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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 93/06/14 Remarks at the World Conference on Human Rights Office of the Spokesman U.S. Department of State Office of the Spokesman Vienna, Austria "Democracy and Human Rights: Where America Stands" Remarks as delivered by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher World Conference on Human Rights June 14, 1993 Vienna, Austria Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thanks to Secretary General Fall and the Preparatory Conference Chair Warzazi. Ladies and Gentlemen, I speak to you as the representative of a nation "conceived in liberty." America's identity as a nation derives from our dedication to the proposition "that all Men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights." Over the course of two centuries, Americans have found that advancing democratic values and human rights serves our deepest values as well as our practical interests. That is why the United States stands with the men and women everywhere who are standing up for these principles. And that is why President Clinton has made reinforcing democracy and protecting human rights a pillar of our foreign policy -- and a major focus of our foreign assistance programs. Democracy is the moral and strategic imperative for the 1990s. Democracy will build safeguards for human rights in every nation. Democracy is the best way to advance lasting peace and prosperity in the world. The cause of freedom is a fundamental commitment for my country. It is also a matter of deep personal conviction for me. I am proud to have headed the U.S. Government's first interagency group on human rights under President Carter, who is with us today. President Carter will be remembered as the first American President to put human rights on the international agenda. He has helped to lift the lives of people in every part of the world. Today, we build upon his achievements -- and those of the human rights movement since its inception. In this post-Cold War era, we are at a new moment. Our agenda for freedom must embrace every prisoner of conscience, every victim of torture, every individual denied basic human rights. It must also encompass the democratic movements that have changed the political map of our globe. The great new focus of our agenda for freedom is this: expanding, consolidating and defending democratic progress around the world. It is democracy that establishes the civil institutions that replace the power of oppressive regimes. Democracy is the best means not just to gain -- but to guarantee -- human rights. In the battle for democracy and human rights, words matter, but what we do matters much more. What all of our citizens and governments do in the days ahead will count far more than any discussions held or documents produced here. I cannot predict the outcome of this Conference. But I can tell you this: The worldwide movement for democracy and human rights will prevail. My delegation will support the forces of freedom -- of tolerance, of respect for the rights of the individual -- not only in the next few weeks in Vienna, but every day in the conduct of our foreign policy throughout the world. The United States will never join those who would undermine the Universal Declaration and the movement toward democracy and human rights. Securing Freedom After the Cold War The Universal Declaration enshrines a timeless truth for all people and all nations: "Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace" on this earth. The Declaration's drafters met the challenge of respecting the world's diversity, while reflecting values that are universal. Even before the Declaration was adopted, the Cold War had begun to cast a chilling shadow between word and deed. But the framers of the Declaration hoped that each successive generation would strengthen the Declaration through its own struggles. It is for each generation to redeem the promise of the framers' work. Time and time again since the adoption of the Universal Declaration, human rights activism has unlocked prison cells and carved out pockets of freedom for individuals living under repression. Today, the global movement from despotism to democracy is transforming entire political systems and opening freedom's door to whole societies. The end of the Cold War is the most uplifting event for human rights since the first World Conference met. Not only were the Havels and the Sakharovs set free, in large measure by their own inspiring examples, but hundreds of millions of ordinary men and women were also released from the hold of oppressive governments that controlled their lives. Now, in country after country, they are turning toward democracy to secure their newly won freedoms, guarantee their human rights, and hold their governments accountable. Nowhere is this great drama playing out on a more central stage than in the former Soviet Union. Ensuring the success of democracy in Russia, Ukraine and the other New Independent States is the strategic challenge of our time. President Clinton is determined to meet that challenge of leadership -- to tip the world balance in favor of freedom. That is why he has led America into an alliance with Russian reform spearheaded by President Yeltsin. The promotion of democracy is the front line of global security. A world of democracies would be a safer world. Such a world would dedicate more to human development and less to human destruction. It would promote what all people have in common rather than what tears them apart. It would be a world of hope, not a world of despair. Democracy and Diversity In 1993 alone, in addition to a massive turnout for democracy in Russia, we have seen unprecedented free elections in Cambodia, Yemen, Burundi, and Paraguay. The Truth Commission in El Salvador has completed its healing work. And the people of South Africa have made dramatic progress toward non-racial democracy. Around the world, people are doing the hard, sometimes painful work of building democracies from the bottom up. They are making democracy work not just on election day, but every day. They are promoting civil societies that respect the rule of law and make governments acountable. Citizens' groups are pressing for social justice and establishing non- governmental human rights organizations. Women's groups are advocating equal treatment and fighting the widespread practice of gender-based violence. Workers are forming free trade unions. Independent media are giving pluralism its voice. All are creating counterweights to repression by affirming and asserting fundamental freedoms of expression, association, and movement. American support for democracy is an enduring commitment. We know that establishing and sustaining democracy is not a linear proposition. The world democratic movement will encounter setbacks along the way. But with constant vigilance and hard work, democracy will succeed. Look at the recent example given us by the people of Guatemala. Two weeks ago, they overcame a coup that had dissolved democratic institutions. They showed that democracy has a new resilience in the Americas, with roots extending deep into civil society. The resolve of the Guatemalan public, backed by the United States and the OAS-led international community, has resulted in the election of a respected human rights defender as President of Guatemala. To those who say democracy is a Western contrivance, I say, you forgot to tell the people of Cambodia. Ninety percent of them summoned up courage, in the face of real threats, to re-claim their country by voting in last month's UN-monitored elections. In what was once a killing field, democracy is taking root. Democratic aspirations are rising from Central Asia to Central America. No circumstances of birth, of culture, or of geography can limit the yearning of the human spirit and the right to live in freedom and dignity. Martin Luther King, Mohandas Gandhi, Fang Lizhi, Natan Sharansky -- all came from different cultures and countries. Yet each shaped the destiny of his own nation and the world by insisting on the observance of the same universal rights. That each of us comes from different cultures absolves none of us from our obligation to comply with the Universal Declaration. Torture, rape, racism, anti-Semitism, arbitrary detention, ethnic cleansing, and politically motivated disappearances -- none of these is tolerated by any faith, creed, or culture that respects humanity. Nor can they be justified by the demands of economic development or political expediency. We respect the religious, social, and cultural characteristics that make each country unique. But we cannot let cultural relativism become the last refuge of repression. Ladies and Gentlemen, the universal principles of the UN Declaration put all people first. We reject any attempt by any state to relegate its citizens to a lesser standard of human dignity. There is no contradiction between the universal principles of the UN Declaration and the cultures that enrich our international community. The real chasm lies between the cynical excuses of oppressive regimes and the sincere aspirations of their people. No nation can claim perfection -- not the United States nor any other nation. In 1968, when the U.S. Delegation arrived at the first World Conference on Human Rights, my country was reeling from the assassination of Martin Luther King. The murder of Robert Kennedy soon followed. King and Kennedy were deeply committed to building a more just society for all Americans. Their valiant work and their violent deaths left deep imprints on an entire generation of Americans -- among them, a university student named Bill Clinton. Democracy Can Deliver Many young democracies contend with the vast problems of grinding poverty, illiteracy, rapid population growth, and malnutrition. The survival of these democracies may ultimately depend on their ability to show their citizens that democracy can deliver -- that the difficult political and economic choices will pay off soon and not just in some distant, radiant future. Nations that free human potential -- that invest in human capital and defend human rights -- have a better chance to develop and grow. Nations that enforce the right to seek and obtain employment without discrimination will become more just societies -- and more productive economies. And nations that are committed to democratic values create conditions in which the private sector is free to thrive and to provide work for their people. States that respect human rights and operate on democratic principles tend to be the world's most peaceful and stable. On the other hand, the worst violators of human rights tend to be the world's aggressors and proliferators. These states export threats to global security, whether in the shape of terrorism, massive refugee flows, or environmental pollution. Denying human rights not only lays waste to human lives; it creates instability that travels across borders. The Future Lies with Free People The worldwide prospects for human rights, democracy, and economic development have never been better. But sadly, the end of the Cold War has not brought an end to aggression, repression, and inhumanity. Fresh horrors abound around the world. We have only to think of the enormous human costs of regional conflict, ethnic hatred, and despotic rule. We have only to think of Bosnia -- just a few hundred miles away from this meeting hall, but worlds away from the peaceful and tolerant international community envisioned in the Universal Declaration. A lasting peace in the Balkans depends on ensuring that all are prepared to respect fundamental human rights, especially those of minorities. Those who desecrate these rights must know that they will be ostracized. They will face sanctions. They will be brought before tribunals of international justice. They will not gain access to investment or assistance. And they will not gain acceptance by the community of civilized nations. The future lies in a different direction: not with repressive governments but with free people. It belongs to the men and women who find inspiration in the words of the Universal Declaration; who