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 important leaders here, and our wonderful students, i also want renault rose, the the renowned poet and journalist and human rights activist. Thank you, rose. [applause] and to the members of the diplomatic corps who are here, the ambassadors to the United States from germany, the european union, mexico, chill a afghanistan, new zealand, and iceland, a special welcome to georgetown to all of you. [applause] and now to the awards. The you and high commissioner for human rights, michelle commitment toa human rights that is deeply personal and lifelong. She was a 23yearold medical student. Students, think of yourselves as i read this. A 23yearold medical student, when in 1973, general pinochet came to power in chile following a coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. Amidst the terror that ensued, she and her family were torn apart, along with her mother, she was tortured in a notorious Detention Center and forced into exile. She lost her father, who had been an opponent of the brutal military did hader ship dictatorship. He died in prison following months of torture. Hers was clearly a firsthand experience with the violation of human rights. After four years of exile, first in australia, then germany, she was authorized to return back to chile, where she resumed her. Tudies eventually, she specialized in pediatrics and public health. And among her efforts was working for an ngo helping children who were tortured and missing, whose parents were missing, and she advocated for restoration of chiles democracy, which was finally realized in 1990. She began a career in Government Service that led to her becoming chiles first female minister of health, and then later, the first female minister of defense. And in that role, among her accomplishments were policies to improve the conditions for women in the military and in the police. Not too long afterwards, in 2006, she was elected president woman to the first hold the position, and she was subsequently elected to a second term in 2014. Became a veryshe strong voice for womens progress, appointing female ministers to half her cabinet, s First Ministry for women and gender equality and unleashing policies and programs to support women and their families. Toble under the constitution run for a successive second term , she was prevailed on by thenu. N. Secretarygeneral ban kimoon to become the inaugural executive director of the u. N. Women and undersecretary of the u. N. And she was a terrific leader to take over that you that new entity in the United Nations. As the head of you and women, she made the uns role participation in concord conflict resolution and peace processes, ending violence against women and womens economic of power meant empowerment among her priorities. , she is back at the United Nations as the high commissioner for human rights, by secretarygeneral gutierrez last year. Her appointment comes at a very troubling time for our world, with challenges to human rights, to injustice and inequality on the world. Ross everywhere she has spoken out in the strongest terms against the scourge of human rights abuses, from the civilian deaths in syria to human rights crises in venezuela and north korea, to the treatment of Migrant Children at the u. S. Border and ngiapersecution of the rohy people in myanmar and abuses of other people in other places. She declared Climate Change are growing, extremely serious threat to human rights. As she has rightly said, we can and attain peace, security, Sustainable Development for all societies when we advance the dignity and equality of all human beings. And now for the citation. For her commitment to Public Service, for her leadership, her humanity and dedication, for being a voice for the voiceless and an advocate for victims of Human Rights Violations around the world, and for recognizing the rights of women, half the population of this world, still too often marginalized and on the outskirts of opportunity, georgetown is proud to present the 2019 Hillary Clinton award for advancing women in peace and security to the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, michelle bachelet. [applause] president degioia, ms. Verveer, secretary clinton, it is a great honor for me to accept this award that there is the names of women whose compelling example inspires women and men around the world. Womens leadership is vital to advancing the human rights of all of us. And that leadership takes many forms, from institutions of government to social and political activism, from the home, the community and the workplace to schools universities, and the arts. From 16yearold Greta Thunberg to jane goodall, who like me is youth,advanced state of during my presidency, i developed a concept and i think people as young as me would like it. I say accumulated youth, because i believe youth is a matter of to care, not to be indifferent, to have passion for things. It can increase. Mary is also a good example of that. Gretad say that from today, women are rising up to demand the world Pay Attention to Climate Change. In sudan, where a political agreement was signed last month to enable it runs as an, young women have then at the forefront have been at the forefront. The title of the queen of women arebia. Mobilizing again as we always have, not only for our own rights but in every kind of movement for Human Dignity and equality. Womennspired daily by the and girl activists who defend human rights, yet it should not be so arduous a challenge. Womens