Abstract
THINKING AGAIN ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS Stephen D. Wrage c, Current wisdom has it that the issue of human rights was something of a flash in the pan. For President Carter it was a major item on the global agenda, but even the Carter administration eventually backed down from championing human rights. From President Reagan's perspective, promoting human rights is a quixotic enterprise and an unaffordable luxury in the face of the Soviet threat. Yet Reagan will not be permitted to ignore the issue entirely. Legislation dating from 19741 requires that the president certify to Congress twice yearly that all nations receiving aid have observed internationally recognized standards of human rights or have made progress to that end. Therefore, the president must press abusive regimes for evidence of bonafide efforts or face biannual embarrassment in the House. Such embarrassment could provoke a costly showdown, which might result in opposition to his decisions on foreign assistance. Certification ofEl Salvador, which is due inJanuary, may prove difficult. At the certification lastJuly, the administration could point to free elections, land reform, and the arrest of the suspected murderers of three Maryknoll nuns and a laywomen. Since then, death squads have begun to operate more freely, land reform has slowed, and the accused killers have gone untried. Recent reports of U.S.-directed secret missions from Honduras into Nicaragua2 1.Section 502B of the International Assistance Act of 1965, amended. 2.Newsweek, November 8, 1982, p. 42ff. Stephen D. Wrage, formerly assistant dean in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and currently a lecturer in international affairs there, is a Ph.D. candidate in foreign policy at SAIS. 219 220 SAIS REVIEW will make the process more difficult, while the new balance of seats in the House may encourage the leadership to seek a review of Central American policy as a whole.3 The Democratic leadership already has announced that it will thoroughly scrutinize the administration's handling of human rights. Thus, it is time to think again about the issue. Human rights, as a component of foreign policy, is wrapped in uncertainties . Its connection to the national interest is not clear and its precedents do not promise success. There is no good method for assessing human rights violations or measuring improvement, and there is no sure and effective means, short of major intervention, to correct human rights abuses. The greatest difficulty is the problem of trade-offs. One cannot pressure Pakistan on political prisoners without losing leverage on nuclear nonproliferation; one cannot question Turkey on censorship or torture without setting back negotiations on Cyprus. The more priority given the issue of human rights, the more intractable it becomes. President Reagan's silence on the issue ofhuman rights reflects its priority in his administration. He is thought to have named Jeane Kirkpatrick permanent representative to the United Nations on the basis of her article which attacked the Carter human rights policy.4 Ernest W. Lefever was nominated assistant secretary of state for human rights and humanitarian affairs after publishing a book of essays critical of President Carter's conceptualization of the issue.5 The Lefever nomination was withdrawn after human rights lobbyists protested and hearings broke down, but President Reagan showed his disinterest in human rights by letting the post stand empty for five months. His first positive step on human rights was taken when Elliot Abrams, former staffdirector for Senator Moynihan, was brought over from International Organization Affairs to head the human rights bureau. Abrams, who has great experience in human rights legislation and is well known on the Hill, was enthusiastically and rapidly confirmed by the Senate. Though originally suspected of being a Democratic "mole" in the administration, he reassured his critics in Foggy Bottom by taking a hard anti-Soviet stance. His experience on Capitol Hill and his past work on human rights have assured Congress, and he seems to have avoided making enemies simply by complying scrupulously with the laws regarding periodic reports and certification. In 3.In the words of Congressman Michael Barnes (D-Md.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Inter-American Affairs: "I think the new Congress will be a little bit tougher with the...
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