ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY JOSEPH YUN: Thank
you very much, Mr. Chairman.
And thank you Ranking Member Rubio and Members
of the Committee for having me here today.
I'm here with my friend and colleague Dan
Baer, whom I've worked closely with the last
several years in promoting democracy and human
rights issues in the Asia-Pacific.
Mr. Chairman, as you and ranking member Rubio
mentioned, the U.S. is bound to Asia-Pacific
through geography, history, alliances, trade,
and people-to-people ties; and those will
only grow in importance over the next decade
and beyond.
Over the past four years, the U.S.
Government has made a deliberate, strategic
effort to broaden and deepen our engagement
in the region in what has come to be known
as the "rebalance" to the Asia-Pacific.
This strategic rebalance is based on the recognition
that the Asia-Pacific's political and economic
future and the future of the U.S. are deeply
linked.
The rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region covers
a range of strategic objectives: deepening
our alliances in the region; boosting economic
growth and trade; strengthening our relationships
with emerging powers, such as China, Indonesia,
Vietnam, and India; expanding good governance;
developing energy efficiency and environmental
protection; and especially expanding people-to-people
ties.
And while the rebalance reflects the importance
of U.S.
Government places on our strategic and economic
engagement in the region, the dimension that
binds the entire strategy together is our
strong support for advancing democracy and
human rights, what I would call our value
issues.
Democracy and respect for human rights are
increasingly a part of the fabric of the Asia-Pacific.
In fact, according to Freedom House's most
recent, "Freedom in the World" Report, during
the past five years, the Asia-Pacific region
has shown the greatest progress in the world,
in achieving steady gains in political rights
and civil liberties.
Mr. Chairman, as you mentioned, several examples
come to our mind as well, such as Indonesia,
so is Timor Leste, Thailand, Taiwan, and more.
Most recently, we have seen very positive
developments in Burma that have allowed us
to open a new chapter in bilateral relations.
In November last year, President Obama became
the first sitting U.S. president to visit
Burma.
During his visit, he emphasized that the U.S.
would help Burma solidify the progress it
has made, especially in addressing human rights
challenges.
And also, we would help them strengthen the
hands of those seeking further reform.
At the same time that we have seen these positive
developments, we continue to press for improvements
with those governments that fall short on
human rights and whose democratic institutions
remain weak.
As Ranking Member Rubio mentioned, North Korea
is a case in point.
North Korea's nearly 25 million people is
in dire need of improvement in their welfare,
protection of human rights.
And that remains an essential goal of our
own North Korea policy.
The U.S. also remains deeply concerned about
the continuous deterioration in the human
rights situation in China.
We will continue to discuss human rights issues
frankly with Chinese counterparts and press
them to respect the rule of law and protect
the human rights and fundamental freedoms
of all of its citizens.
Mr. Chairman, we recognize that there is much
more work need to be done - especially in
countries I have just mentioned, as well as
in countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam
- to ensure that all citizens enjoy media
freedom and freedom of expression and that
there is space for civil society to have their
voices heard.
We remain quite concerned about the disappearance
of Lao civil society activist Sombath Somphone.
In Cambodia, we have consistently raised our
concerns about the case of exiled opposition
leader Sam Rainsy.
Clearly, there is a significant amount of
work still to be done, but there are also
many examples of work where we have worked
very closely with our partners in the region
to promote a variety of human rights and democracy
issues.
We emphasize the dependence of democratic
institutions on a strong rule of law.
We make it a priority to protect the rights
of women around the world and empower them
economically and politically.
We also promote the protection of the human
rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
persons around the world.
We have joined with Indonesia, the Philippines,
and five other founding governments to launch
a global forum, The Open Government Partnership,
where governments work closely with civil
society to develop action plans with concrete
commitments to improve transparency of governments
and how they serve the people.
And these are just a few examples of the ways
in which we can actively support democracy
and human rights in the region.
Mr. Chairman, Thank you for giving me the
opportunity to testify today.
I am pleased to answer any questions you may
have.
Thank you.
CHAIRMAN GARDIN: Thank you.
Mr. Baer.
DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY DANIEL BAER: Thank
you very much, Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member
Rubio, and Senator Johnson for being here.
And thank you to the Committee for hosting
this hearing and inviting me to testify with
my good friend and colleague Joe Yun.
As Joe said, we've had the opportunity to
work very closely together and it's been a
great professional joy for me.
The Obama Administration's "rebalance" is
a purposeful, strategic move in our foreign
policy.
It's motivated by the opportunity to develop
deeper and wider ranging partnerships in a
part of the world that is increasingly important
to American interests.
Headline news coverage of the pivot often
focuses on issues of hard security and trade
agreements.
The role of political progress—in particular,
the advance of human rights and democracy—is
less frequently a strand in the public discourse
about the pivot.
So the topic of this hearing fills a gap,
and gives us an opportunity to consider important
questions: Does the "rebalance," as a purposeful
addition to U.S. foreign policy, include progress
on human rights and democracy as part of its
objectives?