equality and rights are guaranteed under international law, but the struggle to achieve this elementary justice, this very basic furnace of equal opportunities, is far from over. In reality, women continue to be much for her than men. They have fewer opportunities, less access to basic Services Like education and less waste to make their own choices and raise their voice. It is deeply troubling to see that instead of moving forward, some governments and many lobby groups are pushing back on womens rights. Theyre pushing back on human rights as a whole but particularly womens rights. There seems to be a renewed with controlling or limiting womens decisions over their bodies and lives. To come together to end this injustice. We need to mobilize, hold firm and advance, because this planet is for all of us. Ending discrimination against women and girls will generate substantial gains because womens ability to make policies will help shape societies. Because women have rights, and it is time, it is well past time thethe universalization of equality of every human being. Thank you, hillary, for the work you have done to drive progress. Ia. Iyou, president degio humbly accept this award on behalf of the women of the world and the staff of my office, who stand up every day to remote equality, dignity, and human rights. Thank you very much. [applause] [speaking for the Language Foreign language] virginia Marta Velasquez is on the front lines working to address the unrelenting assault on human rights in the northern triangle of Central America. Honduras, one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Gang violence and Drug Trafficking infiltrate all aspects of life. Impunity is unchecked and the toll on women is staggering. Since 1992, she and her have beenon supporting the women of the city. Marta began organizing women when she was 23. After attending a meeting in the honduran capital, where she learned of womens legal rights to she decided she needed to return home to create an organization Whose Mission would be to empower women, to teach them the rights and help them overcome the violence in their everyday lives. Oppositionnormous from the men in the community, and the women told her it was too dangerous to do what she wanted to do, but despite the her groupshe founded with a small group of other women. The organization quickly evolved into a movement, enabling women to empower themselves against some of the worst Human Rights Violations. Half the women in honduras are cartels andug gangs, and their methods are among the most brutal imaginable. In 2017, 40 1 of women and girls killed in honduras showed , mutilation,ure disfigurement and cruelty beyond what was needed to kill them. Providese organization longterm support for the women of the city. Machetee survived strikes and gunshots. Many find themselves homeless. Women are often killed, assaulted, and robbed, returning home from work at night. The Center Provides emotional, psychological, and legal support. With little Government Protection against the violence, the women of the organization mediated community conflicts, have gone to homes as a group to stop violence, and brought male perpetrators to the police. They work with Law Enforcement and judges and fight for reforms. They collected 50,000 signatures to push the Honduran Congress to adopt a Domestic Violence law. They lobby for funding for a bridge over a dangerous freeway, and for clean water and kindergarten. Today, the organization has a most 700 members. Women no longer see themselves as victims, but as agents for change. Old,arta, at 70 plus years is going strong, providing hope and optimism, despite the dangerous environment in which she and her fellow citizens live. Now for the citation. Despitecourage to lead enormous personal risk and for instilling current in the women to stand up for violence and demand stand up to violence and demand justice, per for providing support to victims of violence and enabling them to recover and become empowered, georgetown is proud to present the 2019 Hillary Clinton award for advancing women in peace and security to virginia Marta Velasquez. [applause] el salvador has endured decades of civil conflict, Drug Trafficking and extremely violent gangs. Anaya is arosa beacon of hope amid the deadly conflict. She was born shortly after the 1975 student massacre when dozens of students were killed and injured in a protest, and they were protesting the closing of the university and widespread Government Military action against dissenters. Her parents were human rights defenders. Her father was murdered for his activism. Her mother was tortured while she was pregnant with rosa. El salvador was ravaged by civil war and violent repression for more than a decade. 