Thank you very much Foreign Secretary Hague for calling us together. Secretary General, thank you very much for your leadership.
Today, we gather to discuss the wave of change that has swept the
Middle East and North Africa. While each country’s experience has been
unique, all of these democratic movements have sprung from a common
desire for rights, freedom, economic hope, and human dignity. These
universal aspirations are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and in the UN Charter, and they are fundamental to my
country’s identity and history and to those of many countries. These
principles – and the people who struggle to realize them in their own
societies – deserve and demand our collective support. We are inspired
by the courage of the people of the region, as they have shown their
determination to move forward, and we believe that their efforts should
be supported.
Now I approach these conversations with a healthy dose of humility,
because we know that these revolutions are not ours. They are not by us,
for us, or against us. But we also know that, as an international
community, we do have the resources and capabilities to support those
who seek peaceful, meaningful, democratic change. We must also have the
will.
Now of course, change is unfolding in different ways in different
places, and in each unique case, our tools have to be matched with the
circumstances. Here at the UN Security Council, three cases in
particular demand our attention today.
Let me start with Libya and the encouraging vote this morning to
renew and update the UN Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL. Last year,
this council – backed by the Arab League and countries around the world –
acted to support the Libyan people at the hour of their greatest need.
Today’s vote reflects our continued commitment to Libya and its
transitional government, which has made tremendous strides. And it also
reflects the recognition that our work is not yet done.
We will continue to aid UNSMIL’s efforts to support the Libyan
Government as it reintegrates those who took up arms in the name of
change into a professional national army and a peaceful society. We will
continue helping Libya secure its borders against proliferation,
trafficking, and extremism, while treating refugees and migrants
humanely. And after so much courage and sacrifice from the Libyan
people, we are proud to help Libya build a new foundation for the rule
of law and respect for human rights.
Just last week, Prime Minister al-Keeb was here in the Security
Council, where he forcefully and eloquently defended this Security
Council’s assistance on behalf of the aspirations of the Libyan people
to chart their own futures. I don’t think there’s any additional comment
any of us need to add to the record as to the appropriate measures
taken by the Security Council in furtherance of the resolutions so
authorizing action. We also met with Prime Minister al-Keeb in
Washington, where we discussed Libya’s progress in paving the way for
fair and free elections, as well as our work together on security,
student exchanges, civil society, and medical care for Libya’s
war-wounded. Ultimately, the measure of success for Libya will not be
the death of a dictator but the birth of a successful, stable, and free
nation.
The second case is Yemen. As Yemen unraveled into violence last year,
this Security Council stood behind the efforts of the Gulf Cooperation
Council and Yemeni stakeholders to find a peaceful solution. In the face
of setbacks, we held firm. Now many challenges lie ahead. But last
month’s successful presidential election and inauguration were promising
steps on the path toward a new, democratic chapter in Yemen’s history.
As Yemen continues its multiyear transition, reforms its constitution,
convenes a national dialogue, and continues to grapple with its security
and humanitarian challenges, we must remain engaged and supportive.
The third case is Syria. Five weeks ago, this council was unable to
stand united against the horrific campaign of violence that has shocked
the conscience of the world, one that continues unabated as we meet. We
were blocked from even condemning the violence and endorsing a peaceful
plan developed by Syria’s own neighbors.
Now the United States believes firmly in the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of all member-states, but we do not believe that
sovereignty demands that this council stand silent when governments
massacre their own people, threatening regional peace and security in
the process. And we reject any equivalence between premeditated murders
by a government’s military machine and the actions of civilians under
siege driven to self-defense. How cynical that even as Assad was
receiving former Secretary General Kofi Annan, the Syrian army was
conducting a fresh assault on Idlib and continuing its aggression in
Hama, Homs, and Rastan.
We took note of the fact that this past weekend in Cairo the Arab
League and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov agreed on the necessity of an
end to violence, full, unimpeded humanitarian access, and a political
process led by Kofi Annan and based on the terms of the Arab League and
the United Nations General Assembly resolutions. We believe that now is
the time for all nations, even those who have previously blocked our
efforts, to stand behind the humanitarian and political approach spelled
out by the Arab League. The international community should say with one
voice – without hesitation or caveat – that the killings of innocent
Syrians must stop and a political transition must begin.
