Annual Human Rights Report Supports Freedom Worldwide

Year 2004 report on 197 countries to be released February 28

By Carrie Lee
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The U.S. State Department is scheduled to release its annual statement on the global condition of human rights on February 28. Titled "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for the Year 2004," it examines the status of human rights in 197 countries.

Each country's report details its record and performance on protecting and promoting the rights enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These include respect for the integrity of the person, with sections on forced disappearances, imprisonment and torture; respect for civil liberties, covering freedom of speech, religion and press; respect for political rights, focusing on the right of people to choose their own governments; governmental attitude regarding international and nongovernmental investigation of alleged violations of human rights; discrimination based on race, sex, disability, language or social status; and worker's rights.

The scope of the human rights report continues to widen and has steadily expanded to include additional areas of concern. For example, while the report first included the broad category of discrimination in 1986, it added specific sections on the rights of women and children, indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and national, racial and ethnic minorities in 1993. The 2004 country reports will cover three new categories: transparency and corruption, anti-Semitism and discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The annual human rights reports are mandated by a 1976 amendment to section 502b of the Foreign Assistance Act requiring the secretary of state to transmit to Congress by February each year "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights" in countries receiving U.S. security assistance. The first human rights report, released in 1977, covered the human rights conditions in 82 countries.

Since 1976, Congress has expanded the coverage of the human rights report to include countries receiving U.S. economic aid as well as all members of the United Nations. The Department of State also prepares reports on countries that do not fall into the congressionally mandated categories, bringing the total to a record high of 197 countries in 2004.

With its ever-widening scope, the preparation of the human rights report is a multipart process that requires the cooperation of a variety of actors in each country. U.S. embassies collect information throughout the year from sources across the political spectrum, including government officials, journalists, human rights organizations, academics and activists.

After a detailed verification process, the embassies produce an initial draft report that is submitted to the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The bureau then produces the final version of each country report in consultation with other department bureaus and sources. The final human rights report -- now a multivolume document in its printed form -- is delivered to Congress and translated into various languages and placed on the Internet for dissemination worldwide.

The human rights report is the most widely read State Department report, and it serves several purposes. The United States uses the report as a basis for directing U.S. efforts to promote human rights protection, and as a resource to shape policy, conduct diplomacy and make assistance, training and other resource allocations.

As a result of its public release and wide dissemination, the report also raises awareness of human rights violations and advocates on behalf of victims, said then-Secretary of State Colin Powell in the preface to the 2003 report. The compilation of a standardized, regular report allows the United States -- and other governments and human rights advocates -- to measure progress or backsliding on human rights issues worldwide. The annual report also reinforces "the high priority we place on raising the profile of human rights in our bilateral relationships," said Powell.

To draw attention to U.S. efforts to address issues raised in the human rights report, the State Department produces a follow-up report, "Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record." This congressionally mandated report is scheduled to be released on March 25, one month after the human rights country reports. The department also monitors the status of specific international human rights issues through its annual reports on religious freedom and anti-Semitism.

The report will be available at www.usinfo.state.gov on February 28.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)