Human Rights and Foreign Policy in Latin America

from communication center university of texas at austin this is university for low tech the forum is a public interdisciplinary meeting place for the wide ranging world of ideas opinion and analysis hey says in this week's programme the subject is latin america in the first half of the program we'll hear from state department official will be giving an assessment of us human rights policies as they apply to latin america deputy assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs human rights women's affairs and other areas of concern in the president carter's human rights policies have been in effect now for over two years and in his address mr dalley will provide an overview of those policies as they apply to the different countries of latin

america diplomacy is more than the management of our affairs with other nations it is also a window to the world revealing our own national values and principles its successes or its failures reflect not only on strength as a nation that serve as a measure of the contribution we make as a nation to universal principles in advance the global human condition the great promise about it is that the human being has a less become an object of a diplomatic concern among nations but the challenge remains how to afford the tools of diplomacy so this concern translates itself from philosophical intent into effective action for the united states' human rights is neither an adjunct of foreign policy nor a missionary enterprise on metaphysical passion it is not a new weapon to vilify foes in the age of detente

or a convey miscues for interference in other countries' affairs commitment to the advancement of human rights is as president carter said at the very heart of our identity as a nation it does not make us more moral some would think or moralizing as others would charge it is in its essence international applications of the golden rule way of behaving toward foreigners as we would want them to deal with us trying to find the best possible synthesis between a principled intense practical interests the realities of global affairs to not make this commitment to human rights utopian abstraction or turn this into an armchair ideal us our leadership for human rights is neither an allusion of grander nora grand illusion on the contrary we're obliged to stand up for human rights because we have no illusions we have no illusions that any of the global problems we face

today are any of the challenges we confront can be solved without respect for these elemental rights we have no illusions that we can construct a new international economic order without sustaining stretches of the new international human order we have no illusions that we can achieve lasting security among nations without safeguarding the security of the person we have no illusions that we can reverse the current trend of diminishing resources and growing scarcer these biden are in distress most abundant and precious resource creativity and innovative talents and wellness people no we will not resolve are critical shortages of any front energy crisis the exhaustion other non renewable resources this collection of our environment or the threat of a nuclear disaster in an atmosphere of intimidation by means of oppression and conditions a perpetual poverty

the human aspirations and admitted to be human and to strive to be more human is our only inexhaustible resource most galvanizing source of energy and action ridges common heritage which mankind and the queen's future generations thus the inclusion of human rights in our foreign policy is not simply a question of morality but also the interest of our national interest since nineteen forty five when we had a concert with other nations pledged ourselves to banish the scourge of war there've been one hundred and fifty international conflicts and war is inflicting terrible suffering and millions of innocent victims and causing incalculable waste material resources as a result hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee their homelands and live in squalor refugee camps agreed only ignorance anger hatred and frustrations as well as a promise of a new

conflict government spent collectively more than four million dollars annually the ironic consequence of only buying less not more security at the same time more than one third of the spurs population lives in abject poverty is abject because of subjects human beings to be absolute dictates of necessity forces them to surrender their freedom by making insulation their material needs than their survival and our only saviors arrives where gravity is the master and therefore we be under the illusion that without addressing economic and social advancement we can enjoy the poll though most of human rights bilateral and multilateral development assistance is country has in the past thirty years they've ordered more than one hundred billion dollars to eight other countries in their struggle against poverty voters may have been mixed concerns with markets and politics as much as with mercy

start fact is that we have failed how they remained greater than ever before let me be more specific it is a fact that over seven hundred million children in the world have no access to safe water and lacked proper sanitation facilities is a fact that water borne diseases are a major cause of infant mortality fifty million children would not live past their fifth birthday each year one hundred thousand children go blind from a lack of vitamin a nitrogen rich are it's not only the physical development but also their intellectual potential of intense there's a litany of human rights for you only as a quest for greater morality or should a human rights policy be a compelling reason to act now to save our children we are also on the united nations decade for women was madonna's nineteen eighty

you other issues are perhaps as timely as momentous as critical as the attainment of the rights of women are political and economic their social as well as civil rights it is one of deprivation and discrimination is always in some openly in others and to different degrees you ran societies as well as informs prejudice and ignorance surround what millennium error has turned into a collective gathered cannot be reversed overnight but the continuing discrimination against women their second class citizenship in the global community is intolerable conditions in the age of the universal declaration of human rights despite some encouraging signs in recent years progress has been slow recent events in iran may not be a whole beach when setting

they nevertheless illustrate the private process of emancipation is not without setbacks and none of the achievements today should be taken for granted even the very process of modernization is a mixed blessing for women women who in traditional societies have done the bulk of menial labor are facing today a different type of discrimination you met doesn't technologies brought on by progress undermine the traditional status are encroaching upon their economic roles new production methods less than the value of their relative contribution men receive preference in basic skills and literacy training and in a worldwide right to limit fertility women are the recipients of the brunt of resistance i mentioned these human rights needs of children and women not a dramatic effect and not just to rise arouse of feelings of guilt i refer to them to remind ourselves of how all encompassing the issues of human rights have become and how relevant they are to all