70,000 civilians were killed, including several just jesuit u. S. Nuns and the ship oscar romero. Bishop oscar romero. At the age of ten, her and her family fled the country. First to canada and then to the United States. As a refugee, she would go to schools and churches and inform americans about what was happening in her country. She was selected to speak at the United NationsGeneral Assembly on the rights of children and in war zones. As a teenager, she returned home to el salvador to a generation that had never experienced peace. She began working in prisons with young men as she tried to understand why her country, even after a Peace Agreement, could not overcome a persistent state of war and violence. She gradually came to see that the perpetrators of violence were also victims of violence. She believed that to promote human rights and peace, one must defend all people, including those who cause harm. She began her pioneering effort in Restorative Justice and the promotion of reconciliation as a critical step to healing a society. Today, rosa is the program chances,or of second and initiative of Catholic Relief Services to rehabilitate inmates and for prisons, to prepare them to return to society and the workforce. She and her team support prisoners with cognitive behavioral therapy, with workshops to deconstruct toxic masculinity and provide tools to negotiate and resolve conflict. The Program Helps the inmates to become promoters of peace. She also works with young men in their communities to help them find alternatives to joining gangs and to provide them with skills the country needs. She has a dream, that one day, the prisons will turn into schools, and peace will prevail. And now for the citation. For working to address the root causes of violence through intervention with prisoners, to shift norms from violence to peace, for working to change the lives of the vulnerable and provide them with skills and a path to a better future, and for acting on the belief that every human being matters, that human rights matter, and that the future for elust salvador is truly possible, for all of this, georgetown is proud to present the Hillary Clinton women,or advancing peace, and security to rosatom ya. Took to rosa ana [applause] [cheers and applause] we are going to have a chance now for you to hear a little bit from secretary clinton and the awardees are some questions we have an student questions, as well. Bachelet, you have spoken out countless times against the dire human rights crises around the world. Myanmar, toingya in what is happening to the syrians in their own country, and most recently you said that climate the worstgoing to be human rights violation the world has ever seen because of the potential of its scope if we dont act now. Happening, of this and with the responsibilities that you have in your position, how do you deal with these crises . Are there some that take priority over others . That we you gain hope can make progress on these issues . I thought you were going to ask me why did you accept the job . I have already talked to you. Truth is, we are living in a complicated world. Secretary clinton mentioned this clearly in her remarks. We see a push towards human rights because of all of this, i dontsay, leaders who believe that multilateralism is important, they believe that every country can solve their problems on their own. You mentioned many global challenges, Climate Change, migration. We are talking about diseases. We saw it with the ebola disease in some countries. We could go on and on. All the challenges humankind is facing today, they are not challenges that can be solved by one country. Nobody can stay on the sidelines when we deal with these kinds of issues. Hand, we have seen that i would say in the heart of many of the Human Rights Violations, we see inequalities. When you see conflicts, you go to some countries and you see that in many african countries, 70 of the population is under 30, but on the other hand, 70 are unemployed. Opportunities, and then there are these groups, different kinds of groups that are armed, they have weapons, power, money. Sometimes religious ideas, as well. Then you have lots of young people going into these groups. That is linked to poverty, inequality. In some places, people live there but Climate Change has produced huge droughts and flooding, or the ocean levels have risen and they have to leave coastal villages. So they are either internally displaced, they have to migrate to other places. I mention these things because it is not only Climate Change itself that produces a lot of effects, but also because it is this intersectionality of situations that combine in the worst perfect storm. We have seen poverty and insecurity like in Central America but also Climate Change. I have been told many viruses, lesspeople have been unemployed. Climate change will produce all of those things and people are right now dealing with many things. We will have water scarcity. What is going on today, there is , the farmersfrica are fighting because there is not enough land and there is no water. It is not that they are arguing. ,very time there is a conflict we are not talking about armed groups. You see 200 people killed. We see today, the world is not addressing many of these issues. They are already having terrible effects. We cant stop this from happening. It can only get worse. In terms of food security, livelihoods, and decent security. I think, and that is what i ta intended, that is why she was so frustrated and angry. I was at the youth summit. They were angry with us, the old people and leaders and so on. I think it is good to see that young people are moving, that there is a lot of bottoms up going on. My colleagues here are from grassroots and we need that. We need leaders to take action but we need communities to take action because we all need to be part of the solution. It will also depend on how we and thatnsumption means production can be changed, as well. We need to work strongly on that and that is why i say Climate Change is one of the biggest threats. It is not something i found out now. I really understood that this is a terrible threat for all of us. I really believe that we still can do things to stop it. [applause] you have really put this in perspective and i remember when Mary Robinson and i had