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The original message has been attached to this so you can view it or label similar future email. If you have any questions, see root\@localhost for details. Content preview: You are subscribed to Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor for U.S. Department of State. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: Briefing on the Release of the 2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices [ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/04/280671.htm ] 04/20/2018 03:58 PM EDT Special Briefing Michael G. Kozak ActingPrincipal Deputy Assistant Secretary,Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Press Briefing Room Washington, DC April 20, 2018 [...] Content analysis details: (-13.2 points, 3.0 required) pts rule name description ---- ---------------------- -------------------------------------------------- 0.0 URIBL_BLOCKED ADMINISTRATOR NOTICE: The query to URIBL was blocked. 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This information has recently been updated, and is now avai= lable. Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor: Briefing on the Release of the 2017 C= ountry Reports on Human Rights Practices [ http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/= ps/2018/04/280671.htm ] 04/20/2018 03:58 PM EDT=20 Special Briefing Michael G. Kozak=20 ActingPrincipal Deputy Assistant Secretary,Bureau of Democracy, Human Rig= hts, and Labor Press Briefing Room Washington, DC April 20, 2018=20 ________________________________________________________________________ *MS NAUERT:* Ambassador Kozak will take some of your questions, and Ill k= ick off those questions. So thank you very much. One second. Sir, come on= up. Thank you.=20 Lets start our first question with the Associated Presss Matt Lee.=20 *QUESTION:* Thank you. I realize that this report doesnt cover the United= States and but in this preface and in his comments just now, Acting Sec= retary Sullivan talked about how the U.S. is promoting promotes and defe= nds rights, and that thats central to us as a country, and that the Unite= d States will lead other nations by example in promoting rule of law and = respect for human rights.=20 And Im just wondering how effective you think that you can be in leading = by example when you take you accuse numerous there a lot of countries = of, say, assaults on press freedom when here, in this country, we have a = President who routinely excoriates the press, calling individual media ou= tlets and individual reporters sometimes fake news. Im wondering how yo= u can criticize countries for discrimination against LGBT people when thi= s administrations stated policy is to exclude transgender people from ser= ving in the military. Im wondering about discrimination of criticism of = other countries for discriminating against religious minorities when cour= ts and a lot of critics see the travel ban as, in fact, a ban on one part= icular religion. And lastly, you criticize countries for the mistreatment= and refoulement of refugees, which I suppose this administration is not = in that great of a position to do because it doesnt accept hardly any ref= ugees, or at least far fewer than it ever did before.=20 So how is this not how do you not open yourself up to charges of hypocri= sy, and how effective do you think you can be at leading by example? Than= k you.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Okay, lets see if I can remember each one of those. B= ut I think as you go through the report, youll see the countries that we = criticize for limiting press freedom, its for things like having criminal= libel laws where you can be put in jail for what you say. Its for things= like yanking the licenses of media outlets you dont like or, in many cas= es, killing the journalists. So I think we make quite a distinction betwe= en political leaders being able to speak out and say that that story was = not accurate or using even stronger words sometimes, and using state powe= r to prevent the journalists from continuing to do their work. So I think= theres an example there, and weve used that with many of our colleagues.= =20 The other end of your stream was refoulement, which is a legal term. Its = sending somebody back to a place where they are where you know theyre go= ing to be persecuted or where they have a well-founded fear of persecutio= n without going through due process to assess the risk to them. And of co= urse, our law provides that people have rights of appeal through the immi= gration courts system and into the federal courts if they think theyre go= ing to be. So it doesnt go to the quantity of refugees; it goes to whethe= r youre --=20 *QUESTION:* Right, I understand. But youre not in a position if you even = wanted to refoule a refugee, you dont have many to do it to. But its also= mistreatment of refugees. Its not just that. So --=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Yeah, and that usually involves, as youll find docume= nted in many countries in the report, physical mistreatment of refugees a= nd that kind of thing. Your --=20 *QUESTION:* LGBT.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* LGBT. As we are very clear in the reports, and this h= as been U.S. policy for some time, the things were focused on are is: Has= the government in question criminalized same-sex sexual activity, and th= ats highlighted now right up front in the reports; have they failed to pr= event violence against people because of their LGBT status, or the same a= pplies to ethnic groups and religious and so on; and then, third, discrim= ination in housing, employment, and government services. Usually, militar= y and police are a slightly different form of government employment. So y= ou can have a debate about that one, but most of the other countries wher= e were criticizing them, I think we would be very happy if they were foll= owing the procedures we are.