middle East and in Central Asia, and on China. We have a vision for the Muslim world in which respect for the sanctity of the individual, the rule of law and the politics of participation grow stronger day by day. In the Middle East and North Africa, we have used the HRDF to support various initiatives that promote democratic reform intended to result in greater political stability, pluralism and respect for fundamental freedoms.

In Central Asia as I've mentioned before, we are committed to promoting human rights. One key goal is to encourage government accountability through the development of representative political parties and human rights non-governmental organizations and the support of independent media. In China, we are using HRDF to substantially assist structural changes with projects that seek to make the judiciary more independent, promote rights awareness, conduct direct elections at the village level, support judicial, administrative and regulatory reform, and promote citizen participation in local government and civil society.

The following is just a sample of projects that DRL is supporting:

-- Journalism training in the Middle East as a means to defuse conflict and provide unbiased reporting

-- Independent media in the Kyrgyz Republic by establishing a printing press

-- The ability of human rights defenders in Uzbekistan to monitor and report on human rights abuses by providing training, resources and, most importantly, a safe place to meet

-- Programs in China to secure protection of human rights under the law, including the rights of women, workers and criminal defendants

-- Democratic reform in Indonesia by providing leaders of Islamic boarding schools, known as pesantren, with training in democracy, civic education, participatory education, human rights and school administration, and funding for small projects to increase community participation in the management of the pesantren

-- The strengthening of democratic processes and institutions in Venezuela

-- The expansion of access to independent radio in Angola to 85 percent of the population by funding the installation of repeaters and radio stations

-- The strengthening of the organizational capacity of trade unions and increased awareness among trade union members of the functions and uses of trade unions in the Middle East

-- Political party reform and party-strengthening programs in Latin America to address the political parties' institutional weaknesses and enhance accountability

With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I would like also to submit a more comprehensive list of the HRDF projects we are administering for inclusion in the record.

Country Reports and the UNCHR

This year's country reports also played a role in our negotiations at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. They were used as a source for drafting country-specific resolutions, including important information regarding disappearances that have taken place in Belarus, which served as the basis of that new U.S.-sponsored resolution, and other new resolutions on Turkmenistan and North Korea. Information from the reports was also cited in our delegation's position statements on more than a dozen country-specific resolutions put before the Commission.

The fact that the reports were made public during this year's Human Rights Commission meetings also helped focus international attention on the issue of human rights and strengthened our lobbying efforts with other countries.

Conclusion

Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, I am confident that this year's reports are a comprehensive and accurate account of the world's human rights situation as we know it to be. As in the past, the reports will serve as an important compass for us at the State Department. But because of the vision of the U.S. Congress 27 years ago, the reports have become one of the most well-respected and often-used tools for you, and others in our government, foreign governments, non-governmental organizations and the media to gain a clearer understanding of the status of human rights the world over. We believe our strategy report will also gain such respect through similar utility.

I would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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