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 simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

. The bureau is under the purview of the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

History

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. From 2011 to 2015, DRL provided financial support to the Tor network (The Onion Router).

Functions

DRL's responsibilities include promoting

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

in U.S. and around the world, formulating U.S.

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

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 ...

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, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

through its Office of International Religious Freedom and

. It also administers the U.S. Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF), which is DRL's flagship program. 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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Organization

The head of the Bureau is the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and the official currently acting in this capacity is Erin Barclay. The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor is divided into twelve 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 ...

* Office of International Religious Freedom – 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 of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom in the U.S. Department of State. The position was created by the Interna ...

*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 the human rights situation in the continent. However, extensive h ...

*Office for East Asia and the Pacific – Monitors human rights in East Asia *Office for Near East Asia – Monitors human rights in the Middle East *Office for Western Hemisphere – Monitors

human rights in Latin America Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are great apes characterized by their hairlessness, bipedalism, and high intelligen ...

*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 ...

*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) 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 ...

, the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

, 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, an ...

, the

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

, the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

, the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union 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 African Union. The b ...

, and the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...

*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 one of the firs ...

*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 Democracy promotion {{US-gov-stub