Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers remarks on the 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, in the Press Briefing Room, at the Department of State.
Transcript
Good afternoon. Today I have the privilege of welcoming back to the press briefing room Secretary Blinken. It’s especially a privilege today because the secretary, as you know, is here to unveil the 2020 Human Rights Report. Secretary Blinken will have a statement. He’ll take a question or two before he has to depart for an engagement. At that point, we will hear from Lisa Peterson, the acting assistant secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, human rights and labor, who will also make a brief statement in state to take more of your questions. So without further ado, I will turn it over to Secretary Blinken. Thank you very much. And good afternoon, everyone. Good to see you all. It’s, uh, nice to be mask to mask or at least face to mask in this case. Okay, so I want to speak to the report and, uh and then, as Ned said, we’ll try and take a couple of questions. Um, I have the, uh, the honor today of joining our acting assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. Lisa Peterson, in presenting the 45th annual Country reports on human rights practices which offer a comprehensive review of human rights in nearly 200 countries and territories. Um, I very much want to thank you. Listen, thank the many folks at the department, um, here in Washington, but also around the world in our embassies in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor who researched, drafted and edited these reports, they brought not only their expert knowledge of the issues, but also a commitment to rigorously document the facts. I also want to thank human rights defenders, journalists and researchers whose efforts informed these reports. They work every day to advance human dignity, often, as you all know, at great risk to themselves and their loved ones. We are humbled by their dedication and by their bravery. President Biden is committed to putting human rights back at the center of American foreign policy, and that’s a commitment that I, in the entire Department of State, take very seriously. We will bring to bear all the tools of our diplomacy to defend human rights and hold accountable perpetrators of abuse. The reports we’re releasing today are just one way to do that. One of the core principles of human rights is that they are universal. All people are entitled to these rights, no matter where they’re born, What they believe, whom they love or any other characteristic human rights are also co equal. There is no hierarchy that may some rights more important than others. Past unbalanced statements that suggest such a hierarchy, including those offered by a recently disbanded State Department advisory committee, do not represent a guiding document for this administration. At my confirmation hearing, I promise that Biden Harris administration would repudiate those unbalanced views. We do so decisively today. Human rights are also interdependent. If you can’t assemble peacefully, how can you organize a union or an opposition party or exercise your freedom of religion or belief? If you’re denied equal access to a job or an education because of the color of your skin or your gender identity, how can you attain health and well being for yourself and your family? The report released today shows that the trend lines on human rights continue to move in the wrong direction. We see evidence that in every region of the world this has happened. We see it in the genocide being committed against the predominantly Muslim leaders and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. The attacks on and the imprisonment of opposition politicians, anti corruption activists, independent journalists in places like Russia, Uganda, Venezuela. We see it in the arbitrary arrests, beatings and other violence against protesters and yellow roofs, and in the violations and abuses inflicted on the people of Yemen by the parties in that country’s conflict. We see it in the killings, sexual assaults and other atrocities incredibly reported in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and in the executions, forced disappearances and torture is committed by the Syrian regime, as well as an ongoing attacks on schools on markets on hospitals. The latest of those attacks occurred just last week when the Syrian regime killed seven people, including two Children, cousins aged 10 and 12 years old, in a strike on the ladder of hospital in western Aleppo. We also see it in the ways authoritarian governments are using and exporting new technologies to surveil and harassed citizens and spread disinformation at home and abroad. We see it and what’s happening in Burma. The events since the military coup, uh, occurred after this year’s report was finished, but, uh, we must highlight them. Nonviolent protesters in Burma had been killed, beaten, imprisoned, including on Saturday, when more than 100 people were reportedly killed by the military. Many of those killed were protesting on Armed Forces Day, others simply by standards. The military said in advance that they might shoot protesters in the back or the head, and they’ve made good on that threat. Among those reportedly killed four Children, the youngest, a five year old boy. We condemn these and other widespread violations by Burma security forces in the strongest terms, and we continue to call on the military regime to release all those people who have been unjustly detained, stop its attacks on civil society members, journalists, labor unionists, halt the killings by security forces and return to power the democratically elected government. The United States is committed to working with its allies and partners to hold the perpetrators of the support acts accountable. All of these alarming trend lines are being worsened by Covid 19, which autocratic governments