Obama's Human Rights Record

A little over three years ago, I was an eager 18-year-old standing in line at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, waiting to cast my vote for the next president of the United States. I had been a staunch advocate of Barack Obama from the very beginning, defying the views of my conservative, Catholic high school. I truly believed that he would change Washington, and the country as a whole, for the better. I was handed the ticket that gave me access to the voting booth and glanced down at the number. It was 777. I'm not someone who goes out of her way to look for signs, but I took that to be a good one.

The past few years under the Obama administration have been eye opening for me. I understand that the game of politics is highly complicated- much more so than the media makes it out to be. What we deem the "successes" and "failures" of a president are rarely decisions made by the individual himself. In spite of this, I wanted to look at Obama's human rights record by examining both his words and actions. 

Minority/Civil Rights

During his campaign and as the only candidate who identified himself as black, Obama took on a position as a champion for civil rights. He asserted that "robust minority rights let societies benefit from the full measure of contributions from all citizens." As one of his first official acts as president in February 2009, he signed a bill that restored the ability of employees to challenge pay discrimination. African Americans, women and others protected by fair employment laws are once again assured the right to challenge pay discrimination in the workplace under federal law.

LGBT Rights

While he recently claimed that he is still “working on” his position on gay marriage, Obama and his administration has made a fair amount of strides when it comes to LGBT rights. In October 2009, Obama signed a hate crimes bill into law that expanded the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Under the existing federal law, hate crimes were defined as those motivated by the victim’s race, color, religion, or national origin. In July 2011, Obama officially repealed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, the 17-year-old law that banned openly gay men, lesbians and bisexuals from military service. He also threw his support behind a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act in his belief that the ban on same-sex marriage is “unconstitutional.” And in December 2011, although recognizing that the US’ record on the matter has been “far from perfect,” Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and President Obama announced a presidential directive to use U.S. foreign aid to promote rights for gays and lesbians abroad in recognition that "gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights.”

Rights of Political Prisoners

Just this week both Obama and Clinton hailed Myanmar’s release of many of the country's most prominent political prisoners as a "a substantial step forward for democratic reform.” Yet, despite the fact that we reside in a democracy, the president and his administration seem to be doing very little for those in Guantanamo Bay except validating their right to keep them there. During his 2008 campaign, the former senator from Illinois promised to close the camp that has been a perpetual stain on America’s image since it opened 10 years ago. Of course, this is not all Obama’s fault. After granting President Bush all the authority to do whatever he wished there, Congress has turned Guantanamo into a cynical political tool and obstructed Obama’s attempts to release or try detainees. Today, 171 prisoners remain there in a legal limbo. Some await transfer abroad, while at least 40 may never face justice but are deemed too dangerous to ever be freed. In March 2011, Obama signed an executive order allowing retooled military commissions at Guantanamo to try inmates for war crimes. This past December, he signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a wide-ranging defense bill into law despite having “serious reservations” about certain provisions. He also issued a so-called signing statement expressing his strong disagreement with the detainee-related provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists, including one that seeks to ban civilian trials for Guantanamo prisoners by prohibiting their entrance into the United States.

It has been increasingly hard to separate Obama’s personal views on human rights from the policies he pushes forward with the current Republican-majority Congress. He has proven that he can bring change to the White House especially in terms of healthcare and civil liberties. But will he stand by as laws like the NDAA blatantly push aside fundamental human rights? And can I be faulted for the audacity of having hope in a man who claims to run the most transparent and ethical administration in US history?