The Clinton Administration's First Year

President Bill Clinton's inauguration has brought to U.S. policy a heightened emphasis on human rights, but a stress that still falls significantly short of principled support. He has appointed several officials who are vigorous advocates for human rights. But their latitude to set U.S. policy has been regularly constrained by the administration's competing concerns. Rather than articulating a vision of human rights as an essential element of world order, the Clinton administration has only cautiously embraced the cause, jettisoning human rights when the going gets rough. This lack of consistent leadership has sapped much authority from the administration's advocacy of human rights, and has left unfulfilled Washington's potential to advance respect for human rights.