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SHATTUCK 4/1 REMARKS TO HOUSE FOREI



The following  document that reflects the U.S. Policy toward Burma surely is 
>full of facts and policy regarding the U.S. Policy 
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Julien Moe
>----------------
>
>TEXT: SHATTUCK 4/1 REMARKS TO HOUSE FOREIGN OPERATIONS PANEL
>(Promotion of human rights key to U.S. foreign policy) 
>
>Washington -- The promotion of human rights and democracy is one of the 
>fundamental goals of U.S. foreign policy, according to John Shattuck, 
>assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor. 
>
>The promotion of human rights and democracy is "a goal that reinforces 
>the objectives of preserving America's security and fostering U.S. 
>prosperity. As Secretary Albright has noted, the United States has a 
>vital strategic interest in strengthening the international system by 
>bringing nations together around the basic principles of democracy, open 
>markets, and the rule of law," Shattuck said in April 1 remarks before 
>the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations. 
>
>"The past decade has been a tumultuous one for human rights and 
>democracy," Shattuck noted. "From the collapse of the Berlin Wall to the 
>fall of the Soviet Union, from the successful campaign for democracy in 
>Chile to the transition to multiracial democracy in South Africa, it has 
>produced events of wonder. Yet these successes must not blind us to the 
>reality that the world today faces fundamental challenges to the 
>protection of human rights~ From Bosnia to Rwanda, from Kosovo to 
>Algeria, the haunting images of cruelty and violence remind us that the 
>denial of basic human rights continues to threaten international peace 
>and stability." 
>
>Shattuck outlined four basic categories of nation states: one, those 
>countries that participate as full members of the international system; 
>two, those that reject the rules upon which the system is based; three, 
>those that are in transition from authoritarian rule and seek full 
>participation; and four, those "that are unable -- whether because of 
>under-development, catastrophe or conflict -- to enjoy the benefits and 
>meet the responsibilities that full membership entails." 
>
>"Most of our efforts to promote human rights and democracy focus on 
>those countries most likely to make the transition to full partnership 
>in the international system~," he said. "But we also are working to 
>assist those who seek to promote democratic progress and human rights in 
>authoritarian countries. In these cases, our focus is on supporting NGOs 
>that seek to facilitate a peaceful transition to democracy and legal 
>institutions that may one day create a foundation for the rule of law." 
>
>Cuba, Burma, and China are three countries in which the United States is 
>working with NGOs committed to improving civil and human rights, 
>according to Shattuck. 
>
>Shattuck stressed that facilitating the growth of democratic government, 
>civil society, and the rule of law is the best way to assure that 
>countries in transition become "full members of the international system 
>prepared to respect and uphold basic human rights." 
>
>"History demonstrates that free and democratic nations are better 
>partners both in terms of maintaining peace and conducting commerce. 
>Democracies that protect human rights and respect the rule of law are 
>more likely to avoid internal conflict, protect the environment, embrace 
>market economics, and provide a fair and level playing field for 
>American companies. That is why it is in our national interest to 
>support those who struggle for democracy abroad. We could not assure our 
>own security and prosperity without it," he said. 
>
>Following is the text of Shattuck's remarks, as prepared for delivery: 
>
>(begin text) 
>
>TESTIMONY OF THE HONORABLE JOHN SHATTUCK 
>ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR 
>BEFORE THE FOREIGN OPERATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE 
>COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
>U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
>APRIL 1, 1998 
>
>
>
>Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I would like to thank you for 
>the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the work being 
>done by the State Department, and specifically by the Bureau of 
>Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, in promoting freedom around the 
>world. 
>
>Four weeks ago, Secretary of State Albright came here to seek your 
>support for the President's FY 1999 international affairs budget. My 
>role here today is to expand upon one aspect of the Secretary's remarks 
>by highlighting the Administration's work to promote democracy and human 
>rights around the world, particularly through our foreign assistance 
>programs. 
>
>Mr. Chairman, the promotion of human rights and democracy is one of the 
>fundamental goals of our foreign policy, a goal that reinforces the 
>objectives of preserving America's security and fostering our 
>prosperity. As Secretary Albright has noted, the United States has a 
>vital strategic interest in strengthening the international system by 
>bringing nations together around the basic principles of democracy, open 
>markets, and the rule of law. 
>
>The past decade has been a tumultuous one for human rights and 
>democracy. From the collapse of the Berlin Wall to the fall of the 
>Soviet Union, from the successful campaign for democracy in Chile to the 
>transition to multiracial democracy in South Africa, it has produced 
>events of wonder. Yet these successes must not blind us to the reality 
>that the world today faces fundamental challenges to the protection of 
>human rights~ From Bosnia to Rwanda, from Kosovo to Algeria, the 
>haunting images of cruelty and violence remind us that the denial of 
>basic human rights continues to threaten international peace and 
>stability. 
