And applause] good morning, everyone. Its an honor to welcome you to for this very special event. 2019resentation of the clinton awards for advancing women in peace and security. And today were privileged to the honorable Hillary Rodham clinton, honoree chair of our Georgetown Institute for women, peace and security. Clinton, were deeply grateful to you for your presence and for your contributions in recognizing the role of women in peace building. Thank you for being here. [cheers and applause] we gather today to honor three individuals who have means toed what it serve, protect and empower vulnerable populations. Her excellency, michelle batchlet, who serves as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights and who served twice as president of the republic of chile. Applause]d rosatom anaya who is Program Coordinator of segundas opertunidades, based in el salvador that supports incarcerated people as they prepare to return to society and the workforce. [applause] vasquez, who marta provides legal and so Psychological Services to women who have survived violence. [applause] i wish to offer each of you our most sincere gratitude for your leadership and for this opportunity to recognize your exceptional contributions and accomplishments. The award, named for secretary clinton, recognizes her pivotal role in the promotion of womens rights and are distinguished career of Public Service. Words she offered in 1995 in beijing, and are now in her now famous address on womens we are convening today. She said then, if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations will close quote. [applause] 16 years after that seminal speech in december 2011 come on this very stage, she joined us for the launch of the u. S. National action plan for women, peace andcurityce security. We founded an initiative in recognition of the truth that women play a Critical Role in the security and wellbeing of communities and nations. Today, she serves as its honorary founding chair. Under the leadership of the ambassador, our institute convened leaders, scholars and. Ractitioners in dialogue it helped forge and strengthen georgetowns collaboration with organizations engaged in this work across the globe. Through research and innovative scholarship it enhanced our understanding of the cultural, political, and Economic Issues has provided a framework for students to gain an understanding, to gain experience necessary to develop this compassionate develop as compassionate Global Leaders devoted to womens inclusion. We are honored to present the Hillary Rodham clinton awards for advancing women in peace and recognition of the leadership of secretary clinton and the contributions of our secretary clinton championed the rights and role of women for so many years in the leadership roles in which she has served as first lady of the United States, as senator of the state of new york, on the global stage as secretary of as theand most recently first woman in our countrys history to be nominated for president by a Major Political party. [applause] she has strengthened opportunities for womens socialal, economic and engagement, creating and institutionalizing new positions and policies that helped ensure writer recognition of women in the economic development, peace building and political systems and communities and nations around the world. She serves as honorary cochair of the u. S. Afghan Womens Council which had is housed at georgetown, and we are grateful for her commitment and. Xample of Public Service secretary clinton, it is a privilege to have you with us again. Welcome back to georgetown. Aease join me in extending warm welcome to secretary clinton. [applause] [cheers and applause] clinton thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you for welcoming me back to the hilltop once again. It is a great, great pleasure and real honor to come back to georgetown on any occasion, and especially for this one. And of course, i have to express my personal gratitude to ambassador to the ambassador. Been a dearor has friend for many years, but her unparalleled commitment to advancing the rights of women and girls shines a bright light on those who are on the front lines, engaged in this work. You justnstitute that described is truly oneofakind in the entire world. It was the first dedicated to the idea that womens full participation in peace and no longer beld relegated to the margins of international affairs. So its inspiring and humbling, but also energizing to be with the extraordinary women you will , who havefew minutes done so much on their own to advance peace and security and to lift up women. I have to say, this event seems to grow more timely and relevant each time we are together, and this year is obviously no exception. These are perilous times for our world. Nationalism, tribalism, and authoritarianism are on the rise. Technology has proven to be a doubleedged sword, capable of torying Democratic Values oppressed peoples as well as giving authoritarians the tools they need to tighten control and counter the foundations of open society. We are in the midst of a historic global refugee crisis which is accelerated by Climate Change, economic injustice, and violent extremism. Andhere, at home, in europe in other places around the world, we are witnessing an all out assault on our core values of democracy, free speech, and the rule of law. Now, in the midst of all this to mulch, women in the midst of ult, women are proving to be a beacon of hope. They are doing the essential work of reinvigorating and protect in democracies and people. Standing up to human rights abuses, shining bright lights on corruption, taking on urgent