=20 There are a lot of policy decisions in these areas that governments make = that arent internationally recognized human rights, so thats where we try= to distinguish. And thats not thats nothing new. Thats been the case in= the last couple of administrations as well.=20 *QUESTION:* Thank you.=20 *MS NAUERT:* Michelle from CNN.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Yeah.=20 *QUESTION:* Id like to know if you think that such statements in the Unit= ed States weaken the impact of this report, because the American Presiden= t has called the press an enemy of the people. And I think at one point h= e called for a closer look at libel laws or something like that. Do you t= hink in the eyes of people that are looking at this report, as an example= and as a resource, do statements like that currently weaken its impact?=20= *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Well, I think the report is very clear about the kind= s of things that we consider to be inappropriate restrictions on freedom = of the media as I mentioned, using the legal system to go after members = of the press, using physical force and so on. It doesnt go to the nature = of discourse in a country. And you can have your own judgments as to how = how strong a statement might or might not be, but I dont I dont think w= e have a hard time explaining that in a lot of places. When you talk to s= ome of my friends in Cuba, for example, who try to be independent journal= ists there and are routinely slapped around, they also get called names, = but they I think if it were limited to that theyd be pretty happy as com= pared to the situation now. So --=20 *QUESTION:* And when the State Department is talking about this represent= s our values as Americans, the removal of sections on womens reproductive= rights why is that not included in values as Americans?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Theres still a long section on women. And by the way,= if you look elsewhere in the report, I mean, women are also activists, a= re also journalists. There are yeah, now --=20 *QUESTION:* Understood. But its so conspicuous that its removed.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Let me now, it was Im going to explain why it was r= emoved. It was introduced six years ago into the report. It hadnt been th= ere before. The its one of the few terms that are used in the report tha= t isnt derived from an international treaty that has a definition or deri= ved from U.S. law, where theres a clear definition to the term.=20 And in this case, the previous administration intended it to mean look at= the availability of contraception, at the whether the government tried = to impose or coerce people in making decisions about reproduction. In the= statements that were made this was derived from the Beijing Declaration= that was done in the 90s.=20 At that time, it was very clear and our delegation made a very clear stat= ement that this has nothing to do with abortion, it doesnt mean abortion,= it doesnt mean abortion. Unfortunately, over the last few years, groups = on both sides of that issue domestically have started to use the term, an= d both seem to think it does include abortion and then argue about it.=20= So our thought was lets just not use a term that has the opposite meaning= from the one we intend. We went back to the term thats used in the U.S. = statute that requires the Human Rights Report, which is coerced family pl= anning, namely coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization.=20 I might mention too, because I went back and looked at last years report,= the question being asked was, Were there obstacles opposed to getting co= ntraception information and means? The answer in virtually every country = was no, there were no obstacles other than, in almost every country, incl= uding our own, the availability in rural areas is less than it is in urba= n areas. But we were taking a lot of space to explain that.=20 So what weve done, weve kept that information in there. Weve done it now = by a hyperlink. We used to take that information from the WHO report and = put it in. We said lets just use a hyperlink, and then theres actually mo= re information available that way.=20 So thats the rationale behind that. Its not a diminishment of womens righ= ts or a desire to get away from it; it was to stop using a term that has = several different meanings that are not all the ones we intend.=20 *MS NAUERT:* Okay. Dave Clark from AFP.=20 *QUESTION:* Hi, thank you very much. When countries around the world are = looking at the U.S. for leadership on human rights, should they be lookin= g at this report, or should they be looking at President Trumps embrace o= f Rodrigo Duterte, of meeting with Sisi, and with the very warm relations= with Mohammed bin Salman, who runs a country where women have no rights = at all? Is what sends the stronger signal, the Presidents close personal= friendship with Xi Jinping and his golf tours at Mar-a-Lago or you at th= at podium decrying human rights abuses?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Well, this is a official report, and by the way, I th= ink its one of the most widely read U.S. Government documents in the worl= d when we do the hit counts on the internet. Its put out in the name of t= he Secretary of State, who was just here to deliver it, and he certainly = is reflecting the President in this.=20 I think this is showing what we assess to be the human rights situation i= n all of the countries youve just mentioned, including now even more so = the responsibility of the government for the abuses that are occurring t= here. Theyre not were not just saying there are these societal problems = in the country; were saying the government either has done these bad deed= s or not. And Ill give you some examples.=20 In Russia we highlighted the fact their response to an increase in domes= tic violence there and they have a terrible problem, I mean tens of thou= sands of deaths of women being killed in domestic disputes every year. Bu= t since it went up, the government spokesman who went into the State Duma= said, Well, we have to decriminalize this, because its better that our w= omen be beaten than that our men be humiliated by their behavior. So and= this was Putins party, they decriminalized spousal beating. So not a ver= y good thing.