>
>Mr. Chairman, in determining how we respond to these challenges, we must 
>acknowledge the changes that have taken place in the international 
>system since the end of the Cold War. The old conceptual framework of 
>three "Worlds" -- West, East and South -- no longer works. Instead, as 
>Secretary Albright has stated, it is now possible to identify four 
>categories of nation states. The first is made up of those countries 
>that participate as full members of the international system. The second 
>consists of those that reject the rules upon which the system is based. 
>The third contains those that are in transition from authoritarian rule 
>and seek full participation. The fourth includes those that are unable 
>-- whether because of under-development, catastrophe or conflict -- to 
>enjoy the benefits and meet the responsibilities that full membership 
>entails. 
>
>In the first category are th~e world's democracies, our partners and 
>friends. In the second category are the world's pariah states, the focus 
>of sanctions and other negative measures designed to limit their ability 
>to disrupt the international system. In categories three and four are 
>countries in transition that could become either partners or pariahs. 
>Their future path will determine whether Americans will live in a world 
>that is peaceful, prosperous and free. As such, they are the focus of 
>our assistance efforts. 
>
>The best way to assure that these countries become full members of the 
>international system prepared to respect and uphold basic human rights 
>is to facilitate the growth of democratic government, civil society, and 
>the rule of law. History demonstrates that free and democratic nations 
>are better partners both in terms of maintaining peace and conducting 
>commerce. Democracies that protect human rights and respect the rule of 
>law are more likely to avoid internal conflict, protect the environment, 
>embrace market economics, and provide a fair and level playing field for 
>American companies. That is why it is in our national interest to 
>support those who struggle for democracy abroad. We could not assure our 
>own security and prosperity without it. 
>
>In the recent past, Mr. Chairman~ the Executive Branch has not 
>programmed funding designed exclusively to protect human rights and 
>promote democracy. When the United States had to respond to human rights 
>and democratization crises around the world, this shortcoming often 
>resulted in an urgent, ad-hoc reprogramming of funds. The Secretary of 
>State should have the capacity to respond flexibly to assist countries 
>emerging from underdevelopment, catastrophe, or conflict, and should 
>supply support to those countries in transition from authoritarian rule 
>to democracy. 
>
>To that end, the Administration has designed a series of mechanisms that 
>combine policy formulation with innovative funding programs~ that assist 
>the development of democracies and expedite their transition to full 
>membership in the international system. I will devote the balance of my 
>testimony to examining the policy and program components of our work, 
>and then provide you with specific examples of how these new initiatives 
>have allowed us to respond rapidly and creatively to a variety of human 
>rights and democratization concerns and crises. 
>
>Policy Coordination 
>
>Within the Department of State, the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights 
>and Labor takes the lead in formulating and coordinating U.S. policy on 
>democracy and human rights promotion. Our tools include the Human Rights 
>and Democracy Core Group, the G-8 Democracy Initiative, and the Advisory 
>Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad. 
>
>Established in 1996, the Human Rights and Democracy Core Group is a 
>small, high-level, inter-agency council that meets to develop guidance 
>for the Secretary on human rights and democracy-building policy and 
>programs in crisis countries, particularly those emerging from conflict. 
>As Co-Chair of the Core Group, my bureau sets the agenda, but other 
>members may bring issues to the table and set out options to focus Core 
>Group deliberations. The Core Group includes representatives of foreign 
>affairs government agencies and State Department bureaus with global 
>mandates. Relevant State Department regional bureaus are included as 
>Co-Chairs for particular countries. 
>
>The Human Rights and Democracy Core Group analyzes developing situations 
>and proposes programs that are short-term and high-impact. Thus, its 
>approach complements USAID's sustainable development programs, which 
>operate over the medium- and long-term. Among the issues on which the 
>group has deliberated over the past year are post-election U.S~. policy 
>and assistance in Albania; U.S. policy and programs in Cambodia; support 
>for democracy and human rights institutions in Bosnia; support for new 
>justice and reconciliation initiatives in the Great Lakes region of 
>Africa; and transition assistance to non-governmental organizations 
>(NGOs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burma, and Nigeria. I 
>will discuss some of the specific programs initiated or overseen by the 
>Core Group later in my testimony. 
>
>While the Core Group coordinates policy among different actors and 
>agencies within the U.S. government, the Denver Summit Democracy 
>Initiative seeks to coordinate democracy- and human rights-promotion 
>assistance among the Group of Eight. Last fall, I chaired an experts 
>meeting in Washington that developed information on how each of the G-8 
>governments promotes democracy, both bilaterally and multilaterally. The 
>meeting identified areas of common interest in our individual and 
>collective efforts, and made recommendations on how G-8 governments 
>could better coordinate their efforts. Four areas of emphasis were 
>targeted: assistance for civil society development; support for women's 
>political participation; business and labor support for human rights and 
>democracy; and promotion of good governance and the rule of law. I am 
>submitting for the record the G-8 report~, a summary of which will be 
>incorporated into the Birmingham Summi~t. 
