    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [December 10, 1996]
    [Pages 2180-2182]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks on Signing the Human Rights Proclamation
    December 10, 1996

        The President.  This may be one of those cases where the
    introduction was better than the speech. [Laughter] Thank you, Julie,
    and thank all of you for being here. I'm honored to be with this
    distinguished group on Human Rights Day. I want to thank all of you in
    attendance. I think Congresswoman Connie Morella is here. Where are you,
    Connie? There you are, right in front of me. [Laughter] Our AID
    Administrator, Brian Atwood; Assistant Secretary John Shattuck;
    Assistant Secretary Phyllis Oakley; and all of you who represent
    organizations who have done so much to advance the cause of freedom
    around the world. I want to say a special word of welcome to my good
    friend Gerry Ferraro. Thank you for being here.
        Before I begin what I want to say about human rights, I think it is
    appropriate on Human Rights Day that I have just gotten a report from
    the Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, who is meeting with our NATO
    foreign ministers in Brussels, that, together, they agreed to hold an
    historic NATO summit in July in Madrid to carry forward our goal of
    building a Europe that is undivided, democratic, and at peace for the
    first time in history; one in which we will work to forge a partnership
    with Russia, adapt NATO to the demands of a new era, and invite the
    first aspiring members from among Europe's new democracies into NATO. My
    goal is to see them become full members of the alliance for NATO's 50th
    birthday in 1999.
        It's fitting that this step comes on Human Rights Day and on Bill of
    Rights Day and in Human Rights Week. The prospect of NATO membership and
    integration into the West has been a very strong incentive for Europe's
    new democracies to expand their political freedoms and to promote
    universal human rights.
        Working together with our allies and our partners, we're building a
    world where, as Judge Learned Hand once said, rights know no boundaries
    and justice no frontiers.
        For the first time in history, more than half the world's people now
    live under governments of their own choosing. Today we dedicate
    ourselves to the unfinished task of extending freedom's reach. Promoting
    democracy and human rights reflects our ideals and reinforces our
    interests. It's a fundamental pillar of our foreign policy.
        History shows that nations where rights are respected and
    governments are freely chosen are more likely to be partners in peace
    and prosperity. That is why we've worked hard over the last 4 years to
    help equality and freedom take root in South Africa, to stop the reign
    of terror in Haiti, to promote reform in Bosnia and Russia, to bring
    freedom back to Bosnia, and peace, and to enable millions of suffering
    people all around the world to reclaim their simple human dignity. That
    is why we must continue to support the world's newest democracies and to
    keep the pressure on its remaining repressive regimes.
        The First Lady and I have just had a remarkable meeting with these
    six women. They are courageous in promoting human rights in different
    ways. They are courageous in promoting democracy and empowerment by
    helping women to live up to their potential. You can just look at them
    and see that they've put the lie to the notion that human rights is some
    Western cultural idea that has no place in other societies.
        Julie Su, who spoke so eloquently, has played a crucial role in
    stopping the exploitation of Thai women immigrants in sweat shops. And I
    am proud of the work that Secretary Reich and the Labor Department has
    done in that regard, and we intend to continue to do that for the next 4
    years. For the last 20 years, Dawn Calabia has fought to protect women
    refugees and children. Nahid Toubia is a doctor from Sudan whose
    organization has played a pioneering role in women's health issues.
    Barbara Frey has promoted corporate responsibility for human

