Human Rights First RELEASES IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST 2001
report on human rights policy recommendations for the Bush Administration

New York, February 5, 2001 – Human Rights First made public today  In the National Interest 2001, its major report on human rights policy recommendations for theBush Administration.  Mike Posner, executive director of Human Rights First, said “Human Rights First is convinced that a strong human rights policy directly serves the national interest.  We know we will not always agree with the positions of the Bush Administration, but there are many areas where we can work together to advance human rights policies.”

The report makes 35 specific recommendations in six areas of human rights policy: promoting international workers’ rights, protecting the right to seek asylum in the U.S., supporting the International Criminal Court, protecting refugee rights globally, enhancing U.S. compliance with human rights treaties, and using the Internet to promote human rights.

Human Rights First delivered advance copies of the report to President George Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice last week.  In a cover letter to President Bush, Posner called on the President and his administration to develop strong human rights policies both domestically and abroad.  Posner wrote to President Bush “we see the global pursuit of human rights as an area where bipartisanship is both essential and realistic.”

Human Rights First has presented similar policy blueprints to each presidential administration since President George W. Bush’s father took office in 1989.  In the National Interest, like its predecessors, is the product of more than a year of extensive consultation with policy makers and experts whose views cut across the political spectrum.

In the National Interest calls on President Bush to take immediate steps to demonstrate his commitment to human rights.  The report calls on him to (1) publicly signal his commitment to making human rights a policy priority; (2) sustain and strengthen the human rights offices in the State Department and the White House; (3) publicly reaffirm that the protection of workers’ rights is an essential element of global prosperity; (4) recognize the protection of the rights of refugees globally as a high priority, a policy that will enhance regional stability and security; (5) support refugee protection in the U.S. by endorsing the Refugee Protection Act; and (6) launch a global technology initiative, in cooperation with the private sector, to expand Internet access and use.

# # #

For a copy of In the National Interest 2001 or to arrange interviews, please call S. Cryer, 212/845-5225 or L. Vladeck, 212/845-5259.
  The report is available on the Web at  www.humanrightsfirst.org