Secretary of State Calls Antipoverty Work 'Critical' to Foreign-Policy Efforts

By Ian Wilhelm

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and subsequent global events, have reshaped America's approach to foreign assistance — and the work of international aid groups, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told nonprofit organizations here Wednesday.

Speaking to attendees of a meeting organized by InterAction, a Washington coalition of about 160 charities that work overseas, Ms. Rice said aid is crucial to preventing the spread of terrorism and a moral obligation of a wealthy nation.

"In the 21st century, defined as it is thus far by an unprecedented and increasing interdependence, human development is both a moral end in itself and also a central pillar of our national security," she said. "For as long as civil conflicts can beget global crises, as long as preventable diseases destroy the social fabric of entire countries and entire continents, as long as half the human race lives on less than $2 a day, the developing world will neither be just nor will it be stable."

As a result, President Bush has sought to increase foreign aid, primarily through support for programs to fight AIDS and malaria, and to improve its effectiveness, she said.

However, Ms. Rice acknowledged nonprofit groups that have complained that the State Department has ignored the importance of fighting poverty as part of its overarching foreign-policy strategy, known as transformational diplomacy. The policy's top goals, as outlined by Ms. Rice last year, included promoting democracy, economic growth, and national security, but did not directly mention antipoverty work.

"I know that many of you wanted our definition of transformational diplomacy to more explicitly be a reflection of our commitment to poverty reduction. That was a good suggestion, we accept it," she said. This year Ms. Rice added "reducing widespread poverty" as one of the priorities of the policy.

'Critical Role'

During her speech, the secretary also sought to play down concerns that the administration's efforts to better coordinate assistance to other countries will decrease support for valuable programs.

"I know that some fear that the effectiveness reform could be a shift of money away from long-term poverty reduction and more short-term, short-sighted policy goals," she said. "I understand that concern, but I want to be absolutely clear. We realize the critical role that poverty reduction must play in prioritizing our foreign assistance."

As the coordination push moves forward, Ms. Rice said she welcomed "the advice, the input, and, yes, even the criticism from your community."

She also encouraged charities to press members of Congress to maintain support for antipoverty, health, and other programs that help people abroad.

"There is a great deal of competition for the tax dollar," she said. "We have to make the argument, we have to sustain the argument, we have to gain allies if we expect to continually increase development assistance as we need to and as we must."

Policy Questions

While attendees applauded Ms. Rice's pledge to foreign aid, some attendees questioned her on specific policy decisions.

For example, Ms. Rice was asked about the Bush administration's policy about aid to the Palestinian territories. Last year, the administration stopped giving monetary and other assistance to the Palestinian Authority after an Islamic political party, which is designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. government, won the majority of seats in a parliamentary election.

The move to freeze aid, some charities argue, has exacerbated humanitarian problems in the area.

Ms. Rice said America is now giving more to the United Nations and nonprofit groups to make up for its decision to cut off the Palestinian government.

"We are doing our best to deal with the humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. But, of course, we recognize that this is not a permanent solution," she said.