aspects of foreign policy and diplomacy these cases also illustrated in the most pervasive violation of human rights he's at the lowest crime that no amount of denunciation or posturing from assume stands of superiority on a lonely dress there is of course an appropriate time or coarser denunciation because that isn't victims are also tortured imprisoned and murdered countless countries on all continents the somoza is and the stressors arts and media means of this age should not be accommodated by complicity of silence but the intolerable global conditions of human rights a lack of freedom for the lack of voting and on good intentions to confront them require more they challenge us and our diplomacy to devise concrete measures and to better utilized international instrument that already exist for the protection and promotion of human rights

in the past thirty years since the universal declaration of human rights the international community has provided us with a set of tools a machinery to give away to our intent to transform universal principles into collective action universal declaration of human rights we began the most radical reappraisal of the political social and moral principles operative international what began that it's a declaration of intent has been slowly evolving into a global consensus a set of rules to prescribe and prescribe the behavior of governments to warn their citizens there is this now a codified body of international human rights laws that include conventions and covenants and genocide civil and political economic and social rights refugees women's rights and racial discrimination in addition the

international community is currently working on instruments to prevent torture and to protect the rights of the child and the freedom of religion mm hmm they do provide major individuals and groups governments accountable after all the standards and norms and you write in outline in these international instruments have not been imposed on any of the nation these are instead obligation for the government's seven assumed i'm really in voluntarily cannot abrogate or disregard under any pretext and there are other signs as well human rights concerns of come of age you'll sink your court recognized a european security must incorporate respect for human rights the recently held a non aligned nations conference also gave its support

and acknowledged the growing importance of human rights in the western hemisphere back of san jose the american convention on human rights as dominant force during the past summer we are also achieved great advances on many fronts united nations conference on women held a few years ago in mexico un decade the women have less given international legitimacy the struggle for women's rights this year we celebrate the year of the job the next united nations general assembly will launch thirty international development it with a focus on job on eradicating the worst aspects of poverty in the world the record uncovered work of international organizations united nations and among the regional institutions the organization of american states are ample evidence of concern for human rights is not an ethnocentric impulse of western democracies allow but it's a market maturity of all members of the global community of nations

that when histories cultural divisions they make them differentiate emphasis emphasize differences but overall in general terms the issue of human rights has become a priority again the work of a united nations commission on human rights was just concludes thirty the ocean less than a month ago living proof of how far we've already cut out for her role has been assumed by the united nations in the promotion and protection of human rights this commission is much more than a sideshow on the big stage of global diplomacy has become an important for a public opinion representing concrete hope for the many victims of oppression who have no other recourse than the international community we're not so over fifty thousand people were not every year contact human rights commission on matters relating to the violation of human rights

there was a time when this commission would only deal with human rights violations in southern africa is really occupied territories and in chile today though is by no means untainted by these political considerations there is public discussion and condemnation of other countries as were all right confidential procedures have about the united nations reviews human rights violations in a broad range of countries from uganda try from burma anti ethiopian speaking of so called political considerations in this united nations organizations let me share with you some of my observations from its last session of the commission for my own perspective of a non latin america in matters relating to human rights the world community as i said earlier is not jealous of a double standard governments which do not always adhered to all of the

democratic practices are often criticize been condemned by those governments which do not adhere to those practices at all and conversely governments what ladies and record on human rights often appear to protect those governments which would rightly be condemned rapping cause was human right exercise lack seriousness i don't think so you are some violent protected because of the pervasive practice of double standard i think that also would be too simplistic explanation where the commissions proceedings of no consequence of considerations would not emerge politics appears precisely because the commission's deliberations do have some impact solidarity that was demonstrated as less commission meeting among and between certain countries was not simply a spillover of the east west of the nostalgia afghan governments were much more reluctant to censure african governments

and other latin americans in turn to look after their own in fact the latin american delegations were often chagrin united states did not give them the greek special consideration that they thought the western hemisphere nations vote right activists meeting of the united nations commission on human rights many forty conclusions could be drawn caisson day i do not intend to convey the advice that we somehow be less frequent latin american violators of human rights the correct in terms i think is where they're channeled to resolve certain problems within the family our neighbor israel that's alastair is not of course pure interesting in matters of human rights the aberrations in chile in the very entities somewhat recently will remain forever with the exception of a few countries latin american governments or authoritarian