have used as a pretext to target their critics and further repress human rights. Plus Covid 19 has disproportionately impacted the individuals and groups in our societies who are already subject to abuse to discrimination to marginalization before the pandemic, such as racial and ethnic minorities. Persons with disabilities LGBTQ persons, women and girls have also endured greater gender based violence during lockdowns and face more obstacles to seeking help. Now some have argued that it’s not worth it for the United States to speak up forcefully for human rights or that we should highlight abuse only in select countries, and only in a way that directly advances our national interests. I believe those people miss the point. Standing up for human rights everywhere is in America’s interests and the Bible. Harris administration will stand against human rights abuses wherever they occur, regardless of whether the perpetrators are adversaries. We’re partners countries where dissent is welcomed, where corrupt and abusive officials are punished. Where labour laws are respected, where people of all backgrounds have equal access and opportunities, those countries are more likely to be peaceful, prosperous, stable. They’re less likely to fall into conflict. They’re more likely to have growing economies and the markets for our own goods and services. And governments that respect human rights are more likely to support the rules based international order that the United States and our allies have built and invested in for decades and decades. Look at the countries that run roughshod over the rights of their people. They are almost always the same countries that flout international accepted rules beyond their borders. Whether that’s by lopping off the territory of other countries, launching cyberattacks, harassing dissidents, spreading disinformation or breaking trade rules. In addition to all of these reasons, there’s a simpler one. Standing for people’s freedom and dignity honors America’s most sacred values. At our best, we stand for freedom and justice for all, not just here at home but around the world. We will hear from some countries, as we do every year, that we have no right to criticize them because we have our own challenges to deal with. Well, we know we have work to do at home. That includes addressing profound inequities, including systemic racism. We don’t pretend these problems don’t exist or try to try to sweep them under the rug. Yeah, we don’t ignore them. We deal with them in the daylight with full transparency. And in fact, that’s exactly what separates our democracy from autocracies, our ability and willingness to confront our own shortcomings out in the open to pursue that more perfect union. And the way we confront our challenges at home will give us greater legitimacy in advocating for human rights abroad. It’s what President Biden means when he says we must lead by the power of our example. These I know human rights reports are important. But of course, uh, they’re not enough. We will use a broad range of other tools to stop abuses and hold perpetrators to account. One way to do that is by working with the United States Congress, which has passed laws providing new authorities to sanction human rights violators. Things like the Global Magnitsky Act, the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, other pieces of important legislation and continues to demonstrate a bipartisan commitment to promoting human rights. We’ll continue to look for innovative ways to partner with Congress. To shine a light on abuses and hold perpetrators to account another way is by imposing consequences through economic sanctions and visa restrictions, as the United States did recently in unity with Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom on individuals engaged in atrocities being committed against the workers in Xinjiang, and we will find ways to incentivize countries to take positive steps toward respecting human rights, such as through trade benefits and development aid. The shaggy ban, which we created after the period covered by this year’s human rights reports, gives us an additional tool to hold accountable officials who harm journalists, activists or other perceived dissidents by revoking restricting visas to them or their family members. While this policy bears Jamal Portuguese name, and we first applied it to 76 individuals from Saudi Arabia for their appalling actions targeting perceived dissidents abroad, including the killing of Mr Khashoggi, we’ll apply the band to officials from any country, the targets dissidents beyond its borders. As we take these steps, we recognize that America is always more effective when we work with allies and partners. I delivered that message in recent business with allies and partners in Asia, Europe and North America. And in my virtual visit yesterday to the United Nations, we will engage in multilateral institutions, even flawed ones like the U. N. Human Rights Council, because we can do much more to move them in the right direction when we have a seat at the table instead of staying outside of the room and because in our absence we have seen how autocratic governments use these institutions to undercut human rights. The Biden Harris administration will also redouble our efforts to support journalists, human rights defenders, anti corruption activists, labor union organizers and other advocates around the world who put everything on the line to defend human rights. When these people come under attack, they often look to the United States to speak up on their behalf too often. In recent years, these defenders heard only silence from US. President Biden says that America is back. We are back For those brave advocates as well, we will not be silent. The final note on an important Topic for many years, our human rights reports contained a section on reproductive health, including information about maternal mortality, discrimination