U.S. Department of State Fiscal Year 2020 Agency Financial Report

The Idea of the Commission on Unalienable Rights S ecretary Pompeo determined in 2019 that it was time for an informed review of the role of human rights in a foreign policy that serves American interests, reflects American ideals, and meets the international obligations that the United States has assumed. To that end, he established the Commission on Unalienable Rights, an independent, non-partisan advisory body created under the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972. The Commission’s charge, as stated in its Charter, “is not to discover new principles, but to furnish advice to the Secretary for the promotion of individual liberty, human equality, and democracy through U.S. foreign policy.” The Charter further states that the Commission’s advice is to be “grounded in our nation’s founding principles and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” Such a mandate is in keeping with both the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The Declaration of Independence affirms that the primary task of government is to secure the rights inherent in all persons – America’s founders called them “unalienable rights” – while the drafters of the UDHR fully expected the diverse nations of the world to look within their own distinctive traditions to find support for the fundamental principles it outlined. As elaborated by the Secretary, the Commission’s instructions were to focus on principle, not policy formulation. Recognizing that foreign policy must be tailored to changing circumstances and must necessarily consider many other factors along with human rights, the Commission did not seek to enter debates about the application of human rights principles to current controversies. Rather, it has striven to bring those principles into focus and clarify common misunderstandings and perplexities, with the aim of assisting those who bear the heavy responsibility for making principled and prudent policy decisions. It is the Commission’s hope that this Report will be helpful to the people who are engaged, day in and day out, with framing a foreign policy worthy of a nation founded on the proposition that all human beings are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights. The Commission also hopes that this Report will stimulate discussion among fellow citizens and friends of freedom around the world about securing human rights. Secretary Pompeo holds a town hall meeting on the Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights in Washington, D.C., September 9, 2020. Department of State 12 | U ni ted S tates D epartment of S tate 2020 A gency F inanci al R eport