The Foreign Service Journal, June 2023

40 JUNE 2023 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL A Frank Discussion Annie Pforzheimer is a former U.S. diplomat who retired from the State Department after 30 years of service in Washington, D.C., and seven overseas post- ings, including Colombia, Afghanistan, Türkiye, and South Africa. In her Foreign Service career, she focused on issues of security, human rights, and peacebuilding. She is currently affiliated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Heather Barr is an American lawyer who has worked outside the U.S. for 18 years, the last 11 for Human Rights Watch, first as the Afghanistan researcher and then with the organization’s women’s rights divi- sion, where she is currently an associate director. A diplomat and an activist talk candidly about how to work together. BY ANN I E PFORZHE I MER AND HEATHER BARR T he role of the U.S. government in supporting human rights is a topic of nearly constant controversy and debate. Annie Pforzheimer and Heather Barr have worked together to advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover. This collaboration prompted discussions about U.S. policy vis-à-vis human rights, in Afghanistan and elsewhere, and the sometimes-contentious role of human rights advocates in seeking to influence that policy. We invited them to compare notes. FEATURE WILDPIXEL Human RIGHTS and U.S. Foreign POLICY