the privilege to be with you when you were president recently, the most recent presidency, and we went out to meet with some of the grassroots chilean women who were trying to deal with the fact that the land was drying up. They didnt know how they were going to be productive farmers and what their potential was. And it is one of the reasons we at the institute are really looking at this issue and trying to put a sense of urgency under it, because women are doing this hard work and, as well as men , the young people. But the reality is, it is leading increasingly to potential conflict and and or displacement. Us thank you for what you said about the gravity for of the situation. As you know, we in the United States have seen, read about, heard, been threatened over the fact that there are many refugees in and asylumseekers coming to the United States border. From your country, as well as other countries in Central America. And unfortunately, this is often a source of great political antagonism. What would you like the American People to know about the situation in your country, what it is undergoing, so we can understand why this is happening . Four minutes, huh . [laughter] go longer. Let you first of all, i would like to thank everyone and these incredible women next to me. It is an honor to be next to all of you because i think that, i do believe that we will change this world if we truly give the opportunity to women to create a space that we have seen can be different. I think that one of the most important things that i would like people to understand is that like i said in the video, we dont choose to leave. The conditions are terrible in some of the places. Migration, it is a right. Asylum is a protected right by international law. Thisldnt you telling you story, i wouldnt be alive here if the solidarity of the people of the United States in various points in my life wouldnt have saved, literally saved us from being killed and i do the work i do because i was able to be protected, if you will, from hatred, from vengeance and thinking there was no hope because ive seen the solidarity myself. It is very hard for people to understand that in el salvador in many countries around the world, we are all just really hard trying to make a better world. Because this is the only planet that we have. Ou do, i do it for my children yes, but my oldest daughter, the night before i was coming here she told me something that made me realize, i dont, i do it for this generation and my generation to prove that we will be better, greta is angry and i agree with her to be angry. But and every one of us, there will be at some point, we need to find a solution, we can focus on the problem or we can start to be creative. And as human beings we are just incredible and being creative and what we do. So migration will not stop with hard hand policies or zerotolerance policies. Migration will only be stopped if we create the opportunities that we deserve in our own countries. The opportunity to choose whether we want to migrate or not. The right to dream a different place where we can live. And to have a tree in our backyard has become something so hard and we cannot allow that to continue to happen. [applause] thank you. Tell us a little bit about how the organization that you founded and still continue to drive combat this violence, what interventions have had the most impact in the work that you do in your community . And i know this is hard, what gives you the hope for tomorrow . [speaking in foreign language] [applause] [cheering] good morning and thank you everyone. [speaking in foreign language] i just wanted to start by thanking you for this award that has devoted all women in their work for peace. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] your question to me was what is it that we do from a standpoint, we work in a community in many communities to organize women and to teach women about the rates because even though were in the 21st century right now, women continue to face discrimination and we need to continue to fight for our rights and fight against patriarchy to make sure that our rights have become more visible. [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] each day when we awaken, we hear news of yet another woman who has been murdered. Where i am from is one of the most violent cities in all of honduras. Unfortunately, after these events we are tasked with consoling the families of the victims, we try to provide them with therapy, we seek out psychologist to help them out as well as attorneys because we want perpetrators of this violence to be brought to justice. The truth is, and honduras only 9 of murders are prosecuted. [speaking in foreign language] traced the homer time . [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] just to give you an example, in terms of the Justice System that we have to deal with, we are currently working with four prosecutors in the Public Prosecution ministry, there were woman who denounced actions by the coordinating prosecutor, the courting 80 prosecutor was involved in discrimination and harassment. So if you can imagine, the Public Prosecution ministry where we need to go seek justice, or simple grassroots workers and yet the very employees of the Public Prosecution and ministry are the ones violating the rights of the women whose cases we have to bring to them. I do not know how you greet each day, but we are grateful that you do and make such a difference. [applause] secretary clinton, you had mentioned a situation of women in