| | ![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081104063046im_/http://www.state.gov/images/clearpixel.gif) Human RightsThe Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are submitted annually by the U.S. Department of State to the U.S. Congress in compliance with sections 116(d) and 502B(b) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (FAA), as amended, and section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. The law provides that the Secretary of State shall transmit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, by February 25 "a full and complete report regarding the status of internationally recognized human rights, within the meaning of subsection (A) in countries that receive assistance under this part, and (B) in all other foreign countries which are members of the United Nations and which are not otherwise the subject of a human rights report under this Act." Reports on several countries are included that do not fall into the categories established by these statutes and that thus are not covered by the congressional requirement.
The reports cover internationally recognized individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. | | Highlights | Human Rights: Annual Reports Released
Secretary Rice (Mar. 11): "I am pleased today [to announce] the publication of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2007. In every region of the world, men and women are working peacefully, and often at great risk to themselves and their families, to secure human rights and fundamental freedoms, to follow their consciences and speak their minds without fear, to choose those who would govern them and to hold their leaders accountable and to achieve equal justice under the law." Full Text | Remarks by Acting Assistant Secretary Farrar |
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