    [[Page 2181]]

    rights around the world and has also promoted education of children in
    her native Minnesota in human rights. Wanjiru Muigai from Kenya has
    helped women in her country to secure their legal rights, and she made a
    passionate appeal to me to focus on targeting United States aid in a way
    that will promote the empowerment of women in nation after nation. And
    since coming here from El Salvador, Lillian Perdomo has worked to
    protect women from domestic violence right here in the District of
    Columbia.
        Each of these women tells a story for many others. Together their
    experiences underscore a shared truth. As the First Lady said in Beijing
    and as Julie repeated, ``Human rights are women's rights, and women's
    rights are human rights.''
        I want to tell you that I am very proud of the role that Hillary,
    Ambassador Albright, and all the members of the United States
    delegation--and thank you, Marge Mezvinsky, back here--played in issuing
    Beijing's call to action. That was a great moment for the United States
    and a great moment for women around the world.
        Beijing's message was as clear as it was compelling. We cannot
    advance our ideals and interests unless we focus more attention on the
    fundamental human rights and basic needs of women and girls. We must
    recognize that it is a violation of human rights when girls and women
    are sold into prostitution, when rape becomes a weapon of war, when
    women are denied the right to plan their own families, including through
    forced abortions, when young girls are brutalized by genital mutilation,
    when women around the world are unsafe even in their own homes. If women
    are free from violence, if they're healthy and educated, if they can
    live and work as full and equal partners in any society, then families
    will flourish. And when they do, communities and nations will thrive.
        We are putting our efforts to protect and advance women's rights
    where they belong, in the mainstream of American foreign policy. During
    the last 4 years, we have worked to steer more of our assistance to
    women and girls, to help protect their legal rights, and to give them a
    greater voice in their political and economic futures. These programs
    are making a real difference, whether by raising female voter turnout in
    Bangladesh, promoting equality for women in Nepal, enabling women in
    Bosnia to participate fully in the rebuilding of their country. But we
    must do more.
        Today I call upon the Senate again to ratify the United Nations
    convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against
    women. As you know, many, many, many other nations have done this. In
    our country where we have worked so hard against domestic violence,
    where we have worked so hard to empower women, it is, to say the least,
    an embarrassment that the United States has not done this, and there is
    no excuse for this situation to continue.
        I'm also pleased to announce several initiatives totaling $4 million
    to protect and advance women's rights, including new efforts to help
    Rwandan women who have been torn from their homes and to provide women
    refugees around the world with access to reproductive health services.
    They've built on the commitment I made at last year's G-7 summit to help
    women in Bosnia start new businesses and will help women across Africa
    to do the same. They strengthen our commitment to stop the trafficking
    of women and children for prostitution and child labor. And they will
    help women's groups in Asia fight violence and discrimination.
        In short, these efforts will reinforce America's global leadership
    on behalf of human rights and democracy in perhaps the most fundamental
    areas at which they are at risk. They reflect our Nation's enduring
    commitment to the freedoms of our Bill of Rights that safeguard our own
    citizens. They support the values in the Universal Declaration of Human
    Rights that promote freedom, justice, and peace all around the world.
        We live at a time when our most deeply held ideals are ascendant,
    but this hopeful trend toward freedom and democracy is neither
    inevitable nor irreversible, nor has it extended to the real lives of
    hundreds of millions of people all across the globe. While we seek to
    engage all nations on terms of good will, we must continue to stand up
    for the proposition that all people, without regard to their gender,
    their nationality, their race, their ethnic group, or their religion,
    should have a chance to live up to their potential.
        I want to say again how gratified I am that there are people like
    these six women alive and well and at work in the world, people like so
    many of you. It is a constant source of inspiration to me. I want to say
    again how grateful

    [[Page 2182]]

    I am to the First Lady for going across the world to raise our concerns
    about this and bringing back to me the knowledge of the work that has
    been done and what still can be done on behalf of women and girls.
        As I sign this proclamation marking International Human Rights Day,
    I ask you all to remember not just that women's rights are human rights
    but that the defense and the promotion of human rights are the
    responsibilities of all of us.
        Thank you.

    [At this point, the President signed the proclamation on Human Rights
    Day, Bill of Rights Day, and Human Rights Week.]

        The President. Thank you all very much.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:45 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
    White House. In his remarks, he referred to Geraldine Ferraro, former
    Vice Presidential candidate, and Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, Alternate
    U.S. Representative to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on
    Women. The proclamation is listed in Appendix D at the end of this
    volume.