The Foreign Service Journal, June 2021

14 JUNE 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Contemporary Quote We know from history that if and when the Americans retreat and retrench, they leave behind a vacuum that will be filled by the bad guys. That’s exactly what we are seeing right now, that’s why with Putin of Russia, President Xi Jinping of China, Kim Jong-un of North Korea, Assad of Syria, are flexing their muscles. They have got more room of maneuver. I think the Americans must realize, America is destined to lead; you cannot escape your fate; a superpower is not going to retire. —Former Prime Minister of Denmark and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, keynote speaker at the Meridian Diplomacy Forum, April 16. “As public servants representing the United States of America, we are most effective when we draw on the diverse characteristics we each bring to work,” the groups wrote in a letter to the Secretary. While applauding the Biden adminis- tration for its “commitment to strengthen- ing diversity, equity, inclusion and racial justice within our workforce,” the affinity groups made specific requests in 12 areas. The department should take a more comprehensive approach to diversity data, they said, publishing a quarterly diversity analysis by bureau, post, Civil Service and Foreign Service, grade, ethnicity/race, dis- ability and gender. They also recommend that the depart- ment hire a third party to conduct exit interviews of employees who leave the department. The groups asked the department to “integrate curriculum on managing workplace flexibilities and leave, supervis- ing remote teams, and how to practice allyship and mentorship into all existing Foreign Service Institute courses on lead- ership and management.” They call on the Bureau of Overseas Building Operations to ensure all embas- sies are accessible to people with disabili- ties and include separate prayer/reflection and lactation rooms. All housing pools should have at least one accessible hous- ing unit, they say. Noting that about 70 countries do not accredit same-sex spouses or family members of LGBT+ diplomats, the groups say the department should use diplomatic engagement and other tools to make sure these families have the same rights as others. They also urge the department to make sure that all employee evaluations for Foreign Service and Civil Service employees are gender-blind and redact the employee’s name. Human Rights Report Released, Commission Disbanded U nveiling the State Department’s 2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on March 30, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the trend lines on human rights continue to move in the wrong direction in every region of the world. He cited the “genocide” against MuslimUyghurs in Xinjiang, China; attacks on and imprisonment of oppos- ing politicians and journalists in places like Russia, Uganda and Venezuela; and arbitrary arrests and beatings of protesters in Belarus, Yemen and Burma. “All of these alarming trend lines are being worsened by COVID-19, which auto- cratic governments have used as a pretext to target their critics and further repress human rights,” he said. “Plus, COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the indi- viduals and groups in our societies who were already subject to abuse, to discrimi- nation, tomarginalization.” Secretary Blinken also used his speech to announce that he was disbanding the Commission on Unalienable Rights, which was established by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The commission sought to reframe U.S. interpretation of human rights to move away fromwhat Pompeo called a “proliferation of rights,” arguing that reproductive and LGBT+ rights were outside the scope of “founda- tional” rights. “One of the core principles of human rights is that they are universal,” Secretary Blinken said. “All people are entitled to these rights, no matter where they’re born, what they believe, whom they love, or any other characteristic. Human rights are also co-equal; there is no hierarchy that makes some rights more important than others.” “Past unbalanced statements that suggest such a hierarchy, including those offered by a recently disbanded State Department advisory committee, do not represent a guiding document for this administration,” he added. “At my confirmation hearing, I promised that the Biden-Harris administration would repudiate those unbalanced views. We do so decisively today.” Affinity Groups Spell Out Diversity Measures S eventeen employee affinity groups sent a white paper to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on March 26 making specific recommendations on the “most urgent steps” the department should take to advance diversity and inclusion. AFSA has been in close contact with affinity groups about these issues.