50 U. S. Industrial Council Dr. Lefever is not an adherent of dogmatic utopianism. He is a political realist. He knows that America has enemies who do not share our vision of democracy and who exploit every opportunity to subvert our interests... Ernest Lefever is a man of high character and intellectual stature. He is eminently qualified for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and should be confirmed with a minimum of political harangue. March 1981 Anthony Harrigan, President Public Policy Center President I have known and worked with him for some years. He is an able and responsible scholar who does his homework carefully. He is being pilloried because he has the courage and the integrity to speak out on issues even when his position may be unpopular. It would be a most unfortunate precedent if the senate denied him a post for which I believe he is uniquely qualified. Such a judgment would register a message that the U. S. Senate prefers to confirm only those who waffle on the tough issues. tion. I hope you will use your extraordinary talents in support of this confirma April 20, 1981 Dr. John A. Howard, President The Rockford Institute Rockford, Illinois Medical Doctor I have been privileged to serve with Dr. Lefever on a number of symposia concerned with human rights, human equations, human values, among others of similar content. He belongs right there in that spot for which he has been nominated by President Reagan. I strongly support the nomination of Ernest W. Lefever as Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. I believe Mr. Lefever will bring to this position a clear and learned perspective of human rights as it relates to global human needs and dignity. 51 President of Corporation I can think of no United States citizen whom I'd rather have serve in that capacity. Having known Dr. Lefever personally and supporting financially the Ethics and Public Policy Center, I can assure you that Dr. Lefever is a person of the highest moral character and integrity and is absolutely concerned about human rights and fair treatment of people. He is extremely intelligent, capable and effective and I am sure is the type of person whom by far the majority of our fellow citizens would want to serve in the proposed capacity. I urge you to vote favorably to confirm Dr. Ernest Lefever as Assistant Secretary of State. It's time we put capable, effective and high principled people in government. April 14, 1981 Clyde A. Sluhan, President Senator, North Carolina General Assembly Mr. Lefever has been a friend of my wife's and of mine for many years, and it is our view that an outrageous character assassination has been executed by the press. Mr. Lefever is, in all respects, a person of utmost sincerety, kindness, and ethics. This is as true of him personally as it is of his public policy views. I hope the Committee will not be distracted by the distortions that have been presented by the news media about Dr. Lefever. Ernest Lefever differs from his predecessor in his capacity to think in reasonable terms and to function as an integral part of a high quality foreign policy team, which will hopefully re-establish the credibility of the United States with both its friends and adversaries overseas. A balanced and ethically consistent view of human rights in this context is most important, and I believe that Dr. Lefever is extremely competent to provide this input. 52 IV. SUPPORT FOR DR. LEFEVER BY MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES The following letter, signed by 42 Congressmen, was sent to Senator Percy to support the confirmation of Dr. Ernest Lefever to be Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will soon consider the nomination of Dr. Ernest Lefever for the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs. We the undersigned members of the United States House of Representatives urge that affirmative action be taken on Dr. Lefever's nomination. In the past several months since being designated by President Reagan for this position, Dr. Lefever has demonstrated that he is an eloquent and conscientious representative of the views of the President in the vital area of human rights. Dr. Lefever has worked closely with and shares the views and objectives of both Ambassador Kirkpatrick and Ambassador Kampelman who have previously been confirmed by the Senate to represent the United States in international forums dealing with human rights issues. By virtue of his personal background, Dr. Lefever brings uniquely valuable abilities to the Bureau of Human Rights. An ordained minister for 40 years, he has received a doctorate in Christian ethics from Yale University and has done extensive work directly with those suffering various forms of deprivation. He has been a participant in the civil rights movement in this country. He also has been involved in programs assisting inner city children, migratory laborers and relocating Japanese from internment centers during World War II. He has travelled extensively overseas and dealt with international humanitarian problems through his position as Associate Director of the Department of International Affairs of the National Council of Churches. Through excessive work in recent years as President of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Professor Lefever has exhibited a profound understanding of the nature of human rights and how to best advance them through public policy. Eschewing rigid ideological approaches, Dr. Lefever has adopted a principled and pragmatic course which is attuned to the complex and delicate process of promoting human rights. Dr. Lefever, as does President Reagan, focuses on the need to restore the vital distinction between totalitarian regimes that threaten to eradicate all rights and export their oppressive systems, and governments which, although authoritarian, present an opportunity for the evolution of democratic institutions. We believe that President Reagan, through the nomination of Dr. Lefever should be permitted to develop an effective human rights policy that will ultimately be judged by results rather than preconceived notions. Dr. Lefever is an excellent choice for the position of Assistant Secretary for Human 53 Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, and we enthusiastically urge his favorable consideration by the United States Senate. Sincerely, Philip M. Crane Lyle Williams Thomas Bliley Henry Hyde Tom Corcoran Daniel Crane Bob Dornan Hal Daub Richard Schulze Bill Archer The CHAIRMAN. Senator Zorinsky. Senator ZORINSKY. I yield my time to Senator Tsongas. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Tsongas. Senator TSONGAS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Dr. Lefever, would you repeat the statement you made about when you first had contact with Mr. Nickel? Mr. LEFEVER. To the best of my recollection, I saw Mr. Nickel October 4, 1979. Senator TSONGAS. And that was your first contact with him? Mr. LEFEVER. To the best of my recollection, and sustained by a search of our records. Senator TSONGAS. Did the search of your records include a reprint of Mr. Nickel's article that you did in 1978 on June 19? Mr. LEFEVER. We reprinted an article earlier, yes. Senator TSONGAS. His article? Mr. LEFEVER. That is correct; yes. But I don't understand the intent of your question. Could I be more helpful? Senator TSONGAS. You just said that your first contact with him was October 4, 1979. But 15 months earlier you reprinted an article of his. And you wait for someone to raise the article before you acknowledge it. Mr. LEFEVER. I did not contact Mr. Nickel on permission to reprint the earlier article. I mentioned earlier that I was aware that he was very good in case studies, and this is a case study in point. Senator TSONGAS. The center did reprint a Nickel article 15 months prior to Mr. LEFEVER. That is correct. But your question was when was my first contact with Mr. Nickel. The normal procedure when one reprints an article is to write to the institution which holds the copyright. In this case we wrote to Fortune, we did not write to Mr. Nickel. As far as I know, there was no personal contact, or by phone or by letter, to Mr. Nickel at that time. Senator TSONGAS. So you recall that very clearly, then? Mr. LEFEVER. I do not recall that very clearly, sir. I recall that we do not reprint things that are copyrighted without the permission of the copyright holder, and we got the permission from Fortune magazine. I have no recollection of meeting or talking to Mr. Nickel at that time. It is possible that I did, but I have no such recollection. Senator TSONGAS. Don't you think that in the discussion of when you first were aware of Mr. Nickel you might have mentioned the fact that your center reprinted his article? Mr. LEFEVER. That might have been mentioned. Our report is an open document. We advertised his article. It is public knowledge and there was no attempt-and we are very proud of the article that we reprinted. Senator TSONGAS. Would you care to give the title of the article? Mr. LEFEVER. "The Case for Doing Business in South Africa," by Herman Nickel. And the article appeared in Fortune magazine. It is in my view an excellent article. Mr. Nickel went to South Africa and interviewed every party to that issue. It is a very complex issue. He interviewed black labor union leaders, other black groups. He interviewed persons from labor and management, persons of all racial |