=20 Now, does that mean that the President should never speak to these people= ? This is what were trying to keep the report as the factual baseline fo= r what were going to do in policy terms or sanctions as the secretary was= mentioning. So we can learn a lot from this, and we can use it to formul= ate a policy. But usually part of your policy is engaging with the people= whose behavior youre trying to change at some level. And I dont think th= ose two things are in distinction. The fact is, these other governments a= nd their populations do read the report, and I dont think they discount i= t because the President speaks with their leader or otherwise. And when t= he President speaks to their leader, often hes talking about these issues= , so its its complementary, its not a two things that are in conflict=20= *QUESTION: *Since were citing examples, what does Saudi law say about spo= usal abuse?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK: *Saudi law is very, very restrictive on women. Weve tr= ied to encourage changes in that, weve seen the minor changes that are re= flected in the report, that theyve started to say theyre going to allow w= omen to drive cars and so on. That isnt very much, but it is a baby step = in the right direction, and were trying to encourage more of that kind of= reform at the same time that were calling out the areas in which theyre = deficient, which are many.=20 *MS NAUERT: *All right, Rich Hudson from Fox News.=20 *QUESTION: *Thanks, Heather. Ambassador, I want to follow up a little bit= on Saudi Arabia, the conversation you were just having with Dave. You no= te in the report and a lot has happened on the government level in Saudi= Arabia in just the past year, and you note in the report the jailing or = hoteling of 200 officials there.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK: *Yep. Hoteling, thats a good (laughter).=20 *QUESTION: *Are you overall, in Saudi Arabia, are you encouraged by some= of the things that are happening? Are you discouraged by whats happened = over the last year? Where do you see the trend going in Saudi Arabia?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK: *Well, of course its always hard to predict trends, bu= t I think Im always encouraged when you start to see things break out of= a static holding pattern. When you see a little bit of change as were se= eing in Saudi Arabia, and the hoteling was connected to ostensibly anywa= y to more of concern about corruption, which is not another one of our = issues, insofar as corruption and human rights abuse seem to tend to go = together.=20 So were trying to encourage that kind of movement on the part of the Saud= is. At the same time, you can look at that and say, Well, you didnt do th= is with sufficient due process, and I think thats also well spelled-out h= ere. So its trying to get that right balance of, hey heres where we think= youre deficient, but were seeing some movement and were trying to encour= age the movement in the positive direction and see more. But Im usually m= ore encouraged when I see some movement going on than when things are jus= t stuck in the same rut for years and years and years. So in that sense, = at least theres an opportunity there. Well see if it comes to anything.=20= *QUESTION: *So is hoteling now going to be standard language in --=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK: *I think your colleague just came up with a new term w= ith --=20 *MS NAUERT: *Cindy with Voice of America. We have a few minutes left.=20 *QUESTION: *Yes, thank you. We were talking about press freedoms, and you= re probably aware that in Nicaragua, the Ortega Government ordered at lea= st five television stations off the air for their coverage of massive pro= tests. What is the U.S. Government prepared to do to stem this new wave o= f repression?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK: *Well, Nicaragua is and I think if you looked at the = report is going to wrong direction on many fronts and that is one of the= m, of media freedom. But also on all the basics, I mean, its a long litan= y of torture, extrajudicial killing, the elections were a sham. And so we= ve put more and more pressure on I think youll see some of the sanctions= programs will start to affect some people in that country. But its a tou= gh one; the Ortega Government has basically shut down a lot of the opposi= tion, a lot of the independent civil society organizations as well as the= free media.=20 So I mean, in our policy everywhere, and certainly in Nicaragua, is to tr= y to provide both moral and to the extent we can support NGOs and so on = that are working to keep to help them keep working, help free media keep= working, and bring about a change in that dimension. But its its tough,= but we cant do it ourselves. We have to be in a position of supporting t= he people in those countries that are trying to bring about change, and w= e try to do that through a variety of means.=20 The Secretary Im not sure he met with any Nicaraguans but at the Summit= of the Americas had meetings with civil society activists from Cuba, Ven= ezuela same camp as Nicaragua and it was in part just to give them that= show that we stand with them and that were trying to be supportive of w= hat theyre trying to do to bring about change in their own country.=20 *QUESTION:* Can I ask a question about Gaza and --=20 *MS NAUERT:* Janne. Janne, go right excuse me, Janne, go right ahead.=20= *QUESTION:* On North Korean human rights issues, as the North Korean nucl= ear issue is an important issue and the North Korean human rights is also= serious issues, unless the regime of the North Korean Kim Jong-un change= s, the North Korean human rights abuse against the North Korean people wi= ll continue. What is the U.S. solutions on this?