And does progress—or lack thereof—on human
rights and democratic governance affect the
prospects of achieving the full range of objectives
that motivate the broader "rebalance"?
The questions are related, of course, and
the answer to both is a firm yes.
In the second half of the 20th century, human
rights were a clear pillar in our regional
foreign policy with respect to Europe—we
recognized that it was not only our moral
convictions but our economic and security
interests that would best be met by a democratic
Europe.
The underlying truths haven't changed: human
rights and democracy are foundational to our
foreign policy because they are foundational
to our polity; and also because U.S. national
interests will be most durably met by a world
in which states are part of a stable rule-based
order.
That stable order can only be grounded on
the durable peace that human rights and democratic
governance deliver.
That belief animated President Obama's 2011
speech to the Australian parliament announcing
the rebalance, and the necessity of U.S. leadership
in support of human rights as a central element
of it.
Because while the region includes big and
fast-growing economies, and opportunities
for more effective partnerships, we can't
forget that the region also includes many
hundreds of millions of people who have yet
to experience protections for their human
rights.
It includes strongmen who manipulate flawed
elections and suppress speech in order to
stay in power.
It includes places where the "rule of law"
is notably absent and where members of religious
and other minorities suffer abuses with impunity.
And it includes governments that treat the
Internet as a new threat to be regulated and
controlled rather than as a platform for free
expression and opportunity.
For as long as these conditions remain, both
the region's potential progress and the potential
dividends of our engagement, will be hampered.
There is much to gain, in my view, but achieving
the full potential return on our investment—both
for our citizens and for the people of the
region—depends on political progress.
In his speech in Canberra, President Obama
spoke specifically to three ways in which
we are exercising leadership.
First, he said that "We strengthen civil societies
because it empowers citizens to hold their
governments accountable."
Burma's budding democratic transition will
succeed only if the country's civil society
is strong and can help drive it.
That's why we continue to press that the political
leaders recently released from Burmese prisons
return to society with their full civil rights
restored.
It's why we've encouraged the government to
restore civil society directly, including
the recently formed committee that is charged
with working through the remaining political
prisoner cases.
And it's why the Administration's reporting
requirements will ask U.S. investors how they
have conducted human rights due diligence.
In Cambodia, civil society organized and led
a campaign to resist the menacing proposed
NGO law.
We supported their efforts, and former Secretary
Clinton repeatedly urged the Cambodian government
to scrap the law.
Prime Minister Hun Sen eventually announced
that the NGO law would be shelved and would
not be brought forward again without civil
society's support.
Other challenges remain, of course, in Cambodia.
We were deeply disturbed to see the re-arrest
of Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun who are widely
viewed as scapegoats in the case of the 2004
murder of union leader Chea Vichea.
Opposition leader Sam Rainsy remains in self-imposed
exile to avoid imprisonment on politically
motivated charges.
And while we welcomed Mam Sonando's release
last week as a positive step, the charges
continue to hang over his head.
And others remain in jail.
The second element President Obama's to was
his commitment to advance the rights of all
people -- including women, religious minorities,
and other vulnerable populations.
Members of this Subcommittee know that there
are parts of the region where not only are
members of minority groups not protected,
but their rights are actively targeted for
repression.
The United States remains deeply concerned
about repressive Chinese policies that threaten
the distinct cultural, linguistic, and religious
heritage of Tibetans, and that have contributed
to a climate of increasing desperation in
which more than 100 Tibetans have resorted
to self-immolation.
In Xinjiang, where I visited in late 2011,
members of the Uighur population continue
to face discrimination, arbitrary detention,
and restrictions on religious freedom and
freedom of movement.
Unsurprisingly, tensions remain high.
Almost everyone is vulnerable to abuses and
violations in North Korea.
Just this week, the United States is supporting
a resolution at the Human Rights Council to
create a Commission of Inquiry into the systematic
and widespread abuses committed by that regime.
Finally, in Canberra the President said "we
encourage open government, because democracies
depend on an informed and active citizenry."
The Open Government Partnership is being chaired
by Indonesia this year.
But initiatives like OGP only work when they
are supported by an open and active civil
society, so the United States will continue
to press for progress to ensure protections
for freedom of expression, association, and
assembly.
One area where this is particularly important,
where there are worrying trends in some parts
of the region, is the Internet and new connection
technologies.
In countries like Vietnam—which has an impressive
level of Internet penetration, but a large
number of bloggers and others who have been
imprisoned for what they've said online—we
must continue to make the case that human
rights apply online as they do offline.
We need to underscore that it's no coincidence
that Silicon Valley is in a country where
ideas are exchanged freely, and that Vietnam's
Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg won't be able
to contribute to the growth of their country
if he or she is sitting in a prison cell because
of something written online.
I know that Secretary Kerry, who has long
maintained a deep personal interest in the
region, is committed to carrying forward the
work of leading the rebalance in a way that
advances all of the interests of the United
States, including a strong, rule-based order
grounded in respect for human rights, that
enables durable economic prosperity and peace.
Thanks very much for having me and I'll be
happy to take your questions.
