SPAN: June 1977

T

hroughout his long campaign for the Presidency, Jimmy Carter said that he would give the enhancement of human rights a central place in his foreign policy. Thus, it was no surprise when he emphasized human rights in his inaugural address and in a separate message to the citizens of the world on that occasion.

"Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both spirituality and human liberty," the President told Americans. "It is that unique self-definition which has given us an exceptional appeal, but it also imposes on us a special obligation Our commitment to human rights must be absolute The world itself is now dominated by a new spirit. Peoples more numerous and more politically aware are craving and now demanding their place in the sun-not just for the benefit of their own physical condition, but for basic human rights. The passion for freedom is on the rise. Tapping this new spirit, there can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for Americans to undertake on this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world that is truly humane .... Because we are free we can never be indifferent to the fate of freedom elsewhere. Our moral sense dictates a clear-cut preference for those societies which share with us an abiding respect for individual human rights."

And in his short inauguration day message to the world he summed it up more tersely: "You can depend on the United States to remain steadfast in its commitment to human freedom and liberty."

In the months following the inaugural address, President Carter and other members of the U.S. Government have made many statements amplifying and explaining this element of American foreign policy. Government officials and journalists pointed out, however, that concern for the rights of man was not a new aspect of the American tradition but was as old as the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights-and that a concern for civil liberties in other lands had been often expressed by U.S. Presidents.

In February, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance said that the United States was reducing aid to three nations because of human rights violations in those countries.

"We are conducting further reviews of our entire foreign policy," said Vance, "to seek ways to make it reflect and advance our human rights goals."

In early March, Defense Secretary Harold Brown expressed his Government's concern about alleged violations of human rights in a Central American nation. And that same week, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution pledging the "full support" of the Congress "to the Presi<!entand the Secretary of State in their efforts toward advancing the cause of human rights in the international community." This came soon after the U.S. Senate voted 91 to 0 to serve notice that the American people expect nations signing the Helsinki Agreement to live up to their commitments with respect to freer movement of peoples between East and West. Congressman John Breckinridge of Kentucky, cosponsor of the House resolution, said that some countries in particular have not honored their pledge "to ease restrictions on visiting and marrying across international borders." However, he added, Congressional concern extends "to all other nations ... who are denying fundamental freedoms."

In his March 9 press conference, President Carter reiterated the theme that his Government's interest in human rights was not directed against anyone country, but applied to all countries-including his own.

"I have long been concerned," he said, "about our own nation's stance in prohibiting American citizens to travel' to foreign countries. We also are quite eagerly assessing our own nation's 'policies that violate human rights as defined by the Helsinki Agreement. I want to be sure that we don't violate those rights. So I have instructed the Secretary of State to remove any travel restrictions on American citizens who want to go to Vietnam, to North Korea, to Cuba and to Cambodia. These restrictions will be lifted as of the 18th day of March."

The U.S. has dbne more than voice its concern. In early March there had been talk in Washington that in pursuing the goals of majority rule and human rights in Rhodesia the State Department wanted -to repeal the controversial Byrd Amendment, which has for the last six years allowed the U.S. to import Rhodesian chrome in spite of U.N. sanctions against trade with Rhodesia.

On March 18, President Carter signed a bill repealing this amendment. The new law reinstates America's embargo against the importation of Rhodesian chrome and other minerals, as well as any steel mill production containing Rhodesian chrtome. "This legislation," said President Carter, "is as¡ high in symbolic importance as any I will sign this year. It puts us on the side of what's right and proper."

In his March 24 speech in New York, Vice President Walter Mondale outlined a three-point plan aimed at advancing the cause of human rights.

The first thing we can do, he said, is to "speak out as the President has done" and "set a moral climate in which respect for human rights is not a side issue or a nagging irritation but a central concern and a central objective of governments and international bodies."

Second, he said, "we can, in appropriate circumstances, ensure that ¡our foreign assistance is being offe~'ed at the same time that efforts to promote greater respect for human rights are proceeding in the nations we are assisting."

Third, "we can set an example by our actions that we are committed to defending human rights in deed, as well as in word, at home, as well as abroad."

With regard to Mondale's second point, we have already seen that bilateral U.S. aid to three Latin American countries has been reduced because of their violations of human rights. In President Carter's March 18 message to the U.S. Congress, he asked for an over-all increase in foreign aid. But, he added, "we are now reforming the policies which have on occasion awarded liberal grants and loans to repressive regimes which violate human rights."

There were indications that this policy would be applicable to multilateral as well as bilateral aid programs.

On March 22 a member of the Carter Administration spoke of the nature of the reforin in aid policy. Addressing a House of Representatives subcommittee, C. Fred Bergsten, then U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury-designate for International Affairs, described how the U.S. concern for human rights would relate to international lending institutions.

"The Administration is also firmly committed to promotion of human rights in our consideration of loans made by the international development banks," said Bergsten, "and has had extensive discussions with members of Congress ... on how best to do so."

Bergsten appeared before the subcommittee to support the proposal to include clauses on human rights in legislation governing U.S. participation in internationally funded institutions. This bill would require the U.S. Government, "by its voice and vote" in these institutions, to "advance the cause of human rights by seeking to channel assistance toward countries other than those whose govern-

ments engage in a consistent pattern of gross violation of internationally recognized human rights, such as torture, or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment." The policy would apply to the World Bank, the International Development Association, the International Finance Corporation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the African Development Fund, and the Asian Development Bank.

Throughout thernany months that U.S. Government officials have been discussing the problem of human rights, the President has always made it clear that America was not sitting in judgment on other nations but was constantly looking for ways to enhance human rights and civil liberties at home as well as abroad. In addition to Jimmy Carter's references to freedom of U.S. citizens to travel, he has been constantly concerned with eradicating discriminatory barriers with regard to color and sex that still exist in the United States. (With regard to the latter, e

Jimmy Carter greets an old friend from Georgia, the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., father of the slain civil rights leader. President Carter's concern with human rights in the world derives in largepart from his long and deep devotion to civil liberties in the U.S. and his friendship with black lead~rssuch as Martin Luther King Jr.