Introduction
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, today's hearing marks the first time
that I have had the honor to present to Congress the Annual Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices. I submit these 1998 reports proudly, in accordance with
a prime statutory responsibility given by the Foreign Assistance Act to the
State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, which I have
headed since November. In 1977, shortly before these reports were first issued,
President Carter gave their rationale in his inaugural address: "Because we are
free," he said, "we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom
elsewhere."
The goal of these reports is simple: to tell the truth about human rights
conditions around the world. We aim to create a comprehensive, permanent, and
accurate record of human rights conditions worldwide in calendar year 1998.
These reports form the heart of United States human rights policy, for they
provide the official human rights information base upon which policy judgments
are made. They are designed to provide all three branches of the federal
government with an authoritative factual basis for making decisions relating to
foreign aid allocations, diplomatic initiatives, asylum decisions, training, and
a host of other official decisions.
Having studied and used these reports long before I entered the government, I
have been struck by the development in their comprehensiveness and accuracy
during the 22 years since the first report was issued. The first report ran
only 137 pages and covered only those countries receiving U.S. foreign aid.
This volume we submit to you today represents the largest ever, covering 194
reports and totaling more than 5,000 pages in typescript. This year, thanks to
the astonishing and expanding power of the Internet, we would expect the report
to be even more widely and quickly disseminated. When last year's report was
placed on the World Wide Web, over 100,000 people read or downloaded parts of it
in the first few hours of the first day of publication.
These reports represent the yearly output of a massive official monitoring
effort that involves hundreds of individuals, including human rights officers
from each of our embassies; country desk officers from our regional and
functional bureaus; officials from other U.S. Government agencies; and a wide
range of foreign sources, -- including foreign government officials, opposition
figures, journalists, non-governmental organizations, dissidents, religious
groups, and labor leaders. The simple act of compiling this information can be
dangerous to human rights defenders and embassy officials around the world who
take great risks to acquire and communicate to us accurate data and
documentation on governmental abuses. All of this work is overseen by my
colleagues at the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
who helped to research, draft, and edit the Country Reports.
This is my first year to be directly involved in this mammoth undertaking.
Having now seen the process from the inside, I can attest to the countless hours
of hard work that go into making this report a reality. Let me pay tribute to
Secretary Albright, under whose leadership the coverage of the reports has
greatly expanded to include broader coverage of such key issues as worker
rights, women's rights, the rights of the disabled, and religious freedom. Let
me also thank the hundreds of State Department officers who have worked on these
reports and the many outside the Department who have provided necessary
information to this endeavor. I must pay special tribute to the splendid and
dedicated country reports team in my own bureau and especially its talented and
committed director, Marc Susser, for bringing this report to fruition with such
care and integrity.
Most important, we thank this committee for its time and attention to the
release of the 1998 report. In particular, our efforts have been aided this
year by a change in the due date for the submission of the report to Congress.
We greatly appreciate the committee's efforts to secure this added time and hope
that the extension will be enacted permanently. As someone who assumed my new
post pledging to work closely with Congress toward our shared goal of promoting
respect for human rights, I welcome and admire this committee's bipartisan
support for human rights.
The Year In Review
A report of this magnitude is not easily summarized. Before turning to a number
of countries of special interest to committee members, let me highlight four
focal points of the introduction of the report: democracy, human rights,
religious freedom, and labor.
What makes this year particularly special, Mr. Chairman, is that 50 years have
now passed since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights first proclaimed that
all human beings are "free and equal in dignity and rights." As Secretary
Albright recently noted, the intervening years have taught that "democratic
governance is not an experiment; it is a right accorded to all people under the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
Although Article 21 of the Declaration provides that "the will of the people
shall be the basis of the authority of government . . . expressed in periodic
and genuine elections," many governments continue to deny their citizens the
right to democracy: the basic right to choose their own government. As
this
year's report chronicles, in too many countries, leaders speak of democracy, yet
rig elections, suppress dissent, and shackle the press.
