Political Quotes

“I rise because I am deeply and profoundly disappointed in this year's ``Trafficking in Persons Report'' that was released today. By upgrading Malaysia and Cuba, which were at tier 3--the worst tier at which any country could be considered--the administration has turned its back on the victims of trafficking and turned a blind eye to the facts and politicized the report, and they completely ignored the calls from Congress, from leading human rights advocates, from the realities on the ground in Cuba, and from Malaysian Government officials themselves to preserve the integrity of this exceedingly important report. They have succeeded in elevating political considerations and political goals above the most fundamental principles of basic human rights. I heard Secretary Kerry, in his presentation of the report, say something to the extent that we should not put a price on our fellow human beings' freedom. Well, it seems we have in this case. In arbitrarily upgrading Malaysia and Cuba, they are clearly politicizing the report, giving an undeserved stamp of approval to countries that have failed to take the basic actions that would merit this upgrade. This flies in the face of what Malaysians themselves want. In Malaysia, members of the Parliament, the legal profession, and human rights activists have urged the United States to support their efforts to maintain the tier 3 ranking they tell us Malaysia deserves. Today we have failed them.…”