President Obama’s Asian tour underscores the difficulty American leaders encounter in trying to raise — however mildly — any sort of concrete human rights agenda. What is increasingly apparent, however, is that we don’t seem to be trying very hard to even discuss human rights issues in any substantive way with other nations, especially China — the proverbial 800-pound gorilla of world affairs.
This has to be a disappointment for those who assumed that Barack Obama’s life story would cause him and his Administration to be keenly sensitive to issues related to human freedom. Clearly, the Administration is treading gingerly on human rights issues (including the growing menace of contemporary slavery) to avoid upsetting the apple cart of global diplomacy involving Chinese monetary policy, climate change and world trade. The lack of any meaningful gesture affirming the United States’ commitment to human rights from the Administration was so noticeable that the New York Times devoted an entire article-blog on the subject.
The Asian trip brought the President to an area of the world where human trafficking and modern forms of slavery are rampant and widespread. Much of this illicit and degrading trade in humans goes on openly amid widespread corruption and governmental indifference. You would think, or perhaps hope, that the Administration would have seen the Far East mission as a golden opportunity to speak out for concerted efforts to end trafficking and extend essential human rights. But such was not the case, other than a vague reference in a carefully worded Chinese-U.S. diplomatic communique stating that “efforts would be raised” to address human trafficking. Obama did grant an interview to a Chinese publication reputed to be willing to tweak the Beijing government, yet even this small gesture flopped. Editors friendly to the government were installed prior to the interview with the President and according to subsequent reports, very little of substance emerged from the interview.
There’s no question that global economic, political and environmental challenges must be addressed. Yet without a parallel commitment to end human rights abuses, including all forms of contemporary slavery, progress in world affairs will come at a very substantial cost to the well being of humankind.
Posted on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am in News.
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