afghanistan and your remarks, we have a question for matthew from the school of service, he is a graduate student. He asked the following question. The United States has been engaged in negotiations to withdraw from afghanistan and while progress has been stalled, it seems inevitable that we are headed toward a world in which the taliban will be a legitimate political actor in the future. How can the United States prepared to leave afghanistan in a way that preserves the games on womens rights particularly in education. They stand for the question. Because it is something that we should all give some thought to. We have been involved as you all know the well, for a very long time. And as the president pointed out, i am one of the honorary cochairs of georgetowns program on behalf of afghan women along with laura bush. I would make three points, first there is an election in afghanistan that is starting today and it is under tremendous threat from the taliban and threatening people not to vote, trying to continue to delegitimize the government of the country and i am hoping that the election continues and concludes in the outcome will create support for the new government. At the end of the day, one of the problems that we have faced going back to ministrations before this one is the refusal of the taliban to negotiate with the government of afghanistan. Originally it was because the government had been installed by the International Community which was only option since it was impossible to do otherwise at the time. But since then there have been elections, not perfect but we have a little experience ourselves when not perfect elections. [laughter] i think the fact is, they were judged to be free and fair even with all their flaws so governments were installed. So the taliban refused to negotiate with the recognize government. That makes it really hard to create the conditions for any kind of lasting peace and security and i do not agree with the recent effort undertaken by the current ministration to reach an agreement with the taliban and tell the government of afghanistan, here is the agreement, it fell apart for both legitimate and crazy reasons some people are back at it. Here is a challenge for the United States, it will if we cannot help to whos who taken agreement. It is not unusual for our groups to join new government as long as they forswear the use of arms and as long as they say we are transforming ourselves from an insurgency of guerrilla operation or militia into a Political Party and we will compete on those grounds, the taliban has not been willing to make that kind of commitment that must be part of and ongoing peace negotiations as must the protection of human rights, not only for women but all afghan people. Because the games which are not covered or understood by the press here and around the world are significant. Women have been going to school, they have been starting businesses, they have been speaking out and serving in the parliament. So these games from the end of the taliban. To today are significant. I do not want to see the clock turn back on the entire country and particularly on the women of afghanistan. So any kind of resumption of peace negotiation should be led by whoever the new government is, the United States and International Community should be facilitating that. If the taliban refuses to participate, there has to be effort to find whatever leverage we can to entice them to participate. Here is their problem, their problem that they are now starting to compete for land and power with isis, with other kinds of militia type groups, there should be a way that the patient intelligent diplomacy which ive seen and i applaud can begin to move the parties torture some revolution. So i think you have done a tremendous support and advocate for the afghan women and yes, we want to end our combat role and we want to continue to support the Afghan Military which is doing most of it by the way. And we want to create the best possible environment for there to be some kind of Peace Agreement that politicize his differences as opposed to weaponize. And we cannot walk away from the involvement of women and i personally would like to see afghan women at any peace table for future negotiations. [applause] we have two student questions. They are similar in their questioning. The school of Foreign Service 23, he asked what role do womens rights activist in developed countries have in the promotion of the rights and women in developing countries and she asked like in india or many of the countries in the middle east. Another student, college 23, what obstacles have you faced with women trying to make social change and how would you suggest young women like those of us who are interested in this area go about tackling human rights issues, often those that impact women in a negative way. Yet in International Bodies that are still maledominated. Thank you for the question. I would say the first thing, what i meant before, that human rights is having a pushback and the communities because you cannot imagine how difficult it is in any discussion or solution to include the work of human rights. And we have seen it just last week on the discussion of the healthcare. And that some countries, i will not mention which country. But you know it very well and it is not wanted to include the possibility of sexual productive rights of womens rights and some other stuff. And also in a discussion, a couple of months ago and the security council, the solution that was very good on gender violence