>
>In addition to these recommendations, the experts group also made plans 
>to hold an unprecedented multilateral workshop~-style conference on 
>democracy and governance assistance in Africa that will be co-sponsored 
>by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Global 
>Coalition for Africa. Scheduled to take place next month in Bamako, 
>Mali, the workshop will be patterned on the "partnership" theme of 
>President Clinton's Africa trip, and will bring together donor and 
>recipient partnership governments, NGOs, and multilateral donor 
>organizations to discuss the development of a new model of partnership 
>for democratic development. The conference, which will he chaired by 
>Mali's President Konare, is being organized in cooperation with the 
>Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic 
>Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Economic Commission for Africa, 
>and the United Nations Development Program. Participating "pilot" 
>countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, and 
>Uganda. 
>
>The results of the workshop are potentially far-reaching. At stake is 
>whether donor and recipient countries can reach broad agreement on the 
>process as well as the substance of democracy and governance assistance. 
>In addition, the workshop will offer NGOs in developing democracies an 
>unprecedented opportunity to influence development policy and inform 
>decisions at international fora such as the upcoming Birmingham G-8 
>Summit and the OECD. 
>
>The present challenge for the U~.S. is to ensure that the G-8 sustains 
>the momentum of the Washington experts meeting and the Bamako workshop. 
>Specifically, it is important that we further develop our initial 
>agreements and then devise an action plan to implement them. To that 
>end, we are working toward committing the G-8 at the upcoming Birmingham 
>Summit to act on the recommendations made by the experts in Washington 
>and the participants in Bamako. 
>
>In addition to these broader policy initiatives, the Administration also 
>has undertaken new measures designed to integrate specific human rights 
>and democratization concerns into our foreign policy. For example, the 
>Administration has publicly affirmed its commitment to advance religious 
>freedom abroad. It is a subject of our bilateral and multilateral policy 
>and dialogues~. Secretary Albright has instructed our embassies around 
>the world to pay special attention to religious persecution. Last year, 
>the State Department prepared an unprecedented report in response to a 
>request by your committee that focused exclusively on global religious 
>persecution. It was entitled, "~U.S. Policies in Support of Religious 
>Freedom: Focus on Christians." 
>
>In December 1996, the Secretary of State established the Advisory 
>Committee on Religious Freedom Abroad, a distinguished panel of twenty 
>religious leaders who represent millions of Americans of all major 
>faiths and denominations, and scholars who have dedicated their 
>professional lives to the study of religious liberty and other human 
>rights. The Committee, which I chair and for which my staff provides the 
>support, is responsible for advising the Secretary of State and the 
>President on the ways and means of integrating the protection and 
>promotion of religious freedom abroad into our foreign policy. In its 
>first fourteen months, the Committee has heard the testimony of experts, 
>government officials and victims of religious persecution. Committee 
>members have discussed concerns, presented diverse viewpoints, and 
>learned much from one another~. 
>
>In January, the Committee released its interim Report and 
>Recommendations, a copy of which I am submitting for the record. This 
>report is of great significance. It supports the expansion of our work 
>as a government in promoting and defending religious freedom and 
>provides specific recommendations for additional government action. It 
>represents the consensus of a wide array of religious groups from 
>American society on how best to promote religious freedom. As we go 
>forward in formulating strategies to address the many foreign policy and 
>human rights challenges involving religious freedom, the Committee's 
>report and its forthcoming work will assist us in understanding the 
>religious dimension of these problems and in engaging religious 
>communities and leaders to address them. 
>
>The Committee's report made a wide variety of practical recommendations 
>on U.S. policy. Among these is the recommendation to establish a senior 
>position in the Department of State to coordinate, integrate and 
>implement policies that advance religious freedom internationally. I am 
>pleased to say that Secretary Albright has requested the immediate 
>implementation of this recommendation. We anticipate being able to 
>announce her choice in the very near future. In the meantime, the 
>Committee is continuing its work, with the assistance of my staff with 
>the purpose of offering more detailed recommendations at the end of the 
>year. Their focus this year is on integration of religious freedom 
>concerns into U.S. assistance and training programs; the use of specific 
>foreign policy tools to promote religious freedom; refugee and asylum 
>procedures; and dialogue with religious NGOs, businesses and other 
>communities. 
>
>In addition to these policy coordination mechanisms, the Department of 
>State intends to work within the U.S. Government and with NGOs to help 
>better coordinate U.S. policies that guide a wide range of rule of law 
>programs in democratizing countries. Such programs include training 
>judges, prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and defense attorneys; 
>developing law school curricula; providing technical assistance to 
>efforts to revise commercial laws and combat corruption; and helping 
>NGOs and the media make better use of the legal system to protect and 
>promote human rights. These measures have a direct impact on a wide 
>variety of U.S. foreign policy interests. For example, programs that 
>promote greater transparency in government decision-making can help 
>forestall regional economic crises. Rule of law programs are a major 
>component of almost every one of our democracy-building efforts. A range 
>of U.S. agencies and State Department bureaus, as well as a number of 
>NGOs, play an active role in developing and implementing these programs. 
>Coordinating these efforts is a priority for Secretary Albright. Closer 
>inter-agency coordination on rule of law programs would more closely tie 
>together our diplomacy to our use of foreign~ assistance in promoting 
>democracy around the world. 
>
To be continued: