SPECIAL ISSUE:
1998 U. S. State Department Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices

        Each year, the United States State Department prepares Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. These reports cover a number of categories, including freedom of speech and of the press. We have taken, from the recently-issued 1998 reports, those sections that specifically deal with press and media rights in the republics of the former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe. These are spotty, hardly comprehensive reports and vary in quality from country to country. We present them both because they contain valuable information and because they represent the State Department’s official assessment.

        This year, we have asked various associates to review the reports and provide their professional assessments of the State Department’s coverage. They include Manana Aslamazyan of Internews Russia; Jerry Huffman of Internews Kazakhstan; Péter Molnár, Associate Professor, ELTE University Media Center; Nicolae Negru, Editor-in-Chief, Media in Moldova; Ivan Sigal of Internews Tajikistan; Bill Slakey of Internews Kyrgyz Republic; and Richard L. Sleder of Internews Uzbekistan. Their commentaries will follow the reports.

        In an appendix to the reports, the State Department includes the following disclaimer:

        We base the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices on information available from all sources, including American and foreign government officials, victims of human rights abuse, academic and congressional studies, and reports from the press, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s) concerned with human rights. We find particularly helpful, and make reference in most reports to, the role of NGO’s, ranging from groups in a single country to those that concern themselves with human rights worldwide. While much of the information we use is already public, information on particular abuses frequently cannot be attributed, for obvious reasons, to specific sources.
        By law, we must submit the reports to Congress by February 25. To comply, we provide guidance to United States diplomatic missions in July for submission of draft reports in September and October, which we update by year’s end as necessary. Other offices in the Department of State provide contributions and the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor prepares a final draft. Because of the preparation time required, it is possible that yearend developments may not be fully reflected. We make every effort to include reference to major events or significant changes in trends.

Last Updated: 11/20/99

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