In 1988, a formidable coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act (CAA) over President Reagan’s veto.…
Human Rights and USAID: Remembering the Turbulent 1990s in Indonesia
Political and economic crises abroad have a dramatic impact not only on American personnel at our embassies, but on locally-employed…
Getting the U.S. President to Write to the President of Guatemala About Human Rights (Hint – It’s Who You Know)
With the end of the Cold War, the U.S. began to put greater emphasis on enforcing its policy of protecting…
The Chile Burn Victims Case: Containment vs. Human Rights under Pinochet
During a 1986 protest in Santiago, Chile against the human rights abuses of Augusto Pinochet’s regime, teenagers setting up barricades…
Patt Derian, A Straight Shooter on Human Rights
Patricia “Patt” M. Derian was one of the key proponents of integrating human rights in U.S. foreign policy at a…
A Foreign Service Spouse on a Mission: Combating Human Trafficking in Greece
Whether being assigned to a new post, taking on a new position, or learning a new language, the careers of…
Drogas y Derechos Humanos: Changing U.S. Policy towards Guatemala
In June 1954 the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, concerned about the threat of communism in Guatemala, assisted in the overthrow…
Breaking Chains: The Continual Fight Against Human Trafficking
In October 2000, 135 years after the Thirteenth Amendment officially abolished slavery within the United States, Congress declared that “as…
A Long Way from Runnemede
This memoir of Theresa Tull’s thirty-three-year career as a twentieth-century diplomat begins with recollections of her childhood during the Second…
American Diplomats
Diplomats provide the first line of America’s defense as they formulate and implement our country’s foreign policy. Too often, the…