Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2000

DISAM Journal, Spring, 2001 by Michael E. Parmly

Preface

For the past quarter of a century, these reports have grown in breadth and stature every year. As such they reflect our country's deep and abiding commitment to universal human rights and the unprecedented growth in democracy, freedom, and human fights throughout the world.

The year 2000 saw many improvements in human rights from the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria and Ghana to the defeat of an entrenched dictator in Serbia and the election of a new president in Mexico. At the same time, the continued deterioration of conditions in China and Cuba and the abusive policies pursued by the regimes in Iraq and Sudan and a number of other countries offer proof that the battle to promote universal human rights is far from finished. We who believe in human freedom and the rule of law must not lose sight of the challenges that lie before us.

This year's report covers 195 countries. No country, our own included, can claim a perfect human fights record; nor should any seek exemption from international scrutiny. Each nation must be accountable for the way it treats its citizens. The purpose of these reports, therefore, is to provide to the best of our ability a comprehensive and accurate report on the human rights conditions in every country.

The interest in these annual country reports can be seen in the hundreds of thousands of hits our web site at www.state.gov will receive from every part of the world over the next few days, and in the countless discussions, both public and private, that will follow. The report for the year 2000 thus takes its place within the context of a new and revolutionary era of global human discourse. It is my deepest hope, therefore, that these reports can stimulate new dialogue and provide new encouragement for all countries to strengthen their commitments to universal human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Overview

Why The Reports Are Prepared

This report is submitted to the Congress by the Department of State in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Assistance Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." We have also included reports on several countries that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.

The responsibility of the United States to speak out on behalf of international human rights standards was formalized in the early 1970s. In 1976 Congress enacted legislation creating a Coordinator of Human Rights in the Department of State, a position later upgraded to Assistant Secretary. In 1994 the Congress created a position of Senior Advisor for Women's Rights. Congress has also written into law formal requirements that U.S. foreign and trade policy take into account countries' human rights and worker rights performance and that country reports be submitted to the Congress on an annual basis. The first reports, in 1977, covered only countries receiving U.S. aid, numbering 82; this year 195 reports are submitted.

How The Reports are Prepared

In August 1993, the Secretary of State moved to strengthen further the human rights efforts of our embassies. All sections in each embassy were asked to contribute information and to corroborate reports of human rights violations, and new efforts were made to link mission programming to the advancement of human rights and democracy. In 1994 the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs was reorganized and renamed as the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, reflecting both a broader sweep and a more focused approach to the interlocking issues of human rights, worker rights, and democracy. The 2000 human rights reports reflect a year of dedicated effort by hundreds of State Department, foreign service, and other U.S. government employees.

Our embassies, which prepared the initial drafts of the reports, gathered information throughout the year from a variety of sources across the political spectrum, including government officials, jurists, military sources, journalists, human rights monitors, academics, and labor activists. This information-gathering can be hazardous, and U.S. foreign service officers regularly go to great lengths, under trying and sometimes dangerous conditions, to investigate reports of human rights abuse, monitor elections, and come to the aid of individuals at risk, such as political dissidents and human rights defenders whose rights are threatened by their governments.