against women and accessing sexual and reproductive health care and government policies about access to contraception and skilled health health care during pregnancy and childbirth. These topics were removed from the country reports by the previous administration, so they’re not part of the reports released today which covered the year 2020. I’ve asked our team to release an addendum for each country report later this year, that will cover these issues, and we’re restoring the practice of documenting these rights in 2021 and in future years. It’s one of many steps along with revoking the Mexico City policy, withdrawing from the Geneva Consensus Declaration, resuming support for the United Nations Population Fund that we’re taking to promote women’s health and equity at home and abroad. Because women’s rights, including sexual and reproductive rights, are human rights, thank you very much And happy to take questions, Andrea Good Mr Secretary, and speaking out against human rights in China and Russia in particular, are you Uh huh. Creating a blowback of reaction and that you’re creating an alliance of autocracy is really against us and criticism from both of those countries in the last week that we are bullying them. How do you counteract that and make your criticism more effective, especially in the context of them, neither of them to our knowledge, doing anything to help you regarding Burma or Myanmar? The atrocities there And I’d say a couple of things to that first and more generically, whether it’s, uh, China, Russia or anyone else, Uh, we’re not standing against, uh, any of those countries um, we’re not trying to, for example, contain China. We’ll keep it down. What we are about is standing up for basic principles, basic rights and a rules based international order that has served us and countries around the world very, very well. And when any country, in whatever way, uh, seeks to undermine those rights or undermine that order, yes, we will stand and speak out forcefully about it. And that’s what is going on. Um, I think we’re seeing as well that when we’re doing that, we are much more effective when we are speaking out and working with other like minded countries. And I think what you’ve witnessed in recent weeks, particularly with regard to, uh the response, the international response to the abuses being committed against wingers in Xinjiang, for example the quashing of democracy in Hong Kong, as well as numerous actions taken by Russia that again are fundamentally attacks on the international rules based order. You’re seeing a country after country speak out in unison and often in a coordinated fashion we have. We’ve spoken out, uh, in, uh, in conjunction in coordination with the European Union, United Kingdom, Canada, many allies and partners in Asia and the power of countries speaking out together, I think will be increasingly increasingly evident. So, um, you know, we’ve seen some responses from, for example, the government in Beijing to some of the actions taken by countries in Europe. I suspect that is only going to redouble, uh, the concerns and the focus that other countries give to the actions that the government in Beijing has taken an abuse of human rights. I think we’re already seeing Secretary of Time for a final question. Thank you. You mentioned the different tools that you have at your disposal to address these issues. Obviously the issue and the situation in Burma or Myanmar is this happened since these reports this report was written, but it offers a, you know, a live case where human rights are being, you know, suppressed day by day on the ground. And we’ve seen from the U. S. A kind of escalation of sanctions, you know, week by week, more sanctions. But the generals in the country are pushing on with their core. You know, they’re not changing course. The death toll is getting more and more. Just you know, what more do you have at your disposal to try to actually get them to listen when it seems like they are completely unresponsive to everything you’ve done so far. So I’d say a few things about that. First, the actions that we’ve seen by the Burmese military right in terms of its attacks on civilians are reprehensible. Um, and we witnessed just this past weekend, as as I noted earlier, an attack that killed about 100 civilians, Some people simply caught in the crossfire, others just expressing peacefully their views. And this is this follows a series of other of other attacks and indeed increasingly disturbing and even horrifying violence. Um, one thing is clear. It’s that the people of Burma are speaking clearly. They don’t want to live under military rule. And that is evident from what we’re seeing and hearing and witnessing every single day. And Burma. So, uh, we’ve taken a number of actions as you, as you know, of course, we and others have spoken out very forcefully against the violence being perpetrated by the military regime. Beyond that, we’ve taken specific action with regard to, uh, those responsible for the coup and enterprises that support them, including designations under various sanctions laws. We’ve also worked closely with other countries to speak out in unison. There are, I think, other things that countries should be looking at. For example, some countries in some companies in various parts of the world have significant investments in enterprises that support the Burmese military. They should be looking at those investments and reconsidering them as a means of denying the military the financial support it needs to sustain itself against the will of the people. But I think you can expect us to continue to speak out strongly and to, um, work with close allies and partners, including the ASEAN countries, in strong opposition to the actions that the cool regime is taking in Burma. