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Authors: Yekaterina Vysotskaya, Attache, Department of New Challenges and Threats, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Daniil Mokin, Division Head at the same Department
I. Rogachev, Director of the same Department
THE HUMAN RIGHTS DISCOURSE has al-
ways been accompanied by the most heated diplo-
matic and political debates, while the security issue
of addressing new challenges and threats (NCT)
has been regarded by some experts as being devoid
of politics, presumably making it easier for the
states to negotiate common solutions. In the past
few years, however, things have changed dramati-
cally: balancing human rights and freedoms, on the
one part, and measures designed to promote secu-
rity, on the other, has become one of the most confrontational issues.
The so-called developed democracies led by the U.S have actually made the rest of the world
face the following dilemma: if you observe human rights (referring primarily to personal rights
and freedoms), you are with us; if, however, you take a tough line in an attempt to raise the se-
curity level and inevitably infringe upon human rights, you are against us.
America is, without any reservations, a leading country in the West for trampling on the rights
of its own and foreign nationals. The freedom of movement and correspondence, immunity of
domicile, property rights and personal data records came under excessive control.
With the help of its intelligence agencies the U.S. government has been continuously spying on
its citizens and gathering all possibly available information about them, including individual
records.
Intelligence agencies have also got access to personal data of American and foreign nationals
through their close cooperation with major corporations, including, among others, Google, Mi-
crosoft, Yahoo, Skype, and Verizon: the intelligence officers would sign with the latter confidential
agreements which stipulate a disclosure of their clients' personal information.
It is noteworthy that a considerable part of offenders are of the African, Latin American or
Asian descent. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, around 30 percent of Afro-Amer-
ican males end up behind bars.
Another aspect of the human rights' violations by the government is the use of control measures
relating to race, ethnic or confessional affiliation and nationality.
Having introduced much more rigid security procedures as compared to other countries, the
United States, within the framework of the "democratization process," accuses those countries
of the human rights' abuse while disregarding the fact that the measures of control they have
adopted are less intrusive, which is a typical double-standard attitude.
Setting Priorities: Human Rights or National Security? U.S. Do-
mestic and International Practice