For decades, the United States has been a world leader in promoting reproductive rights and women’s rights. But now, by overturning Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court has struck a severe blow to American credibility in this role. And that, in turn, undermines U.S. international advocacy on these issues, which could result in a cascade of negative consequences around the world.
Last week’s Supreme Court decision on abortion triggered a deluge of criticism from world leaders, protests at U.S. embassies abroad and general embarrassment for President Biden, who is traveling in Europe. Over the longer term, international erosion of faith in the United States’ commitment to reproductive rights and the effects of changes in U.S.… Seguir leyendo »
No es ni accidente ni coincidencia el que China esté cometiendo lo que muchos llaman un genocidio contra los uigures musulmanes en Xinjiang y que Rusia haya encarcelado al disidente Alexéi Navalni. Los chinos necesitan un Xinjiang tranquilo porque es un nodo clave de su Iniciativa Belt and Road que abarca el área eurasiática. El Kremlin necesita que las instituciones de Gobierno encubran la acumulación de riquezas por parte de una élite gansteril y, en consecuencia, ve a Navalni como una amenaza seria.
Ambos países están dominados por sistemas autocráticos con los nervios a flor de piel que no se pueden permitir ofrecer opciones a nadie.… Seguir leyendo »
Si eres un dictador asesino, esta es una buena época para ti.
Nadie hará mucho escándalo si encarcelas a un líder opositor, si un periodista molesto desaparece o si, como ocurrió en el Congo, un juez que no era del agrado del presidente dictador es amedrentado por unos matones que se meten a su casa y violan a su esposa e hija.
Cuando el Senado de Estados Unidos confirme la decisión del presidente Donald Trump de remplazar a Rex Tillerson con el más extremista Mike Pompeo como secretario de Estado, tengamos en cuenta algo que va más allá del gabinete y tiene que ver con la esencia del papel estadounidense en el mundo: Estados Unidos ha abandonado el consenso bipartidista sobre derechos humanos que data de hace décadas.… Seguir leyendo »
Algunos prefieren una solución rápida a las negociaciones del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, o TLCAN, que comenzaron esta semana. Sin embargo, hay bases sólidas para una estrategia diferente, que tienen que ver con el comercio y con algo más importante: los derechos humanos.
La incorporación de un capítulo firme sobre derechos humanos en el nuevo acuerdo del TLCAN tendría un impacto poderoso en México, donde las violaciones a los derechos humanos son generalizadas; en Estados Unidos, donde la cantidad de abusos contra los migrantes y otros grupos está en aumento, y en Canadá, que apenas esta semana solicitó que se incluyeran derechos de género y de las personas indígenas.… Seguir leyendo »
Some years ago, I heard Natan Sharansky, the human rights icon, recount how he and his fellow refuseniks in the Soviet Union took renewed courage from statements made on their behalf by President Ronald Reagan. Word had reached the gulag that the leader of the most powerful nation on earth had spoken in defense of their right to self-determination. America, personified by its president, gave them hope, and hope is a powerful defense against oppression.
As I listened to Mr. Sharansky, I was reminded how much it had meant to my fellow P.O.W.s and me when we heard from new additions to our ranks that Mr.… Seguir leyendo »
Over the weekend, President Trump provoked an avalanche of criticism at home and abroad by extending a formal invitation to his Filipino counterpart, Rodrigo Duterte, to visit the White House. The two leaders are reported to have had a “very friendly conversation” by phone, prompting denunciations by human rights groups and the liberal establishment in both America and the Philippines.
