Defending Human Rights 'Reflects Who We Are,' Blinken Tells Rights Leaders

Top U.S. diplomat said on Thursday that promoting and defending human rights remains to be a priority for the Biden administration's foreign policy, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"When more people in more places have their rights respected, the world is more peaceful, more secure, more prosperous," Secretary of State Anotny Blinken argued during his meeting with representatives of human rights organizations.

"Defending human rights, affirming human dignity, simply put, reflects our values, reflects who we are," he said.

"Our efforts are especially important as the universality of human rights is under severe challenge and rights are being violated in far too many places," Blinken went on to add, elaborating: "We see repression by autocratic regimes. We see the denial of opportunities because of who people are, where they were born, what they believe. And of course we see atrocities in the midst of conflict."