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Okay. We have I mean, we are concerned about the nuc= lear issue in North Korea, but were equally concerned about the human rig= hts issues, and they both derive from the same problem. And I think you s= ee in the report weve laid out pretty starkly the kinds of abuses, and ov= er the last year or two, weve supported, like, a commission of inquiry on= North Korea, we support NGOs that are working on North Korea and exposin= g the human rights abuses that occur in the camps there and so on. But so= me of the stories that are contained in the report are just overwhelming.= Theres one about 11 people who were arrested for supposedly making a por= nographic film and they were executed by shooting anti-artillery weapons = at them, and then they brought out tanks and ran over the bodies, and thi= s is supposed to be a civilized country.=20 So I dont think you will see a diminishment in our concern about that iss= ue even as we try to work the nuclear issue. Its not a trade-off. I think= the Presidents laid out a vision there that North Korea can get on a muc= h better path, but it needs to make progress across the board, not just o= n one issue.=20 *QUESTION:* Do you have any --=20 *MS NAUERT:* Michel.=20 *QUESTION:* Yeah, thank you. Sir, you the report considers China, Russia= , Iran, and North Korea forces of instability. What do you mean by that? = And will there be any consequences?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Well, I dont know that weve called them as forces of = instability in the report. Perhaps --=20 *QUESTION:* Yeah, in the --=20 *QUESTION:* In the preface.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* In the preface. Okay.=20 *QUESTION:* Yeah, exactly.=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* Well, I think that has to do with their international= behavior as well as their internal behavior. I mean, sometimes, internal= behavior you cant really separate them because when you start oppressin= g your own people, you generate refugee flows, you generate humanitarian = crises like youre seeing in Venezuela, for example. So but theres not s= aying something is a force of instability is saying or characterizing a s= et of facts. It doesnt necessarily have a prescribed policy flow. None of= this does.=20 This report doesnt say countries that reach a certain level were going to= cut off aid or something like that. Its the factual predicate for making= those decisions, but those are policy decisions where the President and = his advisors will have to weigh a whole number of factors.=20 *MS NAUERT:* And our final question --=20 *QUESTION:* Can I ask can I ask a question on the Gaza and the West Bank= .=20 *MS NAUERT:* -- Kylie from CBS News.=20 *QUESTION:* Because, I mean, he pointed to --=20 *QUESTION:* Can I just go back to the reproductive rights for a second? S= o you said there are no obstacles for women to get contraception in any c= ountry except for if theres a remote issue, right?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* I said with some exceptions, and the exceptions were = and still are and weve really gotten at it by flipping back to the origi= nal U.S. statutory language. Its in places like China, where in order to = enforce their two now two-child policy, that there are reports of coerce= d abortion and involuntary sterilization. In North Korea, where the gover= nment also coerces or forces abortion although sometimes thats for polit= ical punishment rather than family planning. And we uncovered it so as w= e were digging through trying to reduce the bulk of some of this report, = I found in the old country I served in, in Belarus, that it turns out tha= t the doctors in the state hospitals, and particularly in the institution= s there, if they have a woman who is pregnant and who is a woman with dis= abilities, the doctors insist on an abortion. Or if they believe the fetu= s has a disability, theyll insist on an abortion. So weve called that out= too.=20 So its not those were the cases, though, in the under the previous form= ula where you would say there was a restriction on family planning, freed= om of family planning. For most countries, it said, there isnt any restri= ction except for the ones imposed by economics and rural-urban type thing= . So --=20 *QUESTION:* So just to be clear just on that, so taking out the language = about those cases therefore means that the U.S. doesnt believe that the i= nability for women to get an abortion physically or by law is an abuse of= human rights?=20 *AMBASSADOR KOZAK:* That correct under the previous administration and t= his one and the one before that. We have never taken the position that ab= ortion was a right under a human right under international law. This is = supposed to be internationally recognized human rights, and its an issue = on which some countries prohibit abortion, some countries, like our own,= pretty much no restriction on it, and we dont say one of those is right = and one of those is wrong. We dont report on it because its not a human r= ight. Its an issue of great policy debate, you can have a good discussion= , but theres no internationally recognized standard as to whats the right= treatment.=20 But the other, yes. The it is internationally recognized that somebody s= houldnt coerce you to have an abortion or force you to be sterilized, so = thats --=20 *MS NAUERT: *Thank you, sir.=20 *QUESTION:* Can I ask a question on the Palestinian --=20 *MS NAUERT: *We the ambassador has to go. Thank you so much.=20 *QUESTION:* Yeah, one quick question on the Palestinian (inaudible).=20 *MS NAUERT: *We have to go. Sir, thank you. Thank you. Well get you anoth= er time.=20 "The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this= site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department. 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Democracy, Human Rights, a= nd Labor: Briefing on the Release of the 2017 Country Reports on Human Ri= ghts Practices
04/20/2018 03:58 PM EDT
Special Briefing
Michael G. Kozak
Acting=A0Principal Deputy Assistant Secre= tary,=A0Bureau of Democracy, Huma= n Rights, and Labor
Press Briefing Room
Washington, DC
April 20, 2018