To the chagrin even of administration officials, the White House, in a statement announcing the invitation, appeared not only to play down Mr. Duterte’s brutal crackdown on illegal drugs — which rights groups say has claimed 1,000 lives a month since it started last July — but also went so far as to praise his efforts to rid his country of drugs.… Seguir leyendo »
El mes pasado, Estados Unidos se negó a comparecer ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos en Washington por primera vez en décadas. El país es integrante de la comisión y suele estar presente en sus reuniones. Sin embargo, en esta ocasión, la delegación de Estados Unidos era la que se enfrentaba a un interrogatorio, sobre las órdenes ejecutivas del presidente Trump para prohibir el ingreso a personas provenientes de seis países de mayoría musulmana, acelerar la deportación de los migrantes indocumentados y debilitar las normas ambientales. En lo que respecta a rendir cuentas sobre el cumplimiento de los derechos humanos, la negativa a comparecer colocó a Washington al mismo nivel turbio de Nicaragua, Venezuela y Cuba.… Seguir leyendo »
During his trip to Argentina this week, President Obama is unlikely to visit Milagro Sala. A prominent social activist in the northwestern province of Jujuy, Ms. Sala was arrested in January at the behest of Gov. Gerardo Morales, a political ally of the country’s new president, Mauricio Macri.
There has been international outrage over her detention; Pope Francis, the United Nations and Amnesty International have expressed concern. Not the White House: When announcing Mr. Obama’s visit, it thanked Mr. Macri for “his contributions to the defense of human rights in the region.”
Mr. Obama’s historic trip to Cuba has all the pageantry of a farewell to the Cold War in Latin America.… Seguir leyendo »
El día que el presidente Obama aterrice en Buenos Aires será la víspera de una de las fechas más traumáticas de nuestra historia. El 24 de marzo, Argentina conmemora el 40 aniversario del golpe de Estado que “desapareció” a miles de personas y causó un trauma profundo en la psique de la nación.
Hubo otras atrocidades, incluso peores, en América Latina en aquellos tiempos, como las que sucedieron durante las guerras civiles en Colombia o Guatemala. Los asesinatos en Argentina quizá fueron menos numerosos, pero se trató de una matanza masiva y premeditada.
La dictadura militar argentina organizó su genocidio en campos de exterminio, con métodos que recordaban los utilizados por los nazis (de hecho, muchos nazis encontraron asilo en Argentina después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y seguían viviendo ahí en esa época).… Seguir leyendo »
When President Obama lands in Buenos Aires this week, he will be arriving on the eve of one of the most traumatic dates in our history. On March 24, Argentina commemorates the 40th anniversary of a military coup that “disappeared” thousands of people, a deep trauma in Argentina’s national psyche.
There were other, greater atrocities in South America in that era, like the ones that occurred during virtual civil wars in Colombia or Guatemala. The killings in Argentina may have been lesser in number, but this was premeditated mass murder.
Argentina’s military dictatorship organized its killings in death camps, with methods reminiscent of the Nazis’ (and many Nazis had, in fact, found asylum in Argentina after World War II and still lived there then).… Seguir leyendo »
As longtime legislators who believe in the promotion of human rights and dignity, we are deeply disappointed by the U.S. State Department's recent decision to resume arms sales to Bahrain. U.S. arms sales should never aid and abet the repression of peaceful protesters, and we are introducing legislation to roll back this misguided decision.
Bahrain's ruling regime has cracked down on opposition leaders, human rights activists and even medics since massive popular protests erupted in 2011. Amid international condemnation, the regime established the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) to look into the crackdown. And when the BICI came back with 26 recommendations, the regime promised to implement them all.… Seguir leyendo »
The Russian KGB, known today as the FSB, has come to Washington.The organization’s director, Alexander Bortnikov, is leading the Russian delegation to President Obama’s “Countering Violent Extremism” summit this week. The optics of this — having the head of the successor agency to the Soviet KGB in Washington as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine and conducts a nasty crackdown on human rights at home — are terrible.
Bortnikov is not on the U.S. sanctions list that denies dozens of Russians entry to the United States either because of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine or because of the 2012 human rights legislation known as the Magnitsky Act.… Seguir leyendo »
In the years immediately following the collapse of the Soviet Union, one would frequently hear worried musings about the sudden role of the United States, left alone on the world stage as the “World’s Only Superpower.” Some referred contemptuously to the American “hyper-power.”
Now, in an unexpected turn of events, Washington’s harshest critics are asking the United States to take an even greater role in world affairs, but to do it for the sake of protecting human rights across the globe.
