The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Affairs (DRL) is a bureau within the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

. The bureau is under the purview of the

Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights The Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights is a position within the U.S. Department of State that leads the State Department's efforts to prevent and counter threats to civilian security. The Under Secretary oversees ...

. DRL's responsibilities include promoting

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

around the world, formulating U.S.

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

policies, and coordinating policy in human rights-related labor issues. The

Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism The Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism (formerly the Office to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism) is an office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights at the United States Department of S ...

is a separate agency included in the Bureau. The Bureau is responsible for producing annual reports on the countries of the world with regard to

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom ...

through its

Office of International Religious Freedom The International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 ( Public Law 105–292, as amended by Public Law 106–55, Public Law 106–113, Public Law 107–228, Public Law 108–332, and Public Law 108–458) was passed to promote religious freedom as a fo ...

and

. It also administers the U.S. Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF), which is DRL’s flagship program. The head of the Bureau is the

Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is the head of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor within the United States Department of State. The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and ...

, and the official currently acting in this capacity is Lisa. J. Peterson. The bureau was formerly known as the Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, but was reorganized and renamed in 1994, to reflect both a broader sweep and a more focused approach to the interlocking issues of human rights, worker rights, and democracy. Examples of DRL's human rights advocacy in foreign locations include

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. From 2011 to 2015, DRL provided financial support to the

Tor network Tor, short for The Onion Router, is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. It directs Internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer overlay network, consisting of more than seven thousand relays, to conc ...

(The Onion Router).

Organization

The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is divided into twelve unique offices. *Office of Country Reports and Asylum Affairs – Prepares the State Department's annual reports, including the

Country Reports on Human Rights Country Reports on Human Rights Practices are annual publications on the human rights conditions in countries and regions outside the United States, mandated by U.S. law to be submitted annually by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of ...

– Supports the

United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom The United States ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom is the ambassador-at-large who heads the Office of International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. The position was created by the International Religi ...

*Office of Policy Planning and Public Diplomacy *Office for Africa – Monitors

human rights in Africa Contributing to the establishment of human rights system in Africa are the United Nations, international law and the African Union which have positively influenced the betterment of the human rights situation in the continent. However, extensive h ...

*Office for East Asia and the Pacific – Monitors

human rights in East Asia The situation of human rights in East Asia varies between the region's countries, which differ in history and political orientation, as well as between contexts within each country. Issues such as refugees fleeing East Timor, the Cambodian killi ...

*Office for Near East Asia – Monitors

human rights in the Middle East Human rights in the Middle East have been shaped by the legal and political development of international human rights law after the Second World War, and their application to the Middle East. The 2004 United Nations Arab Human Development Report ...

*Office for Western Hemisphere – Monitors

human rights in Latin America Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, an ...

*Office for South Central Asia – Monitors

human rights in Central Asia The situation of human rights in Central Asia varies little between the region's countries, but are often reported to be a cause of concern among many outsider observers, governmental and non-governmental. Some of the legacy of human rights in the r ...

*Office of Global Programming *Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs – Formulates and implements U.S. government policy on human rights in multilateral organizations, including the

UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

, the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

, the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...

, the

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

, the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the Africa ...

, and the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

*Office of International Labor Rights – Advises on policies and initiatives in tandem with the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

*Executive Office

References

External links

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
official website
HumanRights.govOfficial page on FacebookBureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
on AllGov.com United States labor law DRL Human rights organizations based in the United States Government agencies established in 1977 {{US-gov-stub