The U.S. State Department has released its latest report on human rights and democracy. The report describes in detail the support that the U.S. government is giving to individuals and organizations that are working for positive change in human rights protection in over ninety countries.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says the report shows that the U.S. is involved in the day-to-day business of encouraging countries to build democratic systems and increased respect for human rights:
"We have reached a simple conclusion: the survival of liberty in our land is dependent on the growth of liberty in other lands. Freedom, democracy, and human rights are not American principles or Western values. These ideals are shared by all people. They are the non-negotiable demands of human dignity."
Ms. Rice says the past year has been a good one for democracy, human rights, and freedom:
"Elections in Afghanistan, the Palestinian territories and Iraq, and developments in places like Georgia and Ukraine and Lebanon, have brought the dramatic first steps of democracy to populations that have lived under tyranny and oppression for too long. What these dramatic events have shown us is that societies of free citizens must be founded on a commitment of the dignity of each individual."
The United States, says Secretary of State Rice, "will make it clear that ultimately, success in our relations depends on the treatment of their own people. America's belief in human dignity and human rights will guide our policy."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States government.
