David Corn: Trump Drops "Human Rights" From Top White House Job

[babylonsister]

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/trump-human-rights-nsc-hall-duterte


Trump Drops "Human Rights" From Top White House Job
And he seems to be doing the same with his foreign policy.

David Corn
May 3, 2017 7:34 AM

snip//


The White House used to have a senior National Security Council post called "special assistant to the president for multilateral affairs and human rights." This staffer coordinated, developed, and helped implement government policy related to human rights and humanitarian relief. This included a host of matters, including refugee assistance, human trafficking, and the law of war (think drones, Guantanamo, and torture). A main responsibility was, of course, pushing for human rights abroad—not always an easy task when doing so might clash with other priorities of an administration. One of this position's more prominent occupants in recent years was Samantha Power, a human rights advocate who won a Pulitzer Prize for a book on how US policy has responded to genocide. She was appointed to the position by President Barack Obama in 2009 and then later tapped to be his ambassador to the United Nations. (Under President George W. Bush, this NSC job was called "special assistant for democracy, human rights, and international operations." During the Clinton administration, it was "special assistant for multilateral and humanitarian affairs.&quot

Under Trump, the title for this position has been changed to "special assistant for international organizations and alliances." Note "human rights" has been excised. And the person named to the post by Trump—Garry Hall—has no background in human rights policy.

snip//

Whether Trump wants to embrace or ignore human rights in his foreign policy, the NSC has to handle a number of human rights obligations. Each year, the State Department releases a human rights report, and there are numerous laws—including laws related to human trafficking, child soldiers, and US military aid to other governments—that require the administration to issue reports and determinations related to human rights. "All these issues have to have a place to live within the White House," Berschinki says. "We hope the NSC is appropriately staffed with knowledgeable people who work these issues."

Yet, as Pomper notes, "Trump has shown that human rights is not a priority for him. So advocating for these issues inside the administration is not going to be easy."

Duterte is not the only autocrat Trump has cozied up to. He hailed Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi for doing "a fantastic job." He repeatedly has praised Vladimir Putin, dismissing criticism that Putin was a "killer." His lack of concern with human rights appears to be reflected in the Hall appointment. In Washington, people often say personnel is policy. If that's true, Trump, with this hire, is sending a clear signal: Human rights are not taken seriously in his White House.

[2naSalit]

1. K&R

[oasis]

2. Trump doesn't give a shit about anything that doesn't make him money. nt