Sacrificing Human Rights for Naught

Obama’s silence on human rights and his continuing outreach to authoritarian regimes has yielded only discouraging results.

One of the ugliest aspects of President Barack Obama’s foreign policy has been its indifference to human rights abuses worldwide.  Despite the administration’s claim that it is merely prioritizing U.S. strategic interests over ideological aspirations, Obama’s outreach to authoritarian regimes has yielded discouraging results: China still refuses to accept binding cuts in carbon emissions; Iran is still pursuing nuclear capabilities; and Venezuela is reportedly looking to join Iran in the near-nuclear club.  In turn, many Americans are starting to fear that a key tenet of American exceptionalism – supporting pro-democratic forces against their authoritarian repressors – is being sacrificed for naught.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought to allay these concerns.  Speaking at Georgetown, Clinton declared that the Obama administration remains committed to promoting human rights abroad, but was doing so “pragmatically”:

Sometimes, we will have the most impact by publicly denouncing a government action, like the coup in Honduras or violence in Guinea. Other times, we will be more likely to help the oppressed by engaging in tough negotiations behind closed doors, like pressing China and Russia as part of our broader agenda. In every instance, our aim will be to make a difference, not to prove a point.

A few hours - but six thousand miles -- away from Foggy Bottom, another State Department event demonstrated the problems inherent in the Obama approach.  In a press conference at Tanta University, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey declared that Egyptians enjoy full freedom of the press and that Egyptian human rights organizations work in complete freedom (h/t Samuel Tadros).  So: did she "make a difference"? Alas no. This past weekend, an Egyptian court sentenced pro-democratic blogger Wael Abbas to six months in prison in absentia for sabotage.  (As if straight out of Kafka, Abbas is still unsure what he is being accused of sabotaging.)

The Obama administration's approach isn't "realist." It's useless.