=09

MS NAUERT: Ambassador Kozak will take some of your quest= ions, and I=92ll kick off those questions. So thank you very much. One se= cond. Sir, come on up. Thank you.

=09Let=92s start our first question with the Associated Press=92s Matt Le= e.

=09QUESTION: Thank you. I realize that this report doesn= =92t cover the United States and =96 but in this preface and in his comme= nts just now, Acting Secretary Sullivan talked about how the U.S. is prom= oting =96 promotes and defends rights, and that that=92s central to us as= a country, and that the United States will lead other nations by example= in promoting rule of law and respect for human rights.

=09And I=92m just wondering how effective you think that you can be in le= ading by example when you take =96 you accuse numerous =96 there =96 a lo= t of countries of, say, assaults on press freedom when here, in this coun= try, we have a President who routinely excoriates the press, calling indi= vidual media outlets =96 and individual reporters sometimes =96 fake news= . I=92m wondering how you can criticize countries for discrimination agai= nst LGBT people when this administration=92s stated policy is to exclude = transgender people from serving in the military. I=92m wondering about di= scrimination of =96 criticism of other countries for discriminating again= st religious minorities when courts and a lot of critics see the travel b= an as, in fact, a ban on one particular religion. And lastly, you critici= ze countries for the mistreatment and refoulement of refugees, which I su= ppose this administration is not in that great of a position to do becaus= e it doesn=92t accept hardly any refugees, or at least far fewer than it = ever did before.

=09So how is this not =96 how do you not open yourself up to charges of h= ypocrisy, and how effective do you think you can be at leading by example= ? Thank you.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Okay, let=92s see if I can remember= each one of those. But I think as you go through the report, you=92ll se= e the countries that we criticize for limiting press freedom, it=92s for = things like having criminal libel laws where you can be put in jail for w= hat you say. It=92s for things like yanking the licenses of media outlets= you don=92t like or, in many cases, killing the journalists. So I think = we make quite a distinction between political leaders being able to speak= out and say that that story was not accurate or using even stronger word= s sometimes, and using state power to prevent the journalists from contin= uing to do their work. So I think there=92s an example there, and we=92ve= used that with many of our colleagues.

=09The other end of your stream was refoulement, which is a legal term. I= t=92s sending somebody back to a place where they are =96 where you know = they=92re going to be persecuted or where they have a well-founded fear o= f persecution without going through due process to assess the risk to the= m. And of course, our law provides that people have rights of appeal thro= ugh the immigration courts system and into the federal courts if they thi= nk they=92re going to be. So it doesn=92t go to the quantity of refugees;= it goes to whether you=92re --

=09QUESTION: Right, I understand. But you=92re not in a = position if you even wanted to refoule a refugee, you don=92t have many t= o do it to. But it=92s also mistreatment of refugees. It=92s not just tha= t. So --

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Yeah, and that usually involves, as= you=92ll find documented in many countries in the report, physical mistr= eatment of refugees and that kind of thing. Your --

=09QUESTION: LGBT.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: LGBT. As we are very clear in the r= eports, and this has been U.S. policy for some time, the things we=92re f= ocused on are is: Has the government in question criminalized same-sex se= xual activity, and that=92s highlighted now right up front in the reports= ; have they failed to prevent violence against people because of their LG= BT status, or the same applies to ethnic groups and religious and so on; = and then, third, discrimination in housing, employment, and government se= rvices. Usually, military and police are a slightly different form of gov= ernment employment. So you can have a debate about that one, but most of = the other countries where we=92re criticizing them, I think we would be v= ery happy if they were following the procedures we are.

=09There are a lot of policy decisions in these areas that governments ma= ke that aren=92t internationally recognized human rights, so that=92s whe= re we try to distinguish. And that=92s not =96 that=92s nothing new. That= =92s been the case in the last couple of administrations as well.

=09QUESTION: Thank you.

=09MS NAUERT: Michelle from CNN.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Yeah.

=09QUESTION: I=92d like to know if you think that such s= tatements in the United States weaken the impact of this report, because = the American President has called the press an enemy of the people. And I= think at one point he called for a closer look at libel laws or somethin= g like that. Do you think in the eyes of people that are looking at this = report, as an example and as a resource, do statements like that currentl= y weaken its impact?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Well, I think the report is very cl= ear about the kinds of things that we consider to be inappropriate restri= ctions on freedom of the media =96 as I mentioned, using the legal system= to go after members of the press, using physical force and so on. It doe= sn=92t go to the nature of discourse in a country. And you can have your = own judgments as to how =96 how strong a statement might or might not be,= but I don=92t =96 I don=92t think we have a hard time explaining that in= a lot of places. When you talk to some of my friends in Cuba, for exampl= e, who try to be independent journalists there and are routinely slapped = around, they also get called names, but they =96 I think if it were limit= ed to that they=92d be pretty happy as compared to the situation now. So = --

