Ben Cardin

The impunity rates in our hemisphere and many countries are just outrageous.

Do you commit to engage in meaningful consultation while policies are being deployed, not just providing notification after the fact?

The Dayton Accords were never meant to be the final answer to Bosnia.

Do you commit to keep this committee fully and currently informed about the activities under your purview?

India was just downgraded from the annual report by Freedom House from free to partly free.

I agree completely with your focus on Kosovo and the need for Serbia to take action on recognition.

Do you commit to promptly responding to requests for briefings and information requested by the committee and its designated staff?

We have found significant challenges on protecting basic human rights.

Poland's role as a NATO ally and a NATO member and an EU member are linked to the commitments about democratic values.

I think Poland is at a crossroads today.

There are lessons to be learned from Afghanistan, lessons learned over four administrations that led to the results that we saw this past month or two.

I think it is very important that we have a very strong position--a carrot-stick approach--that we are not going to give them benefits if they are not going to advance the goals that are important.

Secretary Blinken--I do not know if you saw last week--gave a tremendous speech in Ecuador talking about how we are going to grow democracies in the Western Hemisphere, and the first issue he wanted to talk about was corruption.

I want to talk about President Biden's commitment that our foreign policy is going to be based in our values, our concerns about the growth of corruption, the autocratic regimes around the world, and that all of our tools of foreign…

We know that China is belligerent in the China seas, making claims that are outrageous and affect international commerce and our national security.

We should also be looking at what we can do as a Congress to give you a stronger hand in China in dealing with these universal rights.

President Biden has said that we are strongest when we conduct our foreign policy based upon our values.

If I am confirmed, this will also be a big priority to help ensure that the ethnic communities in Kosovo, who have every right to be in their country and to exercise their rights as a citizen, feel safe in doing so.

We need to work to constitutional reform... a government that is respected all of the communities and has the confidence of all the communities.

I think less so with China because I think there is more unity there.

Kosovo's constitution affords Kosovo Serbs and other minorities extensive rights and protections, but Kosovo still has substantial work to do.

I look forward to devoting my time and energy to operationalizing the Bahrain-Israel Abraham Accords agreement.

I absolutely want to continue that outreach.

With a country that we have a strategic partnership with that is backtracking on their commitments on human rights, we have to be very clear that that is a major concern to us

Bahrain is an important ally of the United States in so many different areas, including our strategies against Iran as well as the Abraham Accords.