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. How are you? Mhm. Mhm. Good afternoon. We submitted to the U. S. Congress earlier today. The country reports on human rights practices for the 45th year. I think that number demonstrates as well as anything the depth of the U. S. Interest in and dedication to the promotion of human rights. And as the secretary said, it is as strong a dedication as ever. Our aim is always to identify human rights challenges and use our voice and our position on the world stage to draw attention to abuses of human rights no matter where or when they occur, and to make progress in advancing these human rights, you need facts. That’s why each year the U. S government issues the country reports on human rights practices which address, as required by US law, the status of internationally recognized human rights in all countries that are members of the United Nations. These reports provide an objective record of whether human rights and freedoms are being protected both by law and in practice around the world. The reports are prepared by U. S. Diplomatic missions that collect, analyze and synthesize information from a variety of sources. The country reports, do not reach legal conclusions, rank countries or draw comparisons across them. They do not attempt to catalog every human rights incident, nor are these reports an effort by the U. S. Government to judge others. Instead, they are factual in nature. Publicizing facts and verifiable information can encourage governments to change course and seek to end human rights abuses. At the conclusion of this press briefing, the 2020 country reports on human rights practices will be available to the public on the State Department website at www dot state dot gov. Thank you for being here today, and I am happy to take your questions. Thank you. I wanted to follow up a little bit on China and the situation in Xinjiang. You There’s a determination that this is a genocide ongoing. Uh, when you say genocide, it’s supposed to figure, uh, whatever it takes from a power like the us to stop it by to the never again pledge. But the sanctions imposed so far seems a little bit low key with regard to this targets. Uh, do you feel that the U. S. Is currently doing whatever it takes to stop the genocide links in Chiang and what needs to be done to to do that? Okay, thanks very much. So the US has already deployed a number of tools in response to the genocide determination. Um, we have been clear that crimes against humanity and genocide have taken place and are continuing to be inflicted on waggers crimes, crimes against humanity against other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang. Obviously, we can’t ignore this, and we must meet such actions with serious consequences. We have deployed sanctions and we have taken sanction actions in unity with the United Kingdom and Canada, which announced similar trenches of sanctions under their respective authorities. Also in parallel with the European Union, which undertook a broader global human rights action. This united response sends a strong signal to those who violate and abuse human rights that such such actions will not be tolerated. Even prior to the determination that genocide had taken place, we had been communicating with businesses working in China, Um, or businesses contemplating working in China. Um, we issued a business advisory back in July of 2020. Um, we did this in conjunction with the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security. Um, cautioning businesses about the economic, legal and reputational risks of supply chain links to entities that engage in human rights abuses, including forced labor in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China. Later on, in September of 2020 the State Department published Human Rights Due Diligence, guidance for transactions with foreign governments involving products or services with surveillance capabilities. It provides practical and accessible human rights guidance to us businesses seeking to prevent their products or services with surveillance capabilities from being misused. It’s like Thank you, yes, the former administration. Next, the designation of the West Bank is Jerusalem. The Grand Hyatt has occupied there. This year’s report seems to continue the tradition. Well, that means that you are fine with this non designation designation. How do you designate the West Bank? Thank you. So as we stated in previous year, we re titled this Human Rights Report to refer to the commonly used geographic names of the area the report covers, which are Israel, West Bank and Gaza. That’s in line with our practices Generally, we also believe it is clearer and more useful for readers seeking information on human rights in those specific areas. The title of the report was updated to reflect current practices in the department and to be clearer and more useful to readers and researchers. What is the West Bank? I mean, is it not occupied? Occupied? Are you fine with this new reality? So language in this report is not meant to convey a position on any final status issues to be negotiated between the parties to the conflict, including the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the borders between Israel and any future Palestinian state. Please. Hi, Thank you. My name is Mohammed al Ahmed with Al Jazeera Arabic. The United States government was among 31 signatories of the joint statements of the Human Rights Council, which called on Egypt to lift its curb on the freedoms of expression and assembly. How are you planning based on that joint statement and on today’s report, how are you planning to build on that? To pressure Egypt to improve its human rights record. Thank you, President Biden has made clear that human rights will be at the center of our foreign policy and that includes with Egypt, Um, that was part of the driver for the United States, joining onto the joint statement at the Human Rights Council, calling upon Egypt to improve its human rights record and emphasizing the fundamental importance