=09QUESTION: And when the State Department is talking ab= out this represents our values as Americans, the removal of sections on w= omen=92s reproductive rights =96 why is that not included in values as Am= ericans?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: There=92s still a long section on w= omen. And by the way, if you look elsewhere in the report, I mean, women = are also activists, are also journalists. There are =96 yeah, now --

=09QUESTION: Understood. But it=92s so conspicuous that = it=92s removed.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Let me =96 now, it was =96 I=92m go= ing to explain why it was removed. It was introduced six years ago into t= he report. It hadn=92t been there before. The =96 it=92s one of the few t= erms that are used in the report that isn=92t derived from an internation= al treaty that has a definition or derived from U.S. law, where there=92s= a clear definition to the term.

=09And in this case, the previous administration intended it to mean look= at the availability of contraception, at the =96 whether the government = tried to impose or coerce people in making decisions about reproduction. = In the statements that were made =96 this was derived from the Beijing De= claration that was done in the =9190s.

=09At that time, it was very clear and our delegation made a very clear s= tatement that this has nothing to do with abortion, it doesn=92t mean abo= rtion, it doesn=92t mean abortion. Unfortunately, over the last few years= , groups on both sides of that issue domestically have started to use the= term, and both seem to think it does include abortion and then argue abo= ut it.

=09So our thought was let=92s just not use a term that has the opposite m= eaning from the one we intend. We went back to the term that=92s used in = the U.S. statute that requires the Human Rights Report, which is coerced = family planning, namely coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization.

=09I might mention too, because I went back and looked at last year=92s r= eport, the question being asked was, =93Were there obstacles opposed to g= etting contraception information and means?=94 The answer in virtually ev= ery country was no, there were no obstacles other than, in almost every c= ountry, including our own, the availability in rural areas is less than i= t is in urban areas. But we were taking a lot of space to explain that.

=09So what we=92ve done, we=92ve kept that information in there. We=92ve = done it now by a hyperlink. We used to take that information from the WHO= report and put it in. We said let=92s just use a hyperlink, and then the= re=92s actually more information available that way.

=09So that=92s the rationale behind that. It=92s not a diminishment of wo= men=92s rights or a desire to get away from it; it was to stop using a te= rm that has several different meanings that are not all the ones we inten= d.

=09MS NAUERT: Okay. Dave Clark from AFP.

=09QUESTION: Hi, thank you very much. When countries aro= und the world are looking at the U.S. for leadership on human rights, sho= uld they be looking at this report, or should they be looking at Presiden= t Trump=92s embrace of Rodrigo Duterte, of meeting with Sisi, and with th= e very warm relations with Mohammed bin Salman, who runs a country where = women have no rights at all? Is =96 what sends the stronger signal, the P= resident=92s close personal friendship with Xi Jinping and his golf tours= at Mar-a-Lago or you at that podium decrying human rights abuses?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Well, this is a official report, an= d by the way, I think it=92s one of the most widely read U.S. Government = documents in the world when we do the hit counts on the internet. It=92s = put out in the name of the Secretary of State, who was just here to deliv= er it, and he certainly is reflecting the President in this.

=09I think this is showing what we assess to be the human rights situatio= n in all of the countries you=92ve just mentioned, including =96 now even= more so =96 the responsibility of the government for the abuses that are= occurring there. They=92re not =96 we=92re not just saying there are the= se societal problems in the country; we=92re saying the government either= has done these bad deeds or not. And I=92ll give you some examples.

=09In Russia we highlighted the fact =96 their response to an increase in= domestic violence there =96 and they have a terrible problem, I mean ten= s of thousands of deaths of women being killed in domestic disputes every= year. But since it went up, the government spokesman who went into the S= tate Duma said, =93Well, we have to decriminalize this, because it=92s be= tter that our women be beaten than that our men be humiliated by their be= havior.=94 So =96 and this was Putin=92s party, they decriminalized spous= al beating. So not a very good thing.

