The Foreign Service Journal, April 2003

tion’s course by tying assistance to requirements for progress in the areas of human rights and democratic reform. But the administration’s disingenuous claims of progress, as in Uzbekistan, indicate that these legislative provisions need to be strengthened. The rights and welfare of the peoples in a vast and increasingly restive region are not all that is at stake. Repression and corruption have spurred ideological fun- damentalism, ethnic and tribal divisions and drug-based criminal enterprises. These developments could lead to unprecedented instability in the Eurasian heartland, which in turn would severely undermine our anti-terror- ism efforts in Afghanistan and around the world. The administration, in conjunction with Congress, should identify benchmarks for progress that target the most egregious and most pervasive abuse of human rights and the greatest barriers to democratic development. Benchmarks should be framed in specific terms, avoiding formulations such as “making progress toward…” Specific targets might include torture in detention in Uzbekistan, religious persecution in Turkmenistan, and intimidation of the media and political opposition gener- ally. U.S. assistance as well as diplomatic/political sup- port, excluding humanitarian assistance and the most critical security cooperation programs, should be tied to these benchmarks. U.S. support should be measured against actual accomplishment and not on simple pledges. Administration reporting to Congress regarding achievement of those benchmarks should be timely and candid, and should take into account reporting by respected nongovernmental organizations and media. Other coalition partners, especially the Russians, should be urged to participate in the strategy, as well. The U.S. cannot pursue human rights and democratic development at the expense of security considerations and cooperation with the Central Asian regimes in the war on terror. But neither should the U.S., through a pol- icy of empty rhetoric and cosmetic, ineffectual “engage- ment” on human rights, conspire with these regimes in their denial of fundamental rights to their citizens. F O C U S A P R I L 2 0 0 3 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 31 MCG FINANCIAL PLANNING Former State Department Employee Stationed Overseas Understands Unique Financial Situation of Foreign Service Services Include: Retirement Planning Tax Preparation and Strategies Analysis: Insurance and Investments Lump Sum Retirement Options MARY CORNELIA GINN 4630 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 220 Bethesda, Maryland 20814 Phone: (301) 951-9160 Fax: (703) 938-2278 E-mail: mcgfin@erols.com S ECURITIES OFFERED THROUGH N ATHAN & L EWIS S ECURITIES , I NC ., M EMBER NASD & SIPC. MCG F INANCIAL P LANNING AND N ATHAN & L EWIS ARE NOT AFFILIATED ENTITIES .