U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2009)

U.S. Department of State

The Role of Humanitarians in Government: Perspectives on Advocacy and Impact Advocacy and Impact

Eric P. Schwartz
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
Brookings Institute
Washington, DC
November 4, 2009

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Second, humanitarians must not shy away from engagement on political, law enforcement and security issues that may affect the humanitarian agenda. In fact, we should engage deeply in such issues and even be prepared to take the lead on policy development when that is feasible and appropriate. During the Clinton Administration, when I served at the National Security Council, I was asked to manage the alien smuggling portfolio. I took on the challenge -- not because I had significant background and experience in law enforcement -- but rather because the issue was compelling to policy-makers and the portfolio involved key protection concerns. I had not taken the humanitarian job at the NSC expecting that I would be helping to devise strategies to protect our borders from unauthorized migration, but so long as I acquitted myself on the enforcement side, policy-makers were prepared to defer to my judgment on many protection issues. Of course, we didn't win every protection battle, but I did feel that protection equities -- whether it involved Cubans, Haitians or Chinese -- were always part of the discussion.

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