Hillary returned to Georgetown University's Gaston Hall Monday to present the Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards to Nadia Murad, a Yazidi activist and Wai Wai Nu, a Rohingya former political prisoner. The Global Trailblazer Award went to Lyse Doucet of the BBC who conducted the panel discussion.
Ambassador Melanne Verveer is the Executive Director of Georgetown's Institute for Women, Peace, and Security Ambassador Verveer, Nadia Murad, Secretary Clinton Ambassador Verveer, Wai Wai Nu, Secretary Clinton Ambassador Verveer, Lyse Doucet, Secretary Clinton
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to speak in Gaston Hall on Feb. 5 to present the annual Hillary Rodham Clinton Awards for Advancing Women in Peace and Security to Nadia Murad, a former captive of the Islamic State group, and Wai Wai Nu, a Rohingya activist.
Clinton will also present a second award, the Global Trailblazer Award, to BBC international correspondent Lyse Doucet for her coverage of the impacts of war in Africa and the Middle East on women and children.
The HRC awards recognize exceptional individuals who advance women’s role in peace-making efforts. The award is sponsored by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security in the name of Clinton, the honorary founding chair of GIWPS.
JESUS RODRIGUEZ/THE HOYA Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at Georgetown in 2017.
Hillary Clinton is a familiar figure at Georgetown University. She returned to Gaston Hall once again today to attend the awards ceremony named for her.
Thank you. Wow, let's do that again. [laughter] [applause]
This
warm, warm welcome is one of the many reasons that I always appreciate
coming to this campus, to this great university. And I am so pleased to
have a chance to talk with you today about an issue that, as President
DeGioia said, is one that has really provided the impetus for a lot of
the work that is being done here at the university, particularly in the
institute that has been the first of its kind anywhere in the world
studying women and security and the contributions that can be made.
And
I'm grateful to President DeGioia’s visionary leadership and to this
university for your commitment to nurturing diplomats, peacemakers and
leaders. I am one of those who thinks we need more peacemakers,
diplomats and leaders who are devoted to the ongoing and difficult work
of bridging divides, of bringing people together, of trying to find
common ground.
Now, some of you may have been
here back in 2011 when we announced the creation of this institute. It
came about for an ultimately profoundly simple reason. About a decade
earlier, there had been a landmark resolution passed in the UN Security
Council affirming women's crucial roles in peace and security. But the
promise of that resolution has, with very few exceptions, remained
largely unfulfilled. This is something that I talk often about with my
close friend and predecessor, Secretary Madeleine Albright, who bleeds
blue and gray. [applause]
Because we thought
back in the ‘90s that we needed to do more to elevate the rights and
opportunities of women and girls on every level — obviously, education
and health and economic opportunity, but also to unleash the potential
for involvement in ending conflicts, in creating more secure
environments for all people to live in and thrive. So on that day, back
in 2011, we came here to Georgetown to declare that the issue of women's
full participation in peace and security could no longer be relegated
to the margins of international affairs. [applause]
I
believed then —and, I have to tell you, I believe even more fiercely
today — that advancing the rights and full participation of women and
girls is the great, unfinished business of the 21st century. [applause]
It
seems self-evident. It’s not only the right and moral goal for us to be
pursuing. After all, women represent half of humanity, and we do have a
fundamental right to participate in the decisions that shape our lives.
But — and this is what I want to really impress upon you — this is
strategic and necessary for matters of peace, prosperity and security.
It is not a partisan issue. It’s a human issue. A rising tide of women's
rights lifts entire nations. So each year, when I’ve had the chance to
come back for these awards, I am inspired, although increasingly not
surprised to see how far this institute has come. Georgetown is very
fortunate, in my highly biased opinion, to have my dear friend,
Ambassador Melanne Verveer, at the helm and backed up fully by the
leadership of the university because the leaders — as President DeGioia
just read out — that you’ve recognized, women and men alike, have come
from different backgrounds, certainly different countries, but united in
the belief that women are not only victims of war, but must be viewed
and helped to become agents of change, makers of peace and drivers of
progress.
That was the principle behind our
efforts at the State Department in the first term of President Obama. We
wanted to set a standard, and I’m proud of it because I do see it as
strategic and necessary. Not just a nice thing to do on the margins
somewhere deep in the bowels of the State Department, but front and
center. Because standing up for the rights and opportunities of women
and girls must be a cornerstone of American global leadership. And
therefore, it must be woven throughout our foreign policy with the
resources, staffing, accountability and attention needed to back up that
commitment. [applause]
What I was very pleased
by and excited to know is how the U.S. military also recognizes the
role of women in peace and security. Over the years, I’ve had the
privilege of working alongside and standing beside some of our military
leaders right on this stage. Admiral Sandy Winnefeld, former vice chair
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michèle Flournoy, former undersecretary
for defense for policy, helped to put new emphasis on stopping rape and
gender-based violence in conflict zones and post-conflict areas and
empowering women to help make and keep peace.
This
is especially important now, when we have, across the globe, more than
60 million refugees fleeing not only conflicts, but famine and drought
and disease. And we have to come to terms with that because, again, it's
not just somebody else's problem. It will affect the stability of
nations and regions, which in turn, could very well bring problems,
whether it be conflict and terrorism or disease and criminal activity to
our shores. Global progress depends on the progress of women. I know
we've seen positive results of that theme being actually implemented
ever since the U.N. Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995. But I'm here
also to say we are seeing signals of a shift that should alarm us all.
This administration's proposed cuts to international health, development
and diplomacy would be a blow to women and children and a grave mistake
for our country. Some of you may have seen the recent letter from more
than 120 retired generals and admirals to Congress and the
administration, urging the Congress and the White House not to retreat
from these programs, which represent our values. These distinguished men
and women who served in uniform recognize that turning our back on
diplomacy won't make our country safer. It will undermine our security
and our standing in the world.