challenges, often in the face of the cruelest, most violent resistance imaginable. Havee United States, we some examples of that kind of leadership. Just look at our speaker of the house, nancy pelosi. [applause] her clear eyed leadership has essentialuse to pass legislation on everything from guaranteeing health care to protecting us from gun violence. And dont you think it is about time that the United States senate did its job to vote on that legislation . [cheers and applause] but of course, we all know that announced the opening of an impeachment inquiry into the president on the basis of evidence that he betrayed his oath of office to uphold the constitution and protect and offend our country and defend our country. Diplomacyamerican into a cheap extortion racket. He has denigrated, and lets the honest, stabbed in the back the Career Foreign Service officers who served bravely and selflessly nomadic the politics of the administration no matter the politics of the in ministration they are working under. And they are caught in the crossfire. I was proud to serve with Foreign Service officers and Civil Servants at the state department and i know firsthand they deserve the support and gratitude of all americans. [applause] sadly, we have known who donald trump is for some time now. We knew he was a corrupt businessman who cheated people. We knew he and his campaign and toited foreign adversaries tamper with our elections. And now, we know that in the course of his duties as president , he has endangered us all by putting his personal and political interests ahead of the interest of the American People. But this is ultimately about much more than donald trump. It is about us. It is about who we are as a nation. History is being written and the world, and our children, are watching. So women have in in the forefront. We saw that again just this past funderburk ta berg, who first captured International Attention when, at 15 years old, she began demonstrating outside the Swedish Parliament to protest her governments inaction on Climate Change. At first, she said, i tried to bring people along to join me but no one was really interesting, so i had to do it by myself. Soon, students across europe and the world started following suit , first just by the dozens, then hundreds, then millions. And this week, she delivered a powerful speech at the United Nations climate actions summit that should be required viewing for every lawmaker. She spoke for so many in her own generation when she condemned the World Leaders lack of urgency in responding to Climate Change by saying, you have stolen my dreams then my childhood with your empty words. I know she engendered a backlash from the Climate Change deniers, from the antianything coalition that takes on those who stand up and speak out, and in anly live evidencebased world instead of a factfree world. So she did engender this backlash, which only made her , moree more significant important for everyone of us to Pay Attention to. And i personally am grateful to is inspiringshe among young people across the world, because never underestimate the power of women and girls, not only to improve their own lives, but to lift up families, communities, and entire nations. And the women we recognize today embody that truth. Michelle bachelet is someone i have known and admired for a long time. Chelsear my daughter and i wrote about her in the book of gutsy women, which comes out next week, as a reminder of the obstacles women have overcome to take a stand and who they are authentically intended to be. Championed womens rights opportunities and full participation throughout her career. She passed sweeping policies to expand access to maternity care, to require banks to disaggregate data by gender, and after escaping a brutal dictatorship, she has spoken out as the high commissioner against human rights abuses from myanmar to syria to the United States border. I have to recognize in the audience a prior high commissioner on human rights, former president of ireland, Mary Robinson. We are sure we are so pleased that she is here. [applause] you know that great old saying, if you want a job done, ask a busy woman . We have some perfect examples of that. Along with high commissioner ba chelet, we are honoring rosa ana ya. She is pioneering justice in el salvadors prison system, one of most violent places on our planet. She is working to prepare inmates to become responsible employees, engaged citizens, and promoters of peace in their own communities. Velasquez isa providing services to survivors in honduras. For high commissioner bachelet, rosa and virginia, human rights are personal and they should be for the rest of us. Advancing the rights and opportunities of women and girls is the great Unfinished Business of the 21st century. It is important to take a broad view of what is happening in the effort to continue to promote human rights worldwide. Consider the recent report from the defense departments Inspector General on conditions at a refugee camp in syria, where tens of thousands of women and children are being held in horrible conditions. And lack of proper security has resulted in the spread of isis ideology i the women in the camp by the women in the cap. We know women play Critical Roles in violent extremism as perpetrators and victims. We also know women are often in a prime position to root out early signs of radicalization because womens rights and physical safety are often the first targets of fundamentalists. Often come our United States and our global counterterrorism strategies fail to enlist women to combat this radicalism. The years, the Georgetown Institute helped to a