ATLANTA – As the Trump administration signals a de-emphasis of human rights in U.S. foreign policy decisions, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said Tuesday he’s concerned America’s approach will erode support for such rights in other countries.
The 92-year-old Carter spoke with The Associated Press amid a two-day meeting of dozens of human rights activists at The Carter Center in Atlanta.
Carter cited a portion of President Donald Trump’s inaugural address promising his administration does “not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow.” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson expanded on that slightly last week when he told State Department employees some national security efforts always can’t be conditioned on “our values.”
“The president made this clear in his inaugural address – I was there – when he said that no longer would we try to force American standards on other countries,” Carter said. “And I assumed that meant the standards of peace and human rights and freedom and justice and that sort of thing. Our standards that we’ve always claimed to be American standards are really the implementation of a universal declaration of human rights, plus peace.”
In this image taken from video, former President Jimmy Carter speaks at the annual Human Rights Defenders Forum at The Carter Center, Tuesday, May 9, 2017, in Atlanta. Carter says he’s concerned that the Trump administration’s approach to foreign policy will hasten declining support for human rights in other countries. (AP Photo/Alex Sanz)
Carter also challenged the idea that a commitment to human rights can’t co-exist with national security, calling it a “false premise.”