WAPO (blog):

President Obama has taken plenty of criticism for downgrading U.S. support for human rights and its defenders. So he should get some credit for what he did yesterday: not just a meeting with TibetÕs Dalai Lama, despite furious rhetoric from China, but a second encounter with a group of two dozen human rights defenders from around the world.

The gathering in the White HouseÕs Roosevelt room included activists from a host of countries where the defense of freedom is a dangerous enterprise: Iran, Belarus, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, among others. More significantly, some were from countries that are U.S. allies, such as Pakistan, Egypt and Indonesia. ObamaÕs State Department has been widely criticized -- and rightly so -- for downgrading support for human rights in those countries; for example, it has allowed Egypt to have a veto over which groups can receive funding under Agency for International Development democracy programs.

Though both meetings were closed, the statements issued afterward suggested that the activists pressed Obama on his record so far. According to a statement issued by Freedom House, one of the organizers of the gathering, they Òdescribed the increasing repression against them and encouraged the president to play a greater leadership role in defending fundamental freedoms of association, expression and assembly.Ó

The Dalai Lama told reporters he was Òvery happyÓ with his hour-long session, even though Obama did not publicly appear with him or allow photographs. That was mostly in keeping with the practice of past presidents, though George W. Bush presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal at the Capitol in 2007.