As these reports make clear, the right to democratic governance is both a means
and an end in the struggle for human rights. Freedom of conscience, expression,
religion, and association are all bolstered where democratic rights are
guaranteed. Rights to a fair trial and to personal security are enhanced in
genuine democracies. Genuine democracy and respect for human rights also
represent the best paths for economic growth. Elected leaders gain legitimacy
through the democratic process, allowing them to build popular support, even for
economic and political reforms that may entail temporary hardships for their
people. For a time, an authoritarian development model may generate prosperity,
but cannot sustain it in the face of corruption, cronyism, and the continued
denial of citizens' rights.
Contrast Indonesia, where last year a Soeharto regime lacking both
accountability and transparency saw an economic downturn quickly deteriorate
into a political crisis, with the Republic of Korea, where genuinely democratic
elections gave new President Kim Dae Jung -- a former political prisoner
-- the popular support he needed to implement austerity measures and economic
reforms. These events confirmed, even in times of economic crisis, that "Asian
values" are consistent with respect for democracy, human rights, and the rule of
law.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of democracies worldwide has
nearly doubled -- by one measure, growing from 66 to 117 in less than 10 years.
At the same time, some traditionally repressive governments, such as China and
Cuba, have granted their citizens greater individual authority over economic
decision-making, but without accompanying relaxation of controls over peaceful
political activity. These cases show that economic freedom cannot compensate
for the lack of political freedom. A right to democracy necessarily includes a
right to democratic dissent -- the right to participate in political life and
advocate the change of government by peaceful means.
The United States must support democracies over the long haul. We foster the
growth of democratic culture wherever it has a chance of taking hold. We focus
particularly on providing support for countries in transition, defending
democracies under attack, and strengthening the network of established
democracies. We do so not just because it is right, but because it is
necessary. As history shows, democracies are less likely to fight one another
and more likely to cooperate on security issues, economic matters, and legal
initiatives. Our own security thus depends upon the expansion of democracy
worldwide, without which repression, corruption, and instability would almost
inevitably engulf countries and even regions.
During the year just ended, the dangers of such instability were illustrated in
the disturbing trend toward the widespread abuse of civilians trapped in
conflict, particularly in countries facing internal insurgencies or civil war.
As these reports chronicle, in several countries, insurgent movements and
government forces worldwide resorted to murder, rape, and other human rights
abuses and crimes against humanity. Tens of thousands of men, women, and
children died not only because of conflict, but also from premeditated campaigns
designed to wreak havoc terror on civilian populations.
How should the United States promote democracy? Let me suggest three ways.
First, we must support a free and independent media. Democracy depends not just
on unfettered minds but also on an informed electorate. Only a free media --
whether print, broadcast, or electronic -- can guarantee that citizens have
access to the information they need to make political decisions. If a
government can control information or limit press freedom, it can preordain
elections, stunt civil society, and manipulate the judiciary. Throughout the
world, journalists risk harassment, arrest, imprisonment, and even death to get
the story told. Indeed, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists,
homicide is the leading cause of death on the job among journalists worldwide.
Second, we must support equal participation of all citizens in democratic life.
Democracy does not mean the tyranny of the majority. Genuine democracy requires
that a government protect the rights of all of its citizens, particularly in
states with substantial minorities. Governments that choose to ignore or
repress the rights of individuals because of their race, sex, religion,
disability, language, or social status not only undermine the principle of
democracy but also risk violence and separatism. In 1998, the situation facing
women in Afghanistan represented perhaps the most severe abuse of women's human
rights in the world today. The Taliban's blatant abuse of women included public
beatings, devastating disregard for the physical and psychological health of
women and girls, drastically limited access to medical services and hospitals,
and severe cutbacks on access to education. Women cannot work outside the home,
except in extremely limited circumstances in the medical field. These problems
were further exacerbated by the fierce civil war, which left many women as their
family's sole breadwinner and forced many to beg on the streets to feed their
children.
Third, 1998 confirmed that democracy means far more than just elections.
Government "of the people" cannot be imposed from the outside. As
Secretary
Albright has noted, "[D]emocracy must emerge from the desire of individuals to
participate in the decisions that shape their lives .... Unlike dictatorship,
democracy is never an imposition; it is always a choice." The slow development
of democracy in some newly independent states in 1998 demonstrated that
elections should be regarded not as an end in themselves but as the means by
which to establish a political system that fosters the growth and self-
fulfillment of its citizens by promoting and protecting their political and
civil rights.
Two other important themes run through these country reports. First, Article 18
of the Universal Declaration protects everyone's "right to freedom of thought,
conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom ... to manifest his
religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance." By so
saying, the Declaration recognizes that religious freedom is both a universally
recognized human right and an essential component of democratic culture. Nearly
all states acknowledge the principle of religious freedom. But as these reports
demonstrate, in too many countries, governments refuse to respect this
fundamental right, discriminating against, restricting, persecuting, or even
killing those whose faith differs from that of the majority population. To
address these problems, last year Congress passed, and the President signed into
law the International Religious Freedom Act, which created an Office of
International Religious Freedom now housed in our Bureau. Although that law
mandated a parallel set of country reports on international religious freedom to
be submitted on September 1, 1999, the reports I submit today extensively
document abuses of religious freedom worldwide.
Second, Article 23 of the Universal Declaration states that "Everyone has the
right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of
work and to protection against unemployment." Free trade unions around the
world have played a critical role in promoting and defending democracy in the
Cold War era, and working to eliminate exploitative forms of labor and to bring
about more equitable distribution of economic benefits. Unfortunately, as these
reports illustrate, numerous states interfere with worker rights to associate,
work, and unionize and authorize or condone exploitative labor practices. To
redress such practices, as Secretary Albright recently noted, the United States
Government is "working through the International Labor Organization to raise
core worker standards, and to conclude a treaty that would ban abusive child
labor anywhere in the world."
Key Countries
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, these are the key themes of our 1998
Reports: democracy, human rights, religious freedom, and labor. The
introduction to the Country Reports contains our detailed assessment of how
these themes played out. Let me caution that we consider it imperative to focus
public attention on violations of internationally recognized human rights
standards whenever and wherever they occur. We resist repeated requests to rank
order countries from "best" to "worst" human rights violators. I
will be happy
to discuss any individual country in greater detail during the question period.
But because time is short, let me now briefly touch upon a handful of countries
in which Committee Members have expressed especially keen interest.
In China, the government's human rights record deteriorated sharply at the end
of 1998 with a crackdown against organized political dissent. The loosening of
restrictions on political debate and activism by authorities for much of 1997
and 1998, including public calls for political reform and expressions of
opposition to government policies, abruptly ended in the fall. Dozens of
political activists were detained for attempts to register a political party and
three leaders were given harsh sentences in closed trials that flagrantly
violated due process.
The government also took steps to strengthen control over both print and
broadcast media and increased monitoring of the Internet. In addition,
authorities banned a popular but politically sensitive book series and other
publications, closed several newspapers, fired editors and writers, prevented
attempts to organize workers, and promulgated new restrictive regulations on
social organizations. Coercion in family planning practices, including
instances of forced abortion and sterilization, continued. These developments
overshadowed the government's October signature of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Unapproved religious groups, including Protestants and Catholics, continued to
experience degrees of official interference and repression that varied from
region to region, and locality to locality. In some areas, authorities guided
by national policy made strong efforts to control the activities of unapproved
churches; religious services were broken up and church leaders or adherents were
detained and, at times, reportedly beaten. At year's end, some remained in
prison because of their religious activities. In other regions, registered and
unregistered churches were treated similarly.
In Tibet and Xinjiang, the government intensified controls on religious
practices and fundamental freedom, and moved to suppress religious
manifestations that advocate independence or any expression of "separatism."
The government renewed its rhetorical campaign against the Dalai Lama, and
stepped up a re-education campaign aimed at monks and nuns. There were reports
of imprisonment and abuse or torture of monks and nuns, the death of prisoners,
and the closure of several monasteries. Despite repeated international
expressions of concern about the welfare and whereabouts of the boy designated
by the Dalai Lama as the Panchen Lama, the government refused access to him by
international observers.
