Narrator:
As globalization of trade, environmental and security concerns brings nations into closer contact, serious questions have been raised about where human rights issues fit into traditional diplomatic discussions. Addressing human rights in diplomacy requires a fine balance. Michael Posner, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor, spoke about how to strike that balance.
Assistant Secretary Michael Posner:
We have an interest in security, we have an interest in economic relations with other governments, we have all kinds of diplomatic interests. It’s totally appropriate to have that discussion and to figure out where in that mix is the human rights policy fit. That’s to me a separate discussion than should we be telling the truth about what’s going on in the world. I think the premise of these reports is not that we’re going to absolutely determine policy entirely based on these reports. But that these reports are a predicate, an essential foundation for deciding what we do across the board. So the premise for us always has been we’re going to tell the truth, do it straight; it is for sure going to make life more complicated for our diplomats around the world, who are going to have governments mad at them because we are telling the truth. But that’s — that gives the exercise integrity. That discomfort is far outweighed in my mind by having an accurate assessment of what’s going on so that we can make intelligent policy decisions. Again, the decision’s not always going to be to put human rights first in terms of policy, but we ought to at least have the facts with which to balance it against other interests. What the president has said and what Secretary Clinton has said is, you know, we’re going to engage in a principled diplomacy, principled engagement with the world; we’re going to apply one universal standard to everyone, including ourselves, and we’re going to hold ourselves to a fidelity to the truth.
Narrator:
As human rights issues increase in importance, more and more governments are issuing their own reports on the state of human rights in the world. In some of these reports, the United States has sometimes come under criticism for its own human rights record. But despite the potential for diplomatic controversy that these reports create, Posner says that more human rights reporting from governments is a positive thing.
Assistant Secretary Michael Posner:
My view is we live in a marketplace of ideas, and if China or anybody else wants to write a report about the United States, I encourage that; it’s fine. We defend our own record, we do our own critiques of our own country in all sorts of ways. There’s plenty of robust debate here about human rights. So I think it’s actually an encouraging sign that governments now feel compelled to get into the game. I’d much rather have China writing a report about the United States than denying the existence of human rights or saying that nobody has a right to do these reports. We’ll continue to do it, we’ll continue to tell the truth, and these reports will continue to guide the way we shape policy. And that’s the way it ought to be.
Narrator:
Perhaps no diplomatic relationship is more complicated than that between the United States and China. Over the years, the two countries have deepened their economic ties and dealt with trade, intellectual property rights, and related issues. But honest discussion of human rights is an equally important part of the relationship.
Assistant Secretary Michael Posner:
There are some countries that are extremely important economically. That is a factor in the way we deal with them. There are some countries that are extremely important in terms of our national security interests; we have to factor that into what we do. That’s sort of the world as it is. I have no, you know — I’m not operating under any illusion that every country’s treated equally. My job, and I think our government’s job, is to make sure whatever those economic interests or whatever those security interests, that human rights isn’t dropped off the discussion. So let’s take China as an example on the economic front. It’s a big country, it’s very powerful. We have huge economic and strategic interests without a doubt. It’s one of the most important relationships we have in the world for all sorts of reasons. It ought to be, and I think is the case, that we pursue those economic objectives — trade, a whole range of things going on, intellectual property, there’s a range of discussions — and at the same time, we recognize that there are very serious human rights problems in China. And those are problems we’re going to speak about — we do the country report; it’s going to be part of our diplomacy. The Chinese are not pleased when the president meets the Dalai Lama — he met the Dalai Lama. The Chinese are not pleased when we speak out about their interference with Internet freedom — Secretary Clinton gave a speech about that. The Chinese are not pleased when we talk about religious freedom issues; we talk about Tibet, we talk about the Uighurs in Xinjiang — those are all part of our concern. And we’re going to say those things; we’re going to continue that piece of our bilateral diplomacy with China. It is inherently a complicated relationship, and the economic piece looms very large, but the human rights piece does as well.
Narrator:
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