autocratic anti democratic or are human rights and the violations of human rights protest in america now because we're going in fact that the demise of the alliance for progress until recently the best we can both in a benign neglect human rights that human rights are still burning issue in latin america you primarily incredibly strong and surviving democratic amendment of latin american ill will payne a democratic tradition again and again re assert itself by the president and in spite of the mockery from governments make the democratic war

native american military uniform kind of a thought or a credit card into an oligarch a form they're already under development with respect for constitutional practice now session with the aristocrats of purely because of ignorance we have to up and tried to protect human rights the lines with those terry gross for themselves the chief violett that's with a shortsighted tell you what today denied that are equally shortsighted fashionable recognition that we maintain our relationship with latin america rapprochement with democratic movements for him

proponents of knows better relationship and the apparent that magnanimous none of the parents' they share in the thing that just a latin american version of democratic tradition and potential they are unocal the comedy of human rights of latin america is indispensable not because they need us not because we will teach them democratic formulas not because we could've planned the redemption of latin america lived through the corridors of power in washington relationship the dispensable because we need them and we need them as interpreters of the country or the world we need them at the source of counsel the device may not sit well

with the current republican opponent of the superintendent there is no god really should be no special relationship between the united states and the rest of the country i think it would be a grave error occurs to proceed on a day that the country because by knowing that that's a relationship we may end up not having that would have even graver diplomatic political economic insecurity going to call to the topic at hand let me take your earlier period repercussions german of our common interest in human rights latin america human rights and important that regret would have come in a cultural limited legal provision that we did not get bogged down the mavericks well back at what we have together achieved already

yet there were ugly chapter in our common history but there've been all hope and what every pinochet we embrace we'll all of incredible people like ben corps or remember on a year ago elkhart the region formidable well every gun and have a weapon of war in the fact that they are under by armed conflict you are a native american base where the major role year we played a major role in your euro good one on the vein and learned of the only a heavily on duty helping to preserve the el salvador honduras border between costa rica and the girl one the threat of armed conflict appear imminent late nineteen seventy eight when argentina enjoy your yet provided a forum interviews the

most important of all however they look at one example of the orient in the area of international protection and promotion of human rights and the russians you only have to demonstrate a concern for human rights reflect and charter boat the political rights of individual in nineteen forty eight the month before the universal declaration of human rights is of amateur although a crop of the american declaration on why didn't believe the interamerican commission on human rights began functioning nineteen sixty commissioners started promoting environmental protection of human rights especially the right to life liberty and purple your body before the law freedom of religion and worship freedom of opinion expression right do crop at a fair trial and protection from over

korea yeah i got the job like banning them why nothing allege human rights violation making are recommending murmur government magic they might end up serving of human life a record of human rights you have a number of the asian human rights violations are vying for what american human rights commission requested the inquiry having been denied that require impeded the investigation but not all the commissions preparation of an objective reporter the orient general public however carry

out on fire investigations the panama canal problem or at the arrival of britain to argentina the schedule here the fact is that how they mandated a new permanent interamerican commission on your way into permanent council affirmed the need of a crime commission to continue their operation transitional period for the election of a new commission to pay for their back of them don't they fortunately innovation growing range of international agreements you are the first time that the court would look at the only states which ratified the american convention election and the court of a member recorded at home of the convention covenant important among them the

genocide convention on economic governance right right not ratified the treaty we get out on our own commitment to human rights and lose the corporate image of the nation for moral or not everton human rights bill and we're not entitle you running running although parliament are kind of that can be having an effect on july fourth nineteen seventy nine invented it that you either important inventions like a mansion roll

they apply moral the point of a human life earlier permeate all the old of our international activity court for the first time in history we can be pathetic without being missionary weekend the political and practical without becoming the thing is the real color we can be effective without imposing our willpower my important weekend in the book are a little what we are the nation you're at the i florida deputy assistant secretary of state of international organization affairs in the department of

state giving an overview of us human rights policies as they apply to latin america separate one complaint of state department officials and other latin american observers is the us has a blind spot in regard to the area's wine top might best be characterized by news media coverage of vents in latin america along the only news reported on was that a natural disaster or a military coup in latin american movies usually been the first sized problems occur in the various our speaker in this program will be a problem of that line america for many years you know in his address remarkable speech on the us blind spot towards latin america with a particular emphasis on the lack of appreciation of the rich cultural heritage of latin america

was always you also for us are you is your home your logo the wall urine or a romney you're

a girl oh well parliamentary report you liar uses laurel law

half years lou ra ra well all right are all all

the sewage the fire all fall following all you use it you're the underlying all wrong rumor already you know as you say oh well

moreover are only you can save all here is no the assumption well moral duty so when you are also says oh no room co workers morning and you're really used long a lot of the musical says the early hours of call a whole seconds stage where unlike those of western europe was to those used a new latin america and eastern europe represent futile

