3 - The Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Limits of Bipartisanship

Summary

In 1983, two junior members of Congress, John E. Porter (R-IL) and Tom Lantos (D-CA), established the Congressional Human Rights Caucus (CHRC) to mobilize bipartisan congressional action on human rights issues worldwide. Chapter 3 examines the origins, nature, and activities of the hitherto neglected CHRC, including its initiation of several spin-off initiatives and its collaboration with human rights NGOs. The chapter demonstrates how the CHRC systematized and significantly expanded congressional human rights activism during the 1980s. It successfully united a large and diverse group of members of Congress to shine the spotlight on a broad range of human rights issues. The chapter also assesses the limitations of the CHRC. Its goal of bipartisanship meant it often adopted a cautious approach and largely avoided controversial issues that could divide its members. Focusing predominantly on the civil and political rights of individuals and minorities, the CHRC paid only minimal attention to economic, social, and cultural rights. Its preferred tactic of naming and shaming human rights violators, while effective at times, sometimes proved impotent. Due to its cautious approach, the CHRC generated remarkably few critics, which helped secure its longevity and its elevation to the status of a permanent commission in 2008.