In Cuba, despite the Pope's visit early in 1998, the government of Fidel Castro
continued to exercise control over all aspects of Cuban life and to suppress
ruthlessly all forms of political dissent. Authorities routinely engaged in
arbitrary detention of human rights advocates and independent journalists,
subjecting them to interrogations, threats, and degrading treatment. Nineteen
months have passed since the Cuban Government imprisoned the four founders of
the Internal Dissidents' Working Group -- economist Marta Beatriz Roque Cabello,
Prof. Felix Bonne Carcasses, lawyer Rene Gomez Manzano, and social democratic
activist Vladimiro Roca Antunes -- for nonviolently exercising their rights to
freedom of expression and association. Only in September 1998 did the Cuban
Government finally charge them with "sedition," recommending sentences of 5-6
years, and at year's end, they still had not been brought to trial.
In Serbia, the human rights situation also deteriorated sharply. The regime of
Yugoslav Federal President Slobodan Milosevic used the military, police,
judiciary, and state-controlled media to strangle dissent throughout Serbia and
to promote support for a brutal crackdown on civilians and separatist insurgents
in Kosovo. Serbian police and military forces committed widespread abuses
against Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population, including massacres of unarmed
civilians, the torching and looting of homes, arbitrary arrests, and torture and
brutal beatings in detention. By year's end, the violence in Kosovo had left
about 2,000 people dead -- the vast majority of whom were unarmed ethnic
Albanian civilians -- displaced close to 180,000 individuals, and triggered the
worst regional political and military crisis in Europe since the end of the
conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Albanian insurgents in the Kosovo Liberation
Army also committed abuses against Serbs, who, while a majority in Serbia,
represent a minority in Kosovo.
In Sierra Leone, rebel forces killed and maimed with extraordinary cruelty.
While retreating from Freetown to the interior, the rebels left behind a trail
of murder, mutilation, rape, abduction, and destruction. The insurgents
decapitated, burnt alive, and inflicted bullet and machete wounds. Particularly
appalling were the amputation of ears, noses, hands, arms, and legs of civilians
-- including small children and the elderly -- and the abduction, torture, and
conscription of children into rebel forces, where they were forced to
participate in rebel atrocities.
In Indonesia, the government's human rights performance did improve after the
resignation of President Soeharto. It endorsed broader press freedom, released
numerous political prisoners, and opened the door for genuine political
pluralism and elections that are scheduled for this Spring. We remain deeply
concerned, however, by the high levels of violence: inter-communal conflict, the
shooting of peaceful demonstrators by security forces, and the terrible attacks
on Sino-Indonesians, especially the rapes of ethnic Chinese women and girls
during the May riots. The government has not thoroughly investigated these
abuses nor has it consistently held perpetrators accountable. We are fully
committed to supporting Indonesia's transition to democratic governance, a
transition that Secretary Albright has identified as a priority.
In Nigeria, after the June death of Gen. Sani Abacha and his succession by Gen.
Abubakar, the government launched a program to restore democracy by May 1999.
Over the second half of the year, the Government released political prisoners,
allowed independent political parties to form, and permitted independent
journalists greater freedom. In August, the government scheduled a series of
elections -- for local government officials, state legislators and governors,
national legislators, and president -- to be held between early December 1998
and late February 1999. Although marred by scattered violence and local
irregularities, the December elections for local government officials were
generally free, fair, and open. We congratulate the Nigerian people on the
peaceful conduct of last Saturday's national legislative elections, the third of
four polls scheduled in the transition to civilian rule. We join the people of
Nigeria in hoping that this series of elections can pave the way to a
democratic civilian government that protects and promotes human rights.
Conclusion
Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, the Universal Declaration promised a
world where "all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights."
Yet, as this brief survey demonstrates, half a century later, the world still
has a long way to go before it fulfills this promise. The past year confirmed
that the best path to accomplishing that goal remains through the establishment
of democratic governments. The right to democracy thus stands both as a part
of, and an essential means to guarantee, universal human rights principles.
In the past 10 years alone, the number of electoral democracies has almost
doubled, in good measure because democratic institutions offer the best
guarantee of respect for human rights as well as the best chance to improve the
lives of average citizens. As Vice President Gore said recently, "History has
taught us that freedom -- economic, political, and religious freedom -- unlocks
a higher fraction of the human potential than any other way of organizing
society." The past year confirmed that democratic governance, human rights,
religious and labor freedom, remain inextricably intertwined with prosperity and
security.
Thank you.