Clinton Reiterates U.S. Commitment to 'Robust' Rights Agenda

[Coventina]

Source: Washington Post

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, under fire for some of her recent remarks on human rights, insisted yesterday that the Obama administration regards the issue at the same level as economics and international security.

"A mutual and collective commitment to human rights is important to bettering our world as our efforts on security, global economics, energy, climate change and other pressing issues," Clinton told reporters after meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi at the State Department. She said she had raised with Yang the issue of Tibet and a resumption of a U.S.-China human rights dialogue.

"The Obama administration is absolutely committed to a robust, comprehensive human rights agenda," she said. "We're going to look for ways where we can be effective, where we can actually produce outcomes that will matter in the lives of people who are struggling for their rights to be full participants in their societies."

Last month, during her first trip as chief U.S. diplomat to Asia, Clinton provoked human rights activists by saying that pressing China on that issue "can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis and the security crisis." On matters such as greater freedom for Tibetans, Clinton said, "We pretty much know what going to say."



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031103807.html?hpid=sec-politics

[biopowertoday]

1. Thanks Hillary. I know you will do what you can in your postion.