On March 10, the House International Relations Committee reviewed the State Department’s 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.
Highlighting certain aspects in the report, Chair Henry Hyde (R-IL) stated, “We have witnessed tremendous progress and continued vigilance in striving to attain a world where human rights are respected and the seeds of democracy flourish…In Afghanistan, we witnessed the adoption of a new Constitution, a process that incorporated the participation of women and ethnic minorities.”
Many committee members made opening statements, addressing human rights abuses in various countries. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) focused his comments on France and its new law to forbid the wearing of religious clothing, including the Muslim headscarf, in public schools. He expressed his concern that the law would “deny public education to women and girls from Muslim communities,” and announced his introduction of a resolution (H. Res. 528) expressing the sense of the House that France should “modify or abandon its ban on religious symbols in state schools, and respect the freedom of all to practice their religious faith without state interference.”
Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Lorne Craner explained how the Country Reports help Congress and the administration formulate policies to improve human rights throughout the world. He also noted that the reports would be a useful tool in implementing the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA), stating, “The MCA will provide a substantial incentive for reducing the gap between human rights ideals and actual practices. Relying on independent indicators, MCA will analyze a country’s performance on human rights and democracy and other aspects of just governance…The MCA Board can also use the Country Reports for supplemental information to assess issues such as the rights of people with disabilities, the treatment of women and children, and worker and other rights.” Mr. Craner told the committee that in two months the State Department would be releasing a second report, which will detail the steps the department is taking to improve human rights.
Tom Malinowski of Human Rights Watch explained that the Country Reports make an important contribution to human rights. “The State Department, with this annual exercise in truth telling, is doing a very useful thing,” he said. “It is making it harder for repressive governments to deny the indefensible reality of their behavior, and thus encouraging them to alter that reality.” Mr. Malinowski also noted that the reports help to keep the State Department “more honest when dealing with abusive governments around the world.”
During the question and answer session, Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) expressed his concern about China’s so called one-child policy, saying that it allows for the “wholesale slaughter of children” and has increased the female suicide rate and incidents of trafficking in China. Mr. Craner said that Secretary Powell and President Bush have been “forthright” about pressuring China to change its birth control policy and would continue to do so in the future.