Defense
Secretary Mattis said it well when he said, “If you cut funds to the
State Department, that means he has to buy more ammunition.” So the work
that is done here at this institute, here at Georgetown, making the
evidence-based case for the role of women and peace in security is
incredibly important. It's always mattered, but today, it's even more
critical. As this institute has grown, so too has the body of evidence
showing that when women participate in peacemaking and peacekeeping, we
are all safer and more secure. Studies show — here I go again, talking
about research, evidence and facts — [laughter] [applause]
But
in fact, when women are included in peace negotiations, agreements are
less likely to fail and more likely to last. And we know that women's
rights and physical safety are often the very first targets of
fundamentalists. We also know that women are often the first to spot
conflict on the horizon, coming their way. And when their insight and
information is ignored, it often leads to consequences that might have
been averted. At a time when sexual violence continues to be used as a
strategy by terrorist groups, when women are being recruited by ISIS and
Boko Haram, evidence suggests leaders who want to do more to guard
against terrorism and violence should work even harder to help support
and enable the participation of women. Now, before anybody jumps to any
conclusions, I will state, clearly, women are not inherently more
peaceful than men. That is a stereotype. That belongs in the alternative
reality. [laughter] [applause]
But, history
does show that when women are at the peace table, they bring together
coalitions, and they work really hard to build consensus. And they are
the ones most likely to shine a bright light on issues of human rights,
transitional justice, national reconciliation and economic renewal. I've
seen this. Over the years, I worked with the women of Northern Ireland
and watched as they reached across sectarian divides to forge a lasting
peace.
And when that process started back in
the ‘90s, who would have ever predicted that Martin McGuinness, who just
passed away, would ever shake hands with Queen Elizabeth? We've seen
the women of Liberia force an end to a bloody civil war. If you've never
seen the movie Pray the Devil Back to Hell,
I highly recommend it because it shows, in very personal ways, the
points that I am making from this podium today. The women of Liberia
went to where the men had been talking about ending the conflict for
weeks and weeks, a hotel in Ghana. They surrounded it, and they would
not leave. They wouldn’t let those who had met to negotiate the peace
out of a window or a door until they came to agreement. And then, of
course, they ended up electing Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as the first woman
president on the continent of Africa. [applause]
I
have seen women in the Democratic Republic of Congo survive the most
horrific, almost unimaginable abuse and cruelty and then summon the
resilience to rebuild and help others go on. In Colombia, which you will
hear much more about in a few minutes, a country whose trajectory I
have followed intently for years, we've seen women organize, agitate and
negotiate to help bring to a close more than 50 years of bloodshed.
While conflict raged and efforts to stop the violence failed, women not
only took their places at the table, they opened up the peace process to
women across Colombia and urged over and over again that all parties
not walk away until they reached an agreement.
So
if we are to build more just, free and peaceful countries and indeed a
world, it's not enough just to pay lip service to empowering women. We
have to take seriously their concerns and give them the tools to be
equal partners in helping to shape the world they inhabit. The leaders
we are honoring here today have seen that firsthand. From Humberto de la
Calle, the rock of the peace negotiations in Havana. [applause] Yes, a
round of applause for Humberto. [applause]
María Paulina Riveros, one of two women appointed to represent the Colombian government in the talks. [applause]
Elena Ambrosi, who has worked tirelessly behind the scenes, like so many women, to help make peace a reality. [applause]
And
Jineth Bedoya Lima, a journalist who continued her pursuit of the truth
and her advocacy for victims of sexual violence in the face of her own
horrors. [applause]
Now like so many peace
agreements, as hard as it was to get to it after 50 years of war, it is
just the first step. Implementing peace will be a constant task. As hard
as it is to imagine letting go of the peace that is so hard-won, there
will be forces at work in the country from all sides to undermine it, to
act as if it didn’t apply to them. To do everything possible to prevent
it from becoming the reality in the lives of Colombians that it can be.
Yes, the work will require difficult decisions, transitional justice
and economic viability. But peace is truly within reach.
So,
from peace processes, like the one we celebrate today, to important
steps that nations and institutions are taking to recognize the role of
women in confronting violent extremism and addressing climate change and
standing up against terrorism and conflicts of all kinds, we've got to
continue this work. And I am pleading that our government will continue
its leadership role on behalf of peace in the world because the world
must continue this work with or without U.S. involvement. [applause]
And
the choice is ours to make. In this complicated, interconnected,
interdependent world of ours, it’s not as though you can pick one or
two, three things that you say, “Well, that’s all I’m going to work on.”
Events move too quickly. Borders dissolve in the face of pressures. The
great connectivity of the internet can spawn both opportunity and
despair. So we have to ask, will we be left behind or will we continue
to lead the way? I hope the answer is that we will do whatever it takes
to make our country and the world stronger and more secure. Standing up
for our values, for human rights, and opportunities, security for all.
And continuing to finish the business of making sure that girls and
women have the same rights as men and boys. And by extending and
guaranteeing those rights, unleashing human potential, the likes of
which the world has never seen. That is what I hope your generation,
students of Georgetown, will be committed to actually making a reality.
Ambassador Melanne Verveer is the Executive Director of Georgetown's Institute for Women, Peace, and Security
Ambassador Verveer, Nadia Murad, Secretary Clinton
Ambassador Verveer, Wai Wai Nu, Secretary Clinton
Ambassador Verveer, Lyse Doucet, Secretary Clinton
JESUS RODRIGUEZ/THE HOYA Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at Georgetown in 2017.