Press Releases

Release of the U.S. Department of State’s 2008 Annual Report on Human Rights Practices

February 26, 2009

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor released the 2008 Annual Report on Human Rights Practices on Wednesday, February 25, 2009.  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered opening remarks on the release of the report.

Secretary Clinton stated, “[H]uman progress depends on the human spirit, and this inescapable truth has never been more apparent than it is today. The challenges of this new century require us to summon the full range of human talents to move our nation and the world forward. Guaranteeing the right of every man, woman and child to participate fully in society and to live up to his or her God-given potential is an ideal that has animated our nation since its founding.  It is enshrined also in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and was reflected in President Obama’s Inaugural Address when he reminded us that every generation must carry forward the belief that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness. Our foreign policy must also advance these timeless values which empower people to speak, think, worship and assemble freely, to lead their work and family lives with dignity, and to know that dreams of a brighter future are within their reach.”

The report is a public document available online at: www.state.gov/g/drl 

The entire section on Mauritius can be accessed on the “Country Reports” feature box on the U.S.  Embassy website: http://mauritius.usembassy.gov