act upon their principles even at great personal risk; who dodge bullets and defy threats to cast their ballots; who work selflessly for justice, tolerance, democracy, and peace. These people can be found everywhere - - ordinary men and women doing extraordinary things -- even in places where hate, fear, war, and chaos rule the hour. We must keep the spotlight of world opinion trained on the darkest corners of abuse. We must confront the abusers. We must sharpen the tools of human rights diplomacy to address problems before they escalate into violence and create new pariah states. Today, on behalf of the United States, I officially present to the world community an ambitious action plan that represents our commitment to pursue human rights, regardless of the outcome of this Conference. This plan will build on the UN's capacity to practice preventive diplomacy, safeguard human rights, and assist fledgling democracies. We seek to strengthen the UN Human Rights Center and its advisory and rapporteurial functions. We support the establishment of a UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Advancing Women's Rights The United States will also act to integrate our concerns over the inhumane treatment of women into the global human rights agenda. We will press for the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women. We will also urge the UN to sharpen the focus and strengthen the coordination of its women's rights activities. Eleanor Roosevelt and the other drafters of the Declaration wanted to write a document that would live and last. They were determined to write a document that would protect and empower women as well as men. But that remains an unfulfilled vision in too many parts of the world, where women are subjected to discrimination and bias based solely upon gender. Violence and discrimination against women don't just victimize individuals; they hold back whole societies by confining the human potential of half the population. Guaranteeing human rights is a moral imperative with respect to both women and men. It is also an investment in making whole nations stronger, fairer, and better. Women's rights must be advanced on a global basis. But the crucial work is at the national level. It is in the self interest of every nation to terminate unequal treatment of women. Next Steps of Our Own Beyond our support for multilateral efforts, the United States recognizes that we have a solemn duty to take steps of our own. In that spirit, I am pleased to announce that the United States will move promptly to obtain the consent of our Senate to ratify The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. We strongly support the general goals of the other treaties that we have signed but not yet ratified. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women; The American Convention on Human Rights; and The International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: all of these will constitute important advances, and our Administration will turn to them as soon as the Senate has acted on the racism Convention. We also expect soon to pass implementing legislation on the Convention Against Torture in furtherance of the worldwide goal of eliminating torture by the year 2000. To us, these far-reaching documents are not parchment promises to be held up for propaganda effect, but solemn commitments to be enforced. My country will pursue human rights in our bilateral relations with all governments -- large and small, developed and developing. America's commitment to human rights is global, just as the UN Declaration is universal. As we advance these goals, American foreign policy will both reflect our fundamental values and promote our national interests. It must take into account our national security and economic needs at the same time that we pursue democracy and human rights. We will maintain our ties with our allies and friends. We will act to deter aggressors. And we will cooperate with like-minded nations to ensure the survival of freedom when it is threatened. The United States will promote democracy and protect our security. We must do both -- and we will. We will insist that our diplomats continue to report accurately and fully on human rights conditions around the world. Respect for human rights and the commitment to democracy-building will be major considerations as we determine how to spend our resources on foreign assistance. And we will weigh human rights considerations in trade policy, as President Clinton demonstrated last month. We will help new democracies make a smooth transition to civilian control of the military. And we will assist militaries in finding constructive new roles in pursuit of peace and security -- roles that respect human rights and contribute to international peace. Working with the UN and other international organizations, we will help to develop the public and private institutions essential to a working democracy and the rule of law. And we will continue to support America's own National Endowment for Democracy in its mission to help nourish democracy where it is struggling to grow. A Place to Stand Upon The international debate now turns less on whether human rights are appropriate for discussion -- and more on how to address them most effectively. The debate turns less on whether democracy best serves the needs of people everywhere -- and more on how soon their democratic aspirations will be met. Two hundred years ago, in his famous Rights of Man, the political philosopher Thomas Paine wrote this concerning Archimedes' image of the incomparable force of leverage: "Had we a place to stand upon, we might raise the world." Ladies and Gentlemen, the nations of the world do have a place to stand upon: If we stand upon the bedrock principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, if we support the democratic movement on a worldwide basis, we shall speed the day when all the world's peoples are raised up into lives of freedom, dignity, prosperity, and peace. That is where this Conference should stand. That is where America stands. Thank you very much. (###)