=09Now, does that mean that the President should never speak to these peo= ple? This is what =96 we=92re trying to keep the report as the factual ba= seline for what we=92re going to do in policy terms or sanctions as the s= ecretary was mentioning. So we can learn a lot from this, and we can use = it to formulate a policy. But usually part of your policy is engaging wit= h the people whose behavior you=92re trying to change at some level. And = I don=92t think those two things are in distinction. The fact is, these o= ther governments and their populations do read the report, and I don=92t = think they discount it because the President speaks with their leader or = otherwise. And when the President speaks to their leader, often he=92s ta= lking about these issues, so it=92s =96 it=92s complementary, it=92s not = a =96 two things that are in conflict

=09QUESTION: Since we=92re citing examples, what does Sa= udi law say about spousal abuse?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Saudi law is very, very restrictive= on women. We=92ve tried to encourage changes in that, we=92ve seen the m= inor changes that are reflected in the report, that they=92ve started to = say they=92re going to allow women to drive cars and so on. That isn=92t = very much, but it is a baby step in the right direction, and we=92re tryi= ng to encourage more of that kind of reform at the same time that we=92re= calling out the areas in which they=92re deficient, which are many.

=09MS NAUERT: All right, Rich Hudson from Fox News.

=09QUESTION: Thanks, Heather. Ambassador, I want to foll= ow up a little bit on Saudi Arabia, the conversation you were just having= with Dave. You note in the report =96 and a lot has happened on the gove= rnment level in Saudi Arabia in just the past year, and you note in the r= eport the jailing or hoteling of 200 officials there.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Yep. Hoteling, that=92s a good =96 = (laughter).

=09QUESTION: Are you =96 overall, in Saudi Arabia, are y= ou encouraged by some of the things that are happening? Are you discourag= ed by what=92s happened over the last year? Where do you see the trend go= ing in Saudi Arabia?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Well, of course it=92s always hard = to predict trends, but I think =96 I=92m always encouraged when you start= to see things break out of a static holding pattern. When you see a litt= le bit of change as we=92re seeing in Saudi Arabia, and the hoteling was = connected to =96 ostensibly anyway =96 to more of concern about corruptio= n, which is not =96 another one of our issues, insofar as corruption and = human rights abuse seem to =96 tend to go together.

=09So we=92re trying to encourage that kind of movement on the part of th= e Saudis. At the same time, you can look at that and say, =93Well, you di= dn=92t do this with sufficient due process,=94 and I think that=92s also = well spelled-out here. So it=92s trying to get that right balance of, hey= here=92s where we think you=92re deficient, but we=92re seeing some move= ment and we=92re trying to encourage the movement in the positive directi= on and see more. But I=92m usually more encouraged when I see some moveme= nt going on than when things are just stuck in the same rut for years and= years and years. So in that sense, at least there=92s an opportunity the= re. We=92ll see if it comes to anything.

=09QUESTION: So is hoteling now going to be standard lan= guage in --

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: I think your colleague just came up= with a new term with --

=09MS NAUERT: Cindy with Voice of America. We have a few= minutes left.

=09QUESTION: Yes, thank you. We were talking about press= freedoms, and you=92re probably aware that in Nicaragua, the Ortega Gove= rnment ordered at least five television stations off the air for their co= verage of massive protests. What is the U.S. Government prepared to do to= stem this new wave of repression?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Well, Nicaragua is =96 and I think = if you looked at the report =96 is going to wrong direction on many front= s and that is one of them, of media freedom. But also on all the basics, = I mean, it=92s a long litany of torture, extrajudicial killing, the elect= ions were a sham. And so we=92ve put more and more pressure on =96 I thin= k you=92ll see some of the sanctions programs will start to affect some p= eople in that country. But it=92s a tough one; the Ortega Government has = basically shut down a lot of the opposition, a lot of the independent civ= il society organizations as well as the free media.

=09So I mean, in our policy everywhere, and certainly in Nicaragua, is to= try to provide both moral =96 and to the extent we can support NGOs and = so on that are working to keep =96 to help them keep working, help free m= edia keep working, and bring about a change in that dimension. But it=92s= =96 it=92s tough, but we can=92t do it ourselves. We have to be in a pos= ition of supporting the people in those countries that are trying to brin= g about change, and we try to do that through a variety of means.

=09The Secretary =96 I=92m not sure he met with any Nicaraguans =96 but a= t the Summit of the Americas had meetings with civil society activists fr= om Cuba, Venezuela =96 same camp as Nicaragua =96 and it was in part just= to give them that =96 show that we stand with them and that we=92re tryi= ng to be supportive of what they=92re trying to do to bring about change = in their own country.

=09QUESTION: Can I ask a question about Gaza and --

=09MS NAUERT: Janne. Janne, go right =96 excuse me, Jann= e, go right ahead.

