Forty-five American hostages have been released since 2021, “including just in December when we brought home six American citizens ... wrongfully held in Venezuela,” declared Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a speech discussing hostage diplomacy at the Woodrow Wilson Center.
“But there are still too many people on that list,” he added.
Among them are Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, both wrongfully detained in Russia.
The United States is also working to bring home the remaining hostages in Gaza. “The agony that [the families] face – simply not knowing, not knowing the fate of their loved ones – is beyond our imaginations,” said Secretary Blinken.
“Unfortunately, this is part of a rising trend. Increasingly, states – but also non-state actors – are wrongfully detaining people, often as political pawns,” noted Secretary Blinken:
“This practice threatens the safety of everyone who travels, conducts business, who lives abroad. It’s, of course, a brazen violation of individual human rights of the victims, a violation of international law, a violation of state sovereignty – and first and foremost, a violation of their basic humanity.”
Bringing people home is our primary focus, said Secretary Blinken, “but it is not, in and of itself ... enough to resolve what is genuinely a crisis.”
“The international community has to join together to deter future detentions – so that we can actually put an end to this practice once and for all. And the most effective way to do that is through collective action,” he said. “That’s the spirit behind the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations. Now 74 countries plus the European Union have signed on to this initiative. And we’re proud to have endorsed the declaration back in January of 2021.”
This coalition is raising the financial and reputational costs of arbitrary detention, and strengthening global pressure against it, said Secretary Blinken.
“Together, we’re sending a clear message: Our citizens are not human bargaining chips. They are not political pawns. If any country wrongfully holds any of our people, we will hold them accountable,” he said.
“Our single most powerful tool to bring people home and deter future detentions is our collective will and our collective action, rooted in our common humanity,” said Secretary Blinken.
“We will not stop until every family is made whole and until this practice stops once and for all.”