compelling evidencebased case to support womenct that when participate in peacemaking and peacekeeping, we are all safer and more secure. When women are actually included in peace negotiations, agreements are less likely to fail, more likely to last. When womens vital interest and we lose are ignored, out on half the talent of the population. Now, there is a lesson here for all leaders, even in our own country, to consider. That includes ensuring that women are included in womens and womens rights are respected as part of any peace negotiations in afghanistan. [applause] i think this is a moment when we should be doubling down on our commitment on womens rights and human rights around the world and here at home. However, our own government is turning its back on refugees, people seeking asylum, ripping children away from parents and family members and waging an all out concerted assault on Womens Health and rights. When it comes to American Leadership on the global stage, we are not only seeing it missing in action, we are seeing from thisubling shift administration, which has created something it calls the commission on unalienable rights. Named commission promised to undertake one of the most profound examinations of the universalince declaration of human rights in 1948. Based on what we have seen already, we have every reason to believe that this socalled reexamination will be a reversal of commitments to womens rights, lgbtq rights and reproductive rights. Just think back to 1948. We have 48 nations at that time who came together representing the fast majority of the worlds population. , to vote 70 years ago in favor of the universal declaration of human rights, which affirmed for the very first time in Human History that all human beings are born free. Nd equal in dignity that human rights are not granted by any government, they are the birthright of every man, woman, and child. Hase then, the declaration been the most widely translated document in the history of the world. Generations of activists, leaders, ordinary citizens have carryled and worked to its principles forward. They have fought and organized campaigns, sometimes losing their own lives to ensure that people could experience the full measure of freedom, of dignity, and the benefits of citizenship. Internationaln system of laws and institutions built to protect the freedoms spelled out in the declaration and to hold violators accountable. We have seen woven into domestic constitutions the idea of human rights from the declaration, and then been able to make them a crucial test of a governments legitimacy. We have also learned along the way that respecting and defending human rights makes nations more stable and secure. Eleanor roosevelt, who did so much to champion the universal declaration of human rights, new knew it was only the first step. From her deathbed, she called out to future generations, staying aloof is not a solution. It is cowardly evasion. She also posed a question i want all of us to constantly ponder. Where, after all, did human rights begin . In the small places close to home, so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. ,he places here on this campus in your workplaces, in your communities, where everywhere that men, women, and children seek equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination, unless those rights have meaning in these small and close places, they will have little meaning anywhere else. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we will look for we will look in vain for progress in the larger world. I think about Eleanor Roosevelt a lot. I think about her crowning achievement, the universal declaration of human rights. Because i often need to be reminded that this is a moment to hold on to the courage of our convictions. It is not easy. In fact, it can be downright difficult and discouraging. But keep in mind, not only Eleanor Roosevelt, not only Greta Thunberg who kept persevering throughout whatever criticism and backlash he experienced, keep in mind the women that we honor today. We cannot afford to be aloof or cowardly. We have to stand together and continue to speak out for the rights, opportunities, and dignity of women, men, and children. Thank you all very much. [applause] good morning, everyone. Thank you so much, secretary clinton, for being back with us at georgetown today. Forre so grateful to you your support of the institute as our honorary founding chair, and for your continuing inspiration. It is particularly significant to have you here this day, with this focus on human rights, because we are on the threshold of the 25th anniversary of the u. N. Fourth world conference on women that took place in beijing 25 years ago. And it was your words, human rights are womens rights and womens rights are human rights, that still echoing around the usld to this day and remind of that imperative. And thanks to the womens conference, womens rights were chiseled finally into International Human rights law. Let me add my welcome to each of you as we come together to recognize and celebrate womens leadership in advancing human rights, justice, and peace. A very special welcome to the family and friends of our honorees. Bienvenidos. [applause] i want to add a special welcome to Mary Robinson. She was the former president of ireland, she was the former u. N. Envoy on climate, she was the buter high commissioner, she is also a very special friend of the institute for which we are very grateful and have been advising us on our work on gender, conflict, and climate. She is now chair of the elders, so thank you, mary, for all of for all that you do. [applause] and while there are so many imp