Joe Biden’s approach to Human Rights – at home and abroad

Owing to its victory in Cold War and emerging as a single dominant superpower, the United States of America has a vital role to play and a strong voice in international relations. However, the World Democratic Index (2019) tells a different story. In the report, the U.S. ranked 25^thand queued under the category of ‘flawed democracies’ with a score of 7.96 in the Index. Furthermore, the strategic partner of the US and the ,world’s largest democracy – India – was also categorised as “flawed democracy”. On this ground pursuing human rights agenda by the ‘superpower’ is the need of the day to mediate and bring back the democracies on the track! Such a responsibility lies on the superpower – the US – who has a strong voice in international relations, owing to its financial superiority.

America is nestling a hope to win back its position of “full democracy” in the Democratic Index, after Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 Presidential elections. Joe Biden won this election with a solid majority of 306 electoral votes and Kamala Harris as the Vice President. The US President, exclaiming ‘America is Back!’ signalled victory of the US’s ‘resilient, true and strong’ democracy.

Like Jimmy Carter –the first President to introduce human rights as an element of US foreign policy –Biden has shown considerable dedication towards imbibing human rights in the country’s foreign policy. Mr. Biden, on whom many eyes of hope lies, could use the human rights directives to twist the authoritative policy and moves of the countries and push them in the ethical direction. This could be influential in achieving human rights goals that have not seen the light of the day.

Following ‘charity begins at home’, Mr.  Biden aims at promoting human rights at home and abroad. President Biden opines, his regime seeks to see the US beyond the red and ­­blues of the states. i.e. ‘united’! Human Rights Watch in its World Report 2021, provides certain suggestions for the President. It opines that the President shall cooperate with countries that sought to ‘shore up a defence of human rights around 2021’ (World Report, 2021). As Democratic Party leader and the US President – Joe Biden – is being looked upon, with eyes full of hopes, to restore human rights that were flouted by the Trump administration. For the purpose, as per the Indian newspaper – The Hindu (24 February 2021), the President had declared his intention to reverse Trump’s policy and pledged to put human rights at the core of the US foreign policy. Additionally, the source had stated that the administration sought to review arm sales and halt the US support for the war in Yemen along with opening the border for about 125,000 refugees.

The President sought to recognize the importance of ‘cooperation’ in achieving human rights agenda which Trump had sought to neglect. To cite an example, Trump had reinstated and dramatically expanded the “global gag rule” – prohibiting the US assistance to foreign organizations. Joe Biden, on the other hand, has sought to encourage regional as well as international co-operation by making a comeback in international organizations like World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Human Rights Council. This strategy could prove helpful in keeping track of abusive government and mounting pressure on the same, which could prove as an important bulwark against trending semi-authoritarianism or “flawed democracy”.

At the international level, the administration has gone ahead terming the human rights abuses against the Uighurs in Chinaas “genocide” and decried Russia’s poisoning and jailing of Alexei Navalny (The Hindu, 2021). Spontaneously, the President also plans to host a “Summit for Democracy”. The President has also been critical of some of the policies of the Indian government like the Citizenship Amendment Act.

However, reversing the policy of his predecessor – which has been a characteristic feature of the White House – cannot prove to be the only panacea to the ills caused by the Trump administration. Further, a strong plan of action is needed to prevent human rights violations abroad. This strong plan of action along with regional and international cooperation, could promote human rights and could help in regaining the US’s lost role of ‘human rights leader’.

Joe Biden promises to be a torchbearer in the path of guiding America to end racial discrimination as he envisions “restore the soul of America”. The President, in his election winning speech, claimed that the U.S. voters had mandated him “to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country”.

Racism in the United States is part of a much older and global phenomenon and there’s been a battle against racism since more than a half century ago. As a result of the Atlantic slave trade, slavery became racialized by a system based on African ancestry and skin color (Wood, 2003). Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stated, too often, “This country has socialism for the rich [and] rugged individualism for the poor.” The fight for elimination of racial discrimination can also be traced back to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, who intended to end racial and economic injustice by tying U.S. ideals to a broader human rights framework and promoting foreign policy based on racial equality at home and abroad. Furthermore, the worldwide recognition of issues of racism, acceptance of international norms of racial non-discrimination and its peremptory character, categorised racial non-discrimination under the rules of “jus cogens” – no party or non-party state can legitimately violate the principle of racial non-discrimination.

The Asian-African conference in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955 is considered to be the “first inter-continental conference of coloured peoples in the history of mankind”.  However, the commonwealth at the UN first noted discrimination in connection with Indians living in South Africa. The concern of racism took universal form with establishment of UDHR on 10th December 1948. The UN general assembly adopted resolution 2446 which attempts to achieve the rapid and total elimination of all forms of discrimination in general and of the policy of apartheid in particular. Furthermore, Articles 1(3), 2(7), 13(1), 55(c), 56, 76(c) and chapter VII of the UN charter prohibits discrimination on grounds of race. The convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was forces in January, 1969. The convention has three signatories and 182 countries have ratified. i.e.  conceded be bound to the treaty, with India being one of them.Article 1 of the convention defines racial discrimination as “any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life”. The convention also hold   that state parties shall  condemn racial discrimination, segregation and apartheid; and engage in no act or practice of racial discrimination, and encourages them to undertake “integrationist multiracial organisations and movements” and other means of eliminating barriers between races, with guaranteeing the right to seek “just and adequate” reparations for any damage suffered as a result of such discrimination and to adopt immediate and effective measures – particularly in the fields of teaching, education, culture and information – in order to combat prejudices which lead to racial discrimination. However, recent #BlackLivesMatter movement caused by the death of George Floyd – A ‘black’ 46 years old American man – seems to be a grim reminder of the continued existence of racism and apartheid (institutionalized form of racism) in particular, in the state. The murders of AhmaudArbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, brought “systemic racism” to the forefront of the U.S. politics. The financial breakdown of the Conventional on Elimination of Racial Discrimination serves as one of the major cause of prevailing racial discrimination. However, Joe Biden promises to be a torchbearer to guide path to end racial discrimination in the U.S., as he visions to “restore the soul of America”. The president in his election winning speech claimed that the U.S. voters had mandated him “to achieve racial justice and root out systemic racism in this country”.

During the election campaigns, Biden, in his tweets quoted George Floyd “I can’t breathe”, criticizing police violence as well as Trump’s statement on the matter, he applauded the suspension of Minneapolis police officers involved in GeorgeFloyd’s death.What Joe Biden’s support to the movement yielded was: Biden received 87% of votes from Black voters which was high in comparison to the votes received by former U.S. President Trump and even Obama (Molyneux, 2020). Hence, Biden clearly has won the trust of Black Americans. But, the real challenge for Biden would be to actually translate into action policies to end racial discrimination in the United States. Further, it would be interesting to see how the US reconciles the human rights violations in the global arena in states, like China and North Korea, with its strategic interests and whether Biden reinstates the Obama policy of “pivot of Asia” in his upcoming foreign policy formulation.

Bhagyeshree Pujari

Bhagyeshree is pursuing her Masters’ degree in Political Science at SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She is currently interning with AGA.