US Mission Geneva

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. It is wonderful being back here at Georgetown in this magnificent Gaston Hall, and to give you something to do during exam week. (Laughter.) It’s one of those quasi-legitimate reasons for taking a break – (laughter) – which I’m very happy to have provided.

Over the course of the week, I’ve had a number of very constructive conversations. Let me make one comment about something back at home. In I think an important development in the U.S. Senate, Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman announced a comprehensive framework for energy and climate legislation, and this is actually quite a significant development, a significant step in the effort to pass comprehensive energy and climate reform. The President believes this is a positive development towards reaching a strong, unified and bipartisan agreement on such legislation in the U.S. One element of the framework that is particularly relevant and important to the international process says that American leadership – now I’m quoting from what the senators released – “American leadership is essential, but action by the developing world is necessary to maximize the benefits of our effort.

“As people across the globe mark International Human Rights Day, let me reaffirm the deep commitment of the United States to the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The human rights and fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration are the birthright of every human being.

Today, on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, I welcomed distinguished representatives of leading human rights and democracy promotion groups in the United States to the White House for a meeting with me and senior representatives from over a dozen offices of the National Security Staff.

December 10th marks Human Rights Day, a day that affords us all the opportunity to reflect on human rights conditions in our own countries and across the globe in the context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

There are so many women, many of whom are in your audience today, who are carrying on the work of Eleanor Roosevelt. They’re helping to give, in their own societies, the voice to the voiceless, and to try working with others to make it possible for every girl and every boy to live up to his or her God-given potential.

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

I came to Geneva for the Human Rights Council’s consideration of North Korea as part of the Universal Periodic Review, and I thought it was important to be here for that debate because of the importance of human rights in the United States, the concern in the United States for human rights in North Korea. I am very happy that I was able to be here for this and participate in this discussion.

The bottom line is the United States is committed to getting the strongest possible agreement we can over the next two weeks. We are under no illusion that this is going to be easy. I think it is going to be challenging. But I think an agreement is there to be had if we do this right and we need to keep at all times very much in sight of our – keep in our view the end goal that has brought us here. We have – the President has demonstrated a strong commitment to this issue from day one.