=09QUESTION: On North Korean human rights issues, as the= North Korean nuclear issue is an important issue and the North Korean hu= man rights is also serious issues, unless the regime of the North Korean = Kim Jong-un changes, the North Korean human rights abuse against the Nort= h Korean people will continue. What is the U.S. solutions on this?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Okay. We have =96 I mean, we are co= ncerned about the nuclear issue in North Korea, but we=92re equally conce= rned about the human rights issues, and they both derive from the same pr= oblem. And I think you see in the report we=92ve laid out pretty starkly = the kinds of abuses, and over the last year or two, we=92ve supported, li= ke, a commission of inquiry on North Korea, we support NGOs that are work= ing on North Korea and exposing the human rights abuses that occur in the= camps there and so on. But some of the stories that are contained in the= report are just overwhelming. There=92s one about 11 people who were arr= ested for supposedly making a pornographic film and they were executed by= shooting anti-artillery weapons at them, and then they brought out tanks= and ran over the bodies, and this is supposed to be a civilized country.=

=09So I don=92t think you will see a diminishment in our concern about th= at issue even as we try to work the nuclear issue. It=92s not a trade-off= . I think the President=92s laid out a vision there that North Korea can = get on a much better path, but it needs to make progress across the board= , not just on one issue.

=09QUESTION: Do you have any --

=09MS NAUERT: Michel.

=09QUESTION: Yeah, thank you. Sir, you =96 the report co= nsiders China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea forces of instability. What = do you mean by that? And will there be any consequences?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Well, I don=92t know that we=92ve c= alled them as forces of instability in the report. Perhaps --

=09QUESTION: Yeah, in the --

=09QUESTION: In the preface.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: In the preface. Okay.

=09QUESTION: Yeah, exactly.

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: Well, I think that has to do with t= heir international behavior as well as their internal behavior. I mean, s= ometimes, internal behavior =96 you can=92t really separate them because = when you start oppressing your own people, you generate refugee flows, yo= u generate humanitarian crises like you=92re seeing in Venezuela, for exa= mple. So =96 but there=92s not =96 saying something is a force of instabi= lity is saying or characterizing a set of facts. It doesn=92t necessarily= have a prescribed policy flow. None of this does.

=09This report doesn=92t say countries that reach a certain level we=92re= going to cut off aid or something like that. It=92s the factual predicat= e for making those decisions, but those are policy decisions where the Pr= esident and his advisors will have to weigh a whole number of factors.

=09MS NAUERT: And our final question --

=09QUESTION: Can I ask =96 can I ask a question on the G= aza and the West Bank.

=09MS NAUERT: -- Kylie from CBS News.

=09QUESTION: Because, I mean, he pointed to --

=09QUESTION: Can I just go back to the reproductive righ= ts for a second? So you said there are no obstacles for women to get cont= raception in any country except for if there=92s a remote issue, right?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: I said with some exceptions, and th= e exceptions were and still are =96 and we=92ve really gotten at it by fl= ipping back to the original U.S. statutory language. It=92s in places lik= e China, where in order to enforce their two =96 now two-child policy, th= at there are reports of coerced abortion and involuntary sterilization. I= n North Korea, where the government also coerces or forces abortion =96 a= lthough sometimes that=92s for political punishment rather than family pl= anning. And we uncovered it =96 so as we were digging through trying to r= educe the bulk of some of this report, I found in the old country I serve= d in, in Belarus, that it turns out that the doctors in the state hospita= ls, and particularly in the institutions there, if they have a woman who = is pregnant and who is a woman with disabilities, the doctors insist on a= n abortion. Or if they believe the fetus has a disability, they=92ll insi= st on an abortion. So we=92ve called that out too.

=09So it=92s not =96 those were the cases, though, in the =96 under the p= revious formula where you would say there was a restriction on family pla= nning, freedom of family planning. For most countries, it said, there isn= =92t any restriction except for the ones imposed by economics and rural-u= rban type thing. So --

=09QUESTION: So just to be clear just on that, so taking= out the language about those cases therefore means that the U.S. doesn=92= t believe that the inability for women to get an abortion physically or b= y law is an abuse of human rights?

=09AMBASSADOR KOZAK: That =96 correct under the previous= administration and this one and the one before that. We have never taken= the position that abortion was a right under =96 a human right under int= ernational law. This is supposed to be internationally recognized human r= ights, and it=92s an issue on which =96 some countries prohibit abortion,= some countries, like our own, pretty much no restriction on it, and we d= on=92t say one of those is right and one of those is wrong. We don=92t re= port on it because it=92s not a human right. It=92s an issue of great pol= icy debate, you can have a good discussion, but there=92s no internationa= lly recognized standard as to what=92s the right treatment.

=09But the other, yes. The =96 it is internationally recognized that some= body shouldn=92t coerce you to have an abortion or force you to be steril= ized, so that=92s --

=09MS NAUERT: Thank you, sir.

=09QUESTION: Can I ask a question on the Palestinian --

=09MS NAUERT: We =96 the ambassador has to go. Thank you= so much.

=09QUESTION: Yeah, one quick question on the Palestinian= (inaudible).

=09MS NAUERT: We have to go. Sir, thank you. Thank you. = We=92ll get you another time.


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