Human Rights Awards Reception – Spotlight! on Mr. Eric Richardson

By Christina Morales Hansen, Co-Chair, Human Rights Committee

UNA-NCA is pleased to present this year’s F. Allen "Tex" Harris Diplomacy Human Rights Award to Mr. Eric Richardson. Mr. Richardson is a 20-year veteran of the Foreign Service and an attorney who has spent much of the past 15 years working to improve human rights around the world. He is currently the Political-Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy for Libya, based in Tunis, Tunisia. For the previous three years, he served as the deputy to the U.S. Ambassador to the UN Human Rights Council, for which he was nominated for this award. Mr. Richardson was kind enough to share some of his insights with Christina Hansen, Board Member and Co-Chair of the Human Rights Committee.

C.H.: Can you tell us a little about yourself and what motivated you to enter into a career in diplomacy?

E.R.: I have always wanted to work in foreign affairs -- the only question for me was whether I would do so as a foreign correspondent, an international lawyer or as a diplomat, which are the three aspects of careers I have pursued at various points in my life. My parents taught me the value of public service and, even as a boy, I was interested in working in foreign affairs. My grandmother would tell me stories of her visits to China and Japan, her family's experience growing up in Austria/Poland, and my grandfather's experience leaving Ukraine (then Russia). In high school, I had a great debate coach, Denny Anderson, who motivated us to research international affairs during a season when the national debate topic was U.S. arms sales policy. Despite being from a small high school in Caro, Michigan, we walked away with a State championship. Then, studying international relations at Stanford, my interest was confirmed when I spent the summer of 1987 in Poland studying the role of the press in political dissent. This was Poland before the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the Poles were so open, interested in democracy, and trapped by their geography that it again motivated me to really focus on how dissent can transform a country and, in Poland's case, escape authoritarianism for a democratic future. That particular focus on dissent, democracy and how people help transform their country to escape an authoritarian government really has shaped my career, whether writing my Master's thesis on the role of terror as a tool to suppress dissent in Cambodia and Burma, in the legal pro bono work I did for Guatemalan refugees, or in my work as a diplomat.

C.H.: Wow, so your interest in these issues truly spans your whole life! You’ve been able to work all around the world on these issues throughout your career. How does your experience as a diplomat shape your understanding of human rights?

E.R: I'm probably a bit of a rarity in that it was  my understanding of human rights that has shaped my experience as a diplomat, rather than the other way around. When I was in law school at Michigan, I focused a lot on civil liberties, especially our First Amendment liberties and issues of non-discrimination. I never really bought the political theory that peoples or states were ready for "post-materialist values" like freedom of expression only after they reached a certain stage in their development. So, I always wanted as a diplomat to find a way to explore and advocate for those fundamental freedoms for states in the developing world, especially with respect to rights involving the U.S. First Amendment and non-discrimination. I have been fortunate to receive assignments, whether in Geneva working for the UN Human Rights Council or elsewhere, that allowed me to help implement our diplomacy in a way that was consistent with these very American values.

C.H.: Your approach to diplomacy makes a lot of sense. Not only does that promote consistency with American values, it also aligns with our national interests. Is there an issue or area that you are particularly passionate about?

E.R.: In many ways, my job as U.S. human rights officer in China was my dream job. The possibilities to move a society forward through focus on dissent and the rule of law have always interested me. As with many issues today, those impacting China are among the most fascinating and will help decide the future direction of the world. The human rights activists I met in China were among the smartest, most creative, and most patriotic people I have known. So the future of China and human rights is probably my most specific passion.

I am also very interested in the future of human rights in Africa. Working in Geneva, I was repeatedly impressed by African diplomats who took the unpopular step of breaking from African "solidarity" to defend African people's rights, whether in their own or neighboring countries. Time and again, African diplomats worked together at the UN Human Rights Council to address the most challenging issues in Africa, such as trying to prevent atrocities in South Sudan or Burundi. The diplomats who took these stands were not only those from African democracies, but diplomats of strength and goodwill from places as varied as Algeria, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire and Ethiopia. Two examples that come to my mind are Somali Ambassador Yusuf Ismail Bari-Bari and Ghanaian Deputy Permanent Representative Ebenezzer Appreku. In Ambassador Bari-Bari's case, he was a tireless champion of the rights of women in Africa, including victims of sexual violence in his native Somalia, and he single-handedly focused the United Nations on the mistreatment faced, especially in Africa, by People with Albinism. Ebenezzer Appreku was a passionate voice for the need for Africans to speak up to prevent atrocities on the continent. Having experienced human rights challenges in his home country and knowing how the United Nations came to Ghana's aid through assistance offered by the UN Peacebuilding Commission, Appreku effectively debunked the myth that commentary on human rights situations in other countries was unwarranted "interference in internal affairs." Sadly, both of these friends were taken from us during the years I worked with them in Geneva: Ambassador Bari-Bari fell victim to an al Shabbab bullet, while Mr.Appreku died of a heart attack earlier this year. These two diplomats also illustrate something fantastic about the United Nations: You do not have to come from a large or wealthy country to make a difference in the world.

Finally, I love the art, and the game, of international negotiation. Courtesy of my State Department career, I have had the chance to observe some pretty amazing negotiators. These included UN Undersecretary Jeff Feltman who was one of my bosses in Tel Aviv as we tried to implement the Oslo Accords, and Ambassador Chris Hill, whom I worked for during the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. I hope to write a book about international negotiations someday building on these experiences and my experiences in the United Nations, so that is definitely another passion of mine.

