The US Must Put Human Rights at the Center of US Foreign Policy

By Bernie Sanders, The Houston Chronicle

25 September 19

hen President Trump meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Houston, we will hear much about the friendship between the American and Indian peoples. However, there will be a deafening silence when it comes to a human rights crisis unfolding right before our eyes — and that is unacceptable.

The Modi-Trump rally is happening at a moment when the state of Kashmir remains under lockdown. In early August, Modi’s government unilaterally revoked Kashmir’s longstanding autonomy, has cracked down on dissent, jailed political leaders and instituted a communications blackout.

The lockdown has also blocked Kashmiris’ access to basic medical care. In a letter in the British Medical Journal on Aug. 16, a group of doctors from across India asked their government to ease restrictions on communication and travel, saying they were “a blatant denial of the right to health care and the right to life” because they made it difficult for patients and staff to get to hospitals. A recent Human Rights Watch report notes that, “From chemotherapy to dialysis, patients are struggling to access lifesaving treatment on time.”

President Trump has voiced no criticism of these troubling moves. He should be demanding that these restrictions be lifted and communications be restored immediately.

To be clear, Pakistan has also often played a bad role in Kashmir. But I believe the U.S. president must speak clearly in support of international humanitarian law and in support of a UN-backed peaceful resolution between India and Pakistan that respects the will of the Kashmiri people. Unfortunately, Trump has chosen to abandon the United States’ global leadership role. He is remaining silent on the Kashmir crisis while planning to hold a public rally with India’s prime minister.

Trump’s silence in the face of India’s Kashmir crackdown is consistent with his broader failure to speak up for human rights across the world. It is no secret that I disagree with President Trump on virtually every major policy issue today. I believe that health care is a human right, and should be available to all regardless of income. He wanted to throw 32 million off the health care they had. I believe that, at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the wealthy and large profitable corporations should begin paying their fair share of taxes. He provided huge tax breaks to billionaires like himself. On and on it goes.

But as I have said many times, what disturbs me most about Trump is not just his reactionary views on economic issues — but also his unprecedented effort to divide the American people based on the color of our skin, our religion, our country of origin, and our sexual orientation. Not only is his demagoguery tearing our country apart — indeed, in recent years we have seen a significant increase in hate crimes, white nationalism and overt acts of racism — but other autocratic, intolerant leaders around the world find affirmation in it.

All over the world, we have witnessed the rise of intolerant, authoritarian political leaders who are attacking the very foundations of democratic societies. In an age of massive global wealth inequality and economic anxiety, these demagogues exploit people’s pain and fears by amplifying resentments, stoking intolerance and fanning ethnic and racial hatreds to maintain power. Instead of holding the wealthy and powerful accountable, they scapegoat the weak and the powerless.

Unlike our current president who has an apparent affection for authoritarian regimes, I will make the promotion of democracy and human rights a priority for the United States. I know that when a president stays silent in the face of religious persecution, repression and brutality, the dangerous message this sends to autocratic leaders around the world is: “Go ahead, you can get away with it.”

As president, I will forcefully combat racism and hatred because I know our nation’s diversity is a manifestation of our strength, not a weakness. Together, we will end the discrimination and divisiveness — and bring our nation together based on the principles of justice, compassion and tolerance.

The issue of hatred and prejudice is personal for me. I am the proud son of Jewish immigrants. My father came from Poland to the United States at the age of 17 to escape poverty and widespread anti-Semitism. The Nazis murdered the members of his family who remained in Poland after Hitler came to power.

My own family’s story taught me at an early age about the importance of standing against prejudice and discrimination wherever we see it.

When we defeat Trump, this kind of destructive behavior in the White House will end.