*EPF203 02/20/01
The 25th Anniversary of the U.S. Human Rights Report: Part Two
(Backgrounder: 2001 report to be released 2/23) (1000)
By David Pitts
Washington File Staff Writer

(This is the second of two articles to mark the introduction of the U.S. human rights report, the first of which was issued in 1977.)

Washington -- On February 23, the United States will release its annual human rights report on conditions in 194 countries in the year 2000. The first report -- on human rights conditions in 1976 -- covered just 82 countries. Since then the reports have grown in depth as well as breadth.

The immediate origin of the report is an amendment to Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance Act, which Congress passed in 1976. The amendment required the secretary of state to transmit to Congress "a full and complete report" every year concerning "respect for internationally recognized human rights in each country proposed as a recipient of U.S. assistance." The first report was far from universal. But there was a strong feeling that, at a minimum, the human rights records of recipients of U.S. security assistance should at least be documented and publicized.

As a result of the amendment a newly created post of coordinator for human rights and humanitarian affairs was established in the State Department under President Jimmy Carter, who took office in January 1977. The position later was upgraded to assistant secretary of state for Democracy, human rights and labor. This office prepared the first human rights report and submitted it to Senator Hubert Humphrey, who was then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's subcommittee on foreign assistance. The report covered 82 countries in receipt of U.S. security assistance. Most were friends and allies of longstanding.

The 1978 report was lengthened to include U.S. recipients of economic but not security assistance -- 33 of them. The following year, the Foreign Assistance Act again was amended so that the human rights report could be dramatically expanded to include an entry on each member of the United Nations. As a result, the 1979 report was 854 pages in length and covered 154 nations, including for the first time such countries as Cuba, China and three, which were not UN members -- North Korea, Rhodesia and Taiwan.

At this time, the basic format of the report was established. It included information on specific areas such as:

-- Respect for the Integrity of the Person, which includes torture, arbitrary arrest, denial of fair trial and invasion of the home.

-- Respect for Civil and Political Liberties, which includes freedom of speech, press, religion and assembly and freedom of movement and ability to participate in the political process.

-- Government Attitude and Record Regarding International and Non-Governmental investigations of alleged violation of human rights.

In 1980, a section was added on disappearances and in 1982 sections were added on political and extrajudicial killings. The following year, the right of citizens to change their government was added and in 1986, a new section entitled "Discrimination" based on race, sex, religion, language or social status was added along with a category on status of labor.

The first Bush administration, which took office in 1989, included a category on the use of excessive force and violation of human rights in internal conflicts while the conditions of labor section was revised to include specific discussion of the right of association and the right to organize and bargain collectively. Conditions of labor also was included.

In 1993, the Discrimination section was expanded to include discussion of the rights of women and children, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and national, racial and ethnic minorities. In 1994, Congress created the position of senior advisor on Women's Rights and in 1996, a section on refugees and final asylum was added. By 1998, the report had grown so large that it was published in two volumes. Later that year, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act, which mandated annual reports on the state of religious freedom in every country. In 1999, at the request of Congress, a separate section was added to the country reports on trafficking in persons.

The human rights report is facilitated by the work of U.S. embassies around the world. All sections in each embassy are asked to compile and corroborate reports of in-country human rights violations. The initial draft of the annual report is essentially the work of the embassies, which gather information from a variety of sources throughout the year. The final version is produced in Washington after consultation with other bureaus within the State Department and sources outside the U.S. government. The basis for the report is internationally recognized human rights ideals detailed in the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948.

It is significant that over the quarter century since the report was first published, it has been continually expanded by Republican and Democratic administrations alike, testimony to the essential bipartisanship demonstrated on this, more than most, issues. Not every group -- including some nongovernmental human rights organizations -- agrees with the conclusions of all of the country reports, but most concede the reporting is comprehensive and fair, as evidenced by the criticism leveled in some of the country reports against even the staunchest U.S. allies. The complaint by many NGOs is not against the accuracy of the report, but the degree to which it impacts and shapes U.S. foreign policy.

The first human rights report a quarter century ago was greeted only with mild interest and curiosity overseas. Today it is the most-sought-after foreign policy document the United States government produces. The annual Human Rights Report presents a detailed view of the status of human rights worldwide in the previous calendar year and is increasingly recognized as an important benchmark and aid in efforts to improve human rights around the globe.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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