The Syrian people deserve the same opportunity to shape their future
that the Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans, and Yemenis now enjoy. And our
work here at the Security Council is just one part of what the
international community must do to assist democratic transitions all
across the Middle East and North Africa. We must support calls from
within the region to strengthen each of the building blocks of stable,
thriving societies: a responsive, accountable government; an energetic,
effective economy; and a vibrant civil society.
Politically, many countries —including a number at this table –have
unique, firsthand expertise in how to build durable democracies. And I
appreciate the comments of the foreign minister of Guatemala. These are
lessons we can and should share. Where countries are making gradual
reforms, we should offer our support and everywhere we must safeguard,
in word and action, the basic principles of democracy and universal
human rights.
Now, I know that today there are those who question whether Islamist
politics can really be compatible with these democratic and universal
principles and rights. The people of the Arab Spring have a chance to
answer that question.
Our policy is to focus less on what parties call themselves than on
what they choose to do. All political parties – religious and secular
alike – have a responsibility to their people to abide by the basic
tenets upon which this body is founded: to reject violence; to uphold
the rule of law; to respect the freedoms of speech, association, and
assembly; to safeguard religious freedom and tolerance; to protect the
rights of women and minorities; to establish independent judiciaries; to
promote a free press; to give up power if defeated at the polls; and to
avoid inciting conflicts that pull societies apart. These are standards
against which we should all be measured, and we need to commit to
uphold them together.
Our experience elsewhere in the world has taught us that successful
political transitions are those that quickly deliver economic
results—job opportunities and the hope for a better future. To succeed,
the Arab political awakening must also be an economic awakening.
Governments across the region who share these priorities will need to
keep making the sometimes difficult policy choices required to build a
foundation for inclusive, private sector-led growth. As this year’s G-8
president, America is continuing the work of the Deauville Partnership
started by France to promote regional integration, economic
participation, job creation, and stabilization. The last of these is
especially pressing: the international community must provide strong
support for the IMF to quickly conclude an economic reform and
stabilization program with Egypt. And we call on Egypt’s friends in the
region and around the world to be prepared to use bilateral assistance
to reinforce an IMF program with Egypt.
And of course, these efforts, economic and political, must include
women. And I thank the Secretary General for making that one of the five
points he recited. No transition can succeed with half the population
left behind.
And durable democracy depends on civil society, and we are proud to
support individuals and organizations seeking to improve their own
societies. Now, I know again there are those who say the whole concept
of civil society is a Western imposition. But after 2011, how can anyone
honestly say that civil society is not indigenous to the Middle East
and North Africa – and I would add everywhere?
We know that lasting change comes from within. Societies must be the
authors of their own futures. But the international community can
provide tools that help societies reach those goals. As new, elected
legislatures abolish old laws intended to control civil liberties, we
should continue our collective support for measures that will protect
and nurture civil society, consistent with international human rights
norms of free association, assembly, and expression.
No one in the region is exempt from the demands for change we have
seen. When a country like Iran claims to champion these principles in
the region—and then brutally suppresses its own people and supports
suppression in Syria and other places—their hypocrisy is clear to all.
And President Obama and I have been consistent in our belief that the
Palestinian people—like their Arab neighbors, Israelis, and all
people—deserve dignity, liberty, and the right to decide their own
futures. They deserve a viable, independent Palestine, alongside a
secure Israel. And we know from decades in the diplomatic trenches that
the only way to get there is through a negotiated peace—one that cannot
be dictated from outside and one we will continue to pursue through
every productive avenue, including a Quartet consultation this morning.
And let me also condemn in the strongest terms the rocket fire from
Gaza into southern Israel which continued over the weekend. We call on
those responsible to take immediate action to stop these attacks. We
call on both sides – all sides – to make every effort to restore calm.
Finally, and crucially, we have to recognize that the most
consequential choices are the ones that will be faced in the months
ahead. It is up to the people and leaders of the region to resist the
calls of demagogues, to compromise and build coalitions, to keep faith
in their system even when they lose at the polls, and to protect the
principles and institutions that ultimately will protect them. Every
democracy has to guard against those who would hijack its freedoms for
their own ignoble ends.
Building prosperous, democratic societies is not the job of a day, a
week, or even a year. It is a continuous commitment, and one we share.
We, as a community of nations, must help the people of the Middle East
and North Africa make the most of the rights and freedoms for which they
have risked so much.
Thank you.