C.H.: I would love to read your book about your experiences! I hope you can write that soon. I’d like to talk a little more about your work at the UN. As you know, the United States was just reelected to the UN Human Rights Council for three years. As a key member of the US Mission to the UN in Geneva, you must be very pleased. What challenges and opportunities exist in implementing the US’s human rights commitments and pledges?

E.R.: The UN Human Rights Council is so much more active in advancing human rights standards and criticizing human rights violators when the United States is a member of the HRC, I am very pleased that UN member states saw fit to elect the United States to a new three-year term. I hope we continue to serve as a catalyst, working with partners around the globe to speak up for universal values and to shine a spotlight on those who would violate human rights.

C.H.: For the first time, the UN and the US will have new leadership in the same month. How do leadership transitions impact your job and human rights policies at the State Department?

E.R.: Having just come out of a divisive election in the United States, I feel confident that America's leaders will come together to ensure that human rights remains an important bipartisan pillar of our foreign policy. Universal human rights values are American values, so I see advocacy for human rights as a central part of American greatness in the world. I had the privilege of working as a Pearson Fellow for former House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor ever elected to Congress. Mr. Lantos taught me a lot about giving a voice to those who are voiceless and speaking truth to power. Whether it was his criticism of companies that violated Internet freedom, his support for President Bush's focus on stopping AIDS in Africa, or his determination to meet His Holiness the Dalai Lama when other political figures would not do so, Mr. Lantos almost always found common cause with colleagues across the aisle to advocate for policies and legislation that made a real difference on human rights around the world.

I am also very optimistic for the United Nations. I had a few opportunities to meet incoming Secretary General Guterrres while I worked in Geneva and I think he will be an important voice on human rights and humanitarian issues at a time when that voice is sorely needed in the world. As we see from Libya, a beachhead from which literally hundreds of migrants take to the seas every week in an effort to find a better life in Europe, the human toll the migration crisis takes on our world is something that no single state or regional institution can address. We need the United Nations to step up and find a way to address this crisis, as well as to address many other important issues of peace and security in the world today.

C.H.: Speaking of transitions, you just took a new position as the Political Economic Counselor for Libya. Will you have an opportunity to work on human rights issues in your new role? I’ve been to Geneva in springtime and it was freezing, are you looking forward to the warmer weather at your office in Tunisia.

E.R.: Since my arrival in August, working on Libya has been great and I am part of a fantastic team at our Libya External Office in Tunis that covers all aspects of Libya's political, security and economic situation, including of course human rights. Early in the Arab Spring, in 2012, I had the chance to visit both Tunisia and Libya. I was so impressed with the sacrifices the Tunisians had made for their revolution and the hospitality they were showing to the Libyans who were fleeing the war with Qaddhafi, even though Tunisia's own economy was overwhelmed. I also was very impressed with those Libyans who were trying to make a difference in their society. I was very used to dealing with governments who denied their human rights violations. Libyans were a refreshing exception. They were candid about the challenges that faced the government and armed groups, acknowledged their failings -- including mistreatment of those in detention -- and genuinely wanted help to learn how to understand and incorporate international standards into their domestic structures of law and human rights. Just last week, I met with a group of Libyan human rights lawyers who were receiving training in these international standards that was sponsored by the American Bar Association. Their persistence and bravery in pressing for human rights despite the very real security and political challenges in Libya really impressed me and makes me optimistic for Libya's future.

And yes, I have enjoyed the Mediterranean weather.

C.H.: It is wonderful that you are so optimistic! We look forward to seeing what you can accomplish in Libya in your new position. I am sure it will be another interesting chapter in your book.  On a personal note, what would surprise your peers to learn about you?

E.R.: I love music and theater. While I was in Geneva working for our delegation to the UN Human Rights Council, I sang the National Anthem at the Mission July 4 party as part of a Barbershop Quartet. I also performed in Cabaret, CATS and Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang with the Geneva Amateur Operatic Society. Fortunately, my kids got the real performing talent ... my oldest Siena is about to graduate with a degree in theater from the Tisch School at NYU, my middle daughter Maya has directed some great high school productions, and my son Zac is a budding guitarist.

C.H.: As a theater buff, I am very impressed and I am glad your musical talents were passed on to your children.

Lastly, what do you think is your greatest accomplishment related to human rights?

E.R.: My friend John Kamm of the Duihua Foundation in San Francisco likes to say that you cannot be interested in human rights without being concerned about individual human beings. Some of my greatest accomplishments have been to help in negotiating the release of political prisoners, like American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were held in North Korea, or the release of the founder of the China Democracy Party Wang Youcai from custody in China. Youcai's release was for me a particularly touching one because we are about the same age and had similar life experiences that led up to the point of our meeting when Chinese authorities brought him from prison and released him to my custody in the Shanghai airport. He had been told that he was being sent to the United States for medical care but he thought he would be coming back to China afterwards. I had the hard job of conveying to him that, if he got on the airplane with me to freedom in the United States, he was likely to be exiled and might never be able to return to see his family in China. Helping someone whose personal story shows such dedication to the cause of human rights is something I was very proud to be a part of. Not only was I put in a place where I could help Youcai make that tough decision, but his story had a happy ending. In time, Youcai adjusted to life in the United States, received a post-doctorate degree, and found a job in finance in New York City. Chinese authorities allowed his wife to leave China for America where they are now living the American dream, together with their son William. Being involved in those kind of situations which make a concrete difference in the lives of human rights activists is definitely my proudest human rights accomplishment.

C.H.: Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us more about yourself. We look forward to learning more at the UNA-NCA Human Rights Awards Reception.

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Please join us on December 8^th to celebrate Eric Richardson’s achievements and our other human rights champions at the UNA-NCA Human Rights Awards Reception. You can register here.