U.S. Secretary of State Rice Asks World to “Defend the Defenders” of Human Rights and Democracy; NGOs Call on Community of Democracies to Follow Lead
December 15, 2006

U.S. Sectary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke out against the assault on democracy where “NGOs and other human rights defenders are under siege” at a recent State Department ceremony honoring Human Rights Week.  She called on the democracies of the world to “defend the defenders” by “pushing back” against governments who aggressively undermine civil society.  Rice said that it is “imperative that democratic governments work in concert to defend the vital role that NGOs play in building free societies.”

The Washington Times reports that at the ceremony assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor Barry Lowenkron specifically singled out Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as countries that have “pushed back against NGOs.”

As a part of the plan to “defend the defenders” Secretary Rice announced the United States is implementing “…three key initiatives in support of NGOs and all who advance the cause of freedom in our world.”  This includes the creation of a one million dollar per year Human Rights Fund to disburse small grants to organizations, the creation and emphasize of ten principles to assess the treatment of NGOs, and the creation of two human rights awards.  These awards will be presented to foreign individuals, NGOs and U.S. Ambassadors “who has devoted the full diplomatic influence of our (U.S.) government to help end tyranny and promote democracy.”

According to the Washington Times, Lowenkron also reiterated that any foreign government interference in U.S. funding to award recipients “will become part of the relationship with that country.”  President of the National Democratic Institute Kenneth Wollack praised Rice’s announcement, saying that “the amount of money is not as important as the political message this is sending,” and called for bi-partisan support of the initiatives.

Freedom House also released a press release following the announcement by Secretary Rice welcoming the “first step in demonstrating that the U.S. government is willing to actively engage to protect democracy and human rights activists…”  Freedom House Executive Director Jennifer Windsor called on the members of the Community of Democracies to follow the lead of the U.S. government by adopting the ten principles of NGO treatment and the allocation of funds to outgoing organizations.

References:

Freedom House Press Release: Freedom House and ICNL Welcome U.S. Initiative on Backlash Against Freedom's Defenders
U.S. Department of State: Human Rights Day Commemoration
U.S. State Department Lists "10 Guiding Principles" on Treatment of NGOs
Washington Times: Bush creates activists' funding