of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms and the need to respect a robust civil society. We have We continue to raise human rights concerns with officials in the government of Egypt. We also continue to support civil society to the extent possible. Um, as the secretary told Foreign Minister Shukri human rights will be at the center of our relations with Egypt. And we look forward to strengthening our historic partnership and ensuring respect for democracy and human rights. Thank you. Yes. Um, thanks for doing this. I want to ask a quick question about the secretary’s remarks with regard to the reproductive health section. Um and he said that there there will be reports on that later in the year because they weren’t included in the report. Um, but I’m just curious Does does the State Department have a determination as to, um, how the impact what the impact was of not having these sections in the report over the last few years on reproductive health globally? That’s an excellent question. And I’m not sure that we have an immediate answer for that. I think that is something worth looking into. I think you will see, um, a fair bit of research and study going into the impact on sexual and reproductive health rights in the context of covid 19. Um, I think we as a bureau if we find the means to do so, may need to take a look at that question. of was there an impact by not having this reflected in the human rights reports television in putting the human rights in the center of the foreign policy, what will change and you’re dealing in the country and other with other countries, especially with the Middle East countries? There will be a shift, I think, in focus. Um, we have long raised human rights issues. Um, but this administration has been more forward leaning, and I think that changes the the degree and the centrality to which we consider this issue. As we are considering the whole universe of a relationship, I think the final questions. Yes, I have two questions on one of North Korea and one in South Korea. Um uh, as this administration is dealing with North Korea’s nuclear issue, I’d like to know whether this North Korean human rights situation is going to be handled separately or as part of an entire North Korean issues. Some human rights experts say that North Korea’s human rights issue sometimes sacrifice or being used as tools before negotiations with North Korea. So how are you going to address this North Korean human rights issue? Uh, my second question on South Korea, South Korea last year passed a, uh, law banning, uh, the flat sending activities into North Korea. Uh, so mostly done by North Korean defectors living in South Korea. Um, so in this law went into effect today. So what’s your view on this? Any concerns? And, um, do you support these defectors of effort providing, like, outside information into North Korea? So, on your first question, we do remain deeply concerned by North Korea’s egregious human rights record, which remains among the worst in the world. The State Department, together with the inter agency, is currently undergoing a North Korea policy review process, and human rights will remain an indispensable component of our overall policy towards the North Korean government. We will continue to hold the North Korean government accountable for its egregious human rights violations. In terms of the anti leaflet bill, increasing the free flow of information into North Korea is a U. S. Priority. The dissemination of information is critical for North Koreans to access fact based information not controlled by the North Korean regime. As a global policy, we advocate for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and with regard to the DPRK. We continue to campaign for the free flow of information into the DPRK. We continue to work with our partners in the NGO community and in other countries to promote North Koreans access to information. Oh, hi. Thank you. I wanted to go back to to the question of China. Um, Chinese officials have stated explicitly in recent days that the U. S. Conception of human rights is not normative. Uh, and they contend that their own human rights policies are anchored in in, um, law. Uh, so it seems that the 22 of these permanent members of the Security Council disagree about the bedrock principles or or basic law, if you will, of the multilateral system. Um so I wonder, what are the ramifications of this dispute for multilateral approaches to human rights issues? Um, and then bearing in mind the sanctions over the weekend of Gail Mansion and Tony Perkins at the, uh, International Religious Freedom Commission, I wonder how much do you see? Uh, religious freedom questions as a predictor of of the government’s policies on human rights issues. Generally, how much does that organize some of these controversies? I will underscore that our approach on human rights and our approach to the human rights reports is grounded in the United Nations documents. That has been our guiding, um, set of documents from the inception of the reports. So whatever China may say about our our approach, it is based in those founding U N principles and guiding U. N documents. In terms of religious freedom issues, we are clearly we are deeply concerned by questions around religious freedom. Worldwide. Religious freedom has long been part of the State Department’s activities. Um, and there is a separate standalone report on international religious freedom. Certainly you can look at plenty of examples and see where governments who have gone down a wrong road on religious freedom subsequently go down the wrong road. On other issues. Um, I think we need to be concerned about religious freedom as an issue on its own and potentially look at the larger consequences that may go along with those concerns. Thank you very much. We’ll have an opportunity to hear more from the acting assistant secretary today at four o’clock for the briefing call. We hope we need, Thank you. Mhm.