Whoever wins the presidential elections, President Obama or Mitt Romney, human-rights activists, including Amnesty International and the ACLU, are imploring him to move decisively to the forefront of world affairs and take a firm stand in order to prevent genocide, human rights abuses and terrorism.… Seguir leyendo »
Independence Day is a celebration not just of America's independence, but also of the values that are important to our nation, like liberty, democracy and human rights.
Recently, former President Jimmy Carter suggested that America should be a little less self-congratulatory and a little more self-critical. He was concerned that America is abandoning its role as a leading advocate for human rights. It is hard to disagree with some of his observations. But, America has not fallen behind in providing moral leadership in the world. The current period is no different from earlier decades. It is not, as Carter said, either "cruel" or "unusual."… Seguir leyendo »
Wednesday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Michael McFaul as the next U.S. ambassador to Russia highlights one of three steps that Congress should take this fall related to Russia and U.S.-Russian relations.
The Senate should confirm McFaul, who has served as President Obama’s top adviser on Russia at the National Security Council. Second, both the House and Senate should waive the Cold War-era Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which deals with emigration of Soviet Jews as it applies to Russia, and third, they should replace it with an up-to-date bill that would sanction Russian officials responsible for gross human rights abuses. … Seguir leyendo »
On Friday the United States will experience its first review by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The examination of its performance on human rights gives Americans an opportunity to assess their own country’s standing in promoting the liberties enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to find out what other U.N. members think of U.S. accomplishments in this arena.
Every U.N. member is subject to the review every four years whether the country is part of the Human Rights Council or not. Since the meeting is the first assessment for the United States, it will undoubtedly be watched with special interest.… Seguir leyendo »
One year ago, the United States took its seat at the United Nations Human Rights Council. Our pledge as a new member was to exercise U.S. leadership for the purpose of strengthening human rights protections around the globe.
As the first U.S. ambassador to the council, I have articulated three priorities: 1) to make a difference on the ground for human rights defenders and victims; 2) to enhance the efficacy of the council in addressing crisis and chronic human rights situations; 3) to work cooperatively with other nations to lead the council toward fulfillment of its potential as the lead entity within the U.N.… Seguir leyendo »
Since 2001, the United States has been carrying out "targeted killings" in connection with what the Bush administration called the "war on terror" and the Obama administration calls the "war against al-Qaeda." While many of these killings have been carried out on battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq, our government has increasingly been employing lethal force in places far removed from any zone of armed conflict, effectively carrying out executions without trial or conviction. Some of the individuals on the government's kill lists are U.S. citizens.
On Monday, our organizations filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of targeted killings that take place outside zones of armed conflict.… Seguir leyendo »
Forty-seven years ago this weekend, on a sweltering August day often remembered simply as the March on Washington, my father delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. A memorial to him is being erected at the Tidal Basin, not far from where he shared his vision of a nation united in justice, equality and brotherhood.
This weekend Glenn Beck is to host a "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial. While it is commendable that this rally will honor the brave men and women of our armed forces, who serve our country with phenomenal dedication, it is clear from the timing and location that the rally's organizers present this event as also honoring the ideals and contributions of Martin Luther King Jr.… Seguir leyendo »
En los días que siguieron a los atentados del 11-S algunas voces sensatas pidieron prudencia para no caer en una respuesta de venganza ciega e indiscriminada como pretendían los responsables de las masacres de las Torres Gemelas y el Pentágono. Por desgracia, no fueron escuchadas y el presidente George Bush y los neocons, que vieron la oportunidad de aplicar sus políticas unilaterales y de fuerza, reaccionaron con la invasión de Afganistán. A la vez, se adoptaron toda una serie de medidas destinadas a restringir las libertades fundamentales con el pretexto de garantizar la seguridad. La primera fue la directiva secreta del 17 de septiembre que instaba a la CIA a «perseguir, capturar, encarcelar e interrogar a sospechosos de terrorismo en todo el mundo».… Seguir leyendo »
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