liberal it's a mexican revolution thing proceeded revolution the seven year old fought at nasa lottery to the rumor there's a truce in your area still the rose you go yet all using all you are is no reason no less so these up and listen

senators else mr sheeler as an owner walpole lives or the new york bureau all your years

they used to say scenes of jewish humor man all his news and all its capacity goes to software cheese now daisy's you are you holy jesus wal

mart says so much you're awesome we are your and they promised to save the euro so you were really amazed at eighty sheila you're great last year's eve those are usually anonymous are you rolling senator in argentina

these are things that one would think what fascinated americans are now he plunged right into that kind of caricature veterans to find again and again why do most and explaining the only ready to explode martian moons those countries european tradition if it is still so where from where children's schools of tall people because kagan want to build a new society where us the voters came down to eliminate every union inside subsequent perspectives of

the followers and leave mr west singing lead at the magnitude of the pilgrim fathers and i think if we were to take another look at the colonization in latin america from accessing respect in terms of what was happening to stay contending forces in spain you had and then ruin the same time and in other words such simplicity and says in terms of course cold begin and there were rich rich in one particular seized on i think that is that in the perception the united states really has inherited a lot of europe's perception of becoming the bridges in its history and i think that was really and i think that

you know recognition all the cultural pluralism the multinational dimensions of american society maly says what we really need things in mind you saying all right all right for example there is recognition that the united states has the full fifth largest hispanic population right and now me what does that mean does that mean the low or schools focus on the morning when a new patients so its heyday of menstruation type of six have been cut off in fact there is suddenly don't remember a

revulsion against funding litigation that people feel that it's recreating the separate but equal center which we have choices that we have to overcome two decades of academic i don't know if that's true in fact about they say all the right things but they didn't fear to correlate how can you have recognition all an ethnic group and then keep cutting our educational funding has it that this is a very personal view it's not does not represent the views of the organization american states but you cannot help but wonder about a one of the solutions is of course bringing to bear the domestic programs united states into a foreign policy apparatus i'm terry gross

he called tow program as well as an education scientific is a kind of regional mr beasley divisions education sciences all else we deal with the ministries all education sec national commission says scientists all and with the ministers of culture of those many years mexico where the action is for one exception united states you're used to now was a state department know about the film's set at the rest of the mix where they have

a very shrewd his tall in tandem where is sully of many homes mr leary we have thirteen interamerican centers all of that so that self denying very interesting it's huge the money that goes to the un to umass for to your religion marital status comes out thomas offers a congressional resolution that says a huge full state mood that

means economic humans are all right well it is raucous reality is seen as the farm also you go by the russians cultural

roles united states which is the most creative artistic creative an academic event at edinburgh scientists unless you create a used all through estonia nothing draw and that in my opinion is that the thing that they also create jobs is least no element in the letters section or ozone we're still seek to remove to remove the materialistic lose jobs for that is finally reversing your letters this is so self denying

policy the current administration finally agreed to put five hundred thousand dollars in tv original program the progress of the new songs seven years exclusively now the united states less with five thousand or so this is a one million-dollar just two percent of us funds what is again all respect us and have to explain that or nay as of last year we in good faith what kind of contact to try to make it with american institutions so that we have a counterpart these cultural centers function memory centers do with architectural restoration demonstration architecture meaning dr we're working with guatemala and restoration of empty well we

are working with the various institutions to prepare to take off we are developing we have two senators devoted to the protection of also a crust those center for redeveloping one of the reasons i'm here is we're trying to develop in latin america latin american studies gamer is a very interesting american experience in that year says the subject yesterday the multi disciplinary approach a holistic approach to the study of another culture you'll find several latin american studies in latin america can find exclusively political science original whereas in this country you go into area studies and you find the humanities and you find social sciences

the reason well the development of latin america in argentina and then several years later four months of chris' socks to cover puerto rico quite schumer's law from guatemala where fairly average argentine education every single worst political branches forget it and for a lot of american interest in starting this

america's cup tonight there's nothing in between sort of things will too during saddam's regime enjoy our use our usual fortunately so is america all ages

and we got all that we can here too follies is should music girl raised me already so for example when the national and leon was ship use they really don't since

i made a statement when the new cultural agency was created you know the interim international communications agency for the first time in public recognition that cultural exchanges indeed may benefit the united states as well as the other countries crucially international communication with president carter's mandate to tell ourselves says tonight show culture as well as diplomacy and the standing to deal effectively with the mission of the uss oh yeah it was fishing out who also wears these essential are simply more we won't participate

how are you she saw in july where are you it really created for the victims would like to have this experience of possibilities for humans best of the underlying principle or we deal directly with this kind of domestic constituency

walls here is a mystery speaking on the us is blind spots in american speakers in today's program more recent visitors to the ut austin campus american studies and you've been listening to meyer says this review jesus jesus

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