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CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES LATEST STATEMENTS, BRIEFINGS, AND HEARINGS

President Bush Attends White House Summit on International Development
Washington, D.C., October 21, 2008
During times of economic crisis, some may be tempted to turn inward -- focusing on our problems here at home, while ignoring our interests around the world. This would be a serious mistake. America is committed -- and America must stay committed -- to international development for reasons that remain true regardless of the ebb and flow of the markets. We believe that development is in America's security interests. We face an enemy that can't stand freedom. And the only way they can recruit to their hateful ideology is by exploiting despair -- and the best way to respond is to spread hope.
We believe that we ought to remain committed to development because it's in our long-term economic interests. When America helps developing nations rise out of poverty, we create new markets for our goods and services, and better jobs for American workers. And we're committed to development because it's in our moral interests. I strongly believe in the timeless truth: To whom much is given, much is required. We are a blessed nation and I believe we have a duty to help those less fortunate around the world. We believe that power to save lives comes with the obligation to use it. And I believe our nation is better when we help people fight hunger and disease and illiteracy.
For all of these reasons, this administration has made international development one of our biggest priorities. As the President mentioned, we've worked with partner nations -- as well as the World Bank, and the IMF, and the African Development Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank -- to relieve tens of billions of dollars in debt from some of the world's poorest nations. By relieving crushing debt burdens, it gives people hope. We've also worked with wealthier nations to provide aid in the form of grants instead of loans. For the past eight years, the United States has provided more foreign assistance than at any time in the past half century.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081021-5.html

Remarks From White House Summit on International Development: Sustaining the New Era
Secretary Condoleezza Rice, October 21, 2008
Despite the current crisis, the United States is continuing to meet our commitments to the world’s poor. Our Administration intends to sustain that commitment and we hope that our successors will sustain that commitment, too. For the United States, supporting international development is more than just an expression of our compassion. It is a vital investment in the free, prosperous, and peaceful international order that fundamentally serves our national interest.
There are those who maintain that it was the excesses and weaknesses of democratic development that caused this crisis and that reveals its inherent failings -- failings of free markets and democracy. To the contrary, the effective response of democratic institutions to the current crisis has affirmed their strength, their resilience, and their enduring appeal.
It has affirmed that, when it comes to managing stresses and strains of globalization to recognizing problems openly and publicly and taking necessary steps to correct them, the core ideas of democratic development are indispensable. Transparency and accountability are essential. Good governance and the rule of law are essential. Institutions that adapt quickly to new challenges are essential. A state that responds to people’s needs and invests in their talents; that is essential.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2008/10/111103.htm

Preview of the White House Summit on International Development on October 21
Henrietta Fore, USAID Administrator and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance; Mark Dybul, Coordinator of PEPFAR; Robert Mosbacher Jr., President and CEO, OPIC; and Rodney Brent, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, MCC
Foreign Press Center Briefing, Washington, DC, October 20, 2008
Since 2000, President Bush has dramatically increased the United States’ commitment to advancing health and prosperity of developing nations by more than doubling official development assistance and enacting policies to ensure that the resources have the maximum impact.
This new vision for international development emphasizes the essential role of economic freedom, political liberty, the rule of law, human rights, alongside the ideals that the President has made with trade, investment, private sector involvement as central elements of a sustainable economic growth strategy.
The summit will spotlight the successes and challenges of this new approach and explore ways to sustain the new era of international development established under President Bush and supported by members of both parties in Congress. We will think about the best practices of the past, how we are doing in the present, and thinking about ways to build on this for the future.
http://fpc.state.gov/111104.htm
See also White House factsheet ‘Transforming International Development’ at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/10/20081021-4.html

Success Against Slavery and Strategies for the Future
Ambassador Mark P. Lagon, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
Remarks at the Promising Practices in International Programming Conference
October 28, 2008
At the heart of U.S. government efforts to end human trafficking is a commitment to human dignity—a desire not only to rescue, but restore. As such, it is a great blessing to be allowed the opportunity to benefit the lives of the most degraded, most exploited, most dehumanized people in the world. It is the supreme privilege of my office to able to support partners who do the work. Many of you are engaged in critical work which complements the mission of the TIP office at State, and advances our common movement.
Over the last 8 years, we have made great strides in the area of trafficking prevention. By G/TIP’s assessment, 98 countries and 2 territories (Hong Kong and Macau)—a majority of the world’s countries—criminalize all forms of trafficking through either a single law or multiple criminal statutes. We are pleased to see the number of countries that have enacted or improved their legislation is high, but we have much more to do. Lack of government commitment, weak laws to hold exploiters to fullest account, failure to recognize the human rights and fundamental freedoms of women and migrants, and officials’ corruption must be addressed as urgent matters of prevention. Most of the countries that have criminalized labor trafficking are not investigating and prosecuting these cases successfully. Only 10% of the prosecutions reported in the 2008 Report were forced labor cases.
We are especially proud of the work that International Justice Mission is doing in India to free bonded laborers and to help them push cases through the legal system. IJM is also one of the leaders in developing aftercare and rehabilitation for forced labor victims. Their assistance includes victim relief utilizing government programs and holding those responsible accountable.
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/rm/2008/111456.htm

U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians
Congressional Research Service, October 8, 2008
U.S. aid to the Palestinians has fluctuated considerably over the past three years,
largely due to Hamas’s changing role within the Palestinian Authority (PA). After
Hamas led the PA government for over a year, its forcible takeover of the Gaza Strip in
June 2007 led to the creation of a non-Hamas government in the West Bank. Since then,
the U.S. has dramatically boosted aid levels to bolster the PA and President Mahmoud
Abbas vis-à-vis Hamas. In FY2008, Congress appropriated a total of $414.5 million in
bilateral assistance to the Palestinians, the largest single year appropriation ever for the
Palestinians. Because of congressional concerns that, among other things, U.S. funds
might be diverted to Palestinian terrorist groups, much of this assistance is subject to
legislative restrictions. For FY2009, an additional $200 million have already been
appropriated for the Palestinians (with another $100 million requested by the Bush
Administration). Experts advise that PA stability hinges on, now more than ever,
improved security, economic development, Israeli cooperation, and the continuation of
high levels of foreign assistance.
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/RS22967.pdf (6 pages)

Updates: November 6, 2008