The U.S. Department of State issued a new report April 5, called “Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record.” Unlike the Congressionally-mandated annual report on human rights, this one goes to Congress with a focus upon democracy promotion.
RFE/RL has an interview with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Erica Barks-Ruggles (wonder how she gets all that on her business card) that discusses the report's purpose and briefly summarizes democratization efforts in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as undertaken by the United States.
Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are on the South and Central Asia portion of the report; China is listed in the East Asia and Pacific portion, but Xinjiang is not specifically addressed. Where was Mongolia in this report? If someone finds it, please tell me where I missed it.
One big rollback for civil society in Central Asia has been the loss of status for non-governmental organizations. Guiding diplomatic principles of the U.S. on the treatment of NGOs here.
Photo: Evatt Foundation
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