and conflict. In women who were raped, it was completely impossible to include it because it was vetoed by a country that women who had been victims of gender race, should have access were not to get what women of the world were talking about women who are victims of conflict or sexual violence. I would say reliving the situation and you mentioned hillary and next year we have title plus 25 and again, the discussions of the National Community has been very difficult. In many places, when you think how can we will move forward with human rights, we are trying to maintain what we have in the same for next year to be the same because we want to try to not get backwards because as many people and members are pushing backwards. So we really need your voices, your organization, we need women and men, this is not a womens issue, its everyones issue. To be standing up, raise their voices, to organize and support other women. The first thing i would say to young people, organize yourself, elect good leaders. That is the one thing everywhere is important. [applause] even they used to be elected and present yourself, we need young people. We need people to be there and to remind us to thinking out of the box to giving new creative ideas, forms of engaging people, how can you support from developed countries, organizations of developing countries. Today i believe that technology theres a lot of possibility of communicating all over the world and you need you dont have to go physically and you could think of problems that can support either women in terms of their knowledge and the Capacity Building in terms of skills on whether rights are like the women with me. But also you can support in your area women who want to make an entrepreneurship or something, you can Mentor Support by building. We have pushback on womens rights what we need is not only to talk, but also build big contingencies. Today there is a lot of human rights organizations and offenders with their all working in silence. People work in an environment we need to make our voices be heard louder and with that we need to build stronger. Here in the u. S. And strong in many reasons i thought they were going to say, how can we help you and they said how can you help us. Our rates in many areas and in many states there is a lot of pushback. So i think, and of course you can be part of International Community and participate in different activities, and you can produce some Movement Like the me too movement that has been everywhere. So i think theres a lot of Womens Networks and the police get involved and make contact, and india for example, that is a lot of work and i think everything that you can do to support other countries but on the other hand support herself. Thank you. Thank you. [applause] we are going to end with two questions that have a similar theme. Of the Global Human DevelopmentMasters Program asked, on days when mistakes are made, when things go wrong, what do you hold onto to know your value and the importance of the work that you do . And then from cale reeves Foreign Service 23. How have you remained with strength, grace and positive energy at a time when the politics of division and so much else affect life, how would you advise us students to build resilience and maintain our commitment so our voices can make a difference . Thank you for those questions. For me it is very hard to do the work that we do because you saw the pictures, we are not working with the classic poor kid that is in a very harsh situation, for us, and sitting next to martha who is really working with those women who have suffered the violence directly and who have been traumatized. So it is very hard for me to talk about this publicly in the first place. But i have to remember always that the day that we buried my father, my mom stood up in the church and said her words were forgiveness for the person who killed my father and he is right there in front of her in his coffin. So for me too remember all of this that if were too stop the fight of violence, we need to start by modeling what that interruption means. And if it means to be hugging the person who killed my father, that is what im going to do. And that is literally what we are doing. It is very hard to do this because it takes time, there is no magic in this. It takes a lot of respect for the victim, we have to be reminded how much it hurts and i would like you one of our biggest tools, look at the person next to you, look at the person next to you. Tell that person, a big smile first of all, and say thank you. Thank you for being a human being that might be ready to change the world. Tell it. Please do. Come on. [inaudible conversations] shake hands. It is okay. Give them a hug if you are willing. You see what i just did right here . I have done this with 800 gang members in front of me. I am here to tell you that we can change and rehabilitate people im here to tell you the violence needs to stop but not based on impunity. Justice must be served but justice is not vengeance, if we continue to think that doing vengeance were going to have our justice, let me tell you that your liver is going to suffer quite a bit, i choose not to be by hate, i choose every day to think about the person who was able to torture, to kill and every day to day might be doing the same thing, what have we done as a society, what have we done so wrong that our children are willing to go to a gang instead of coming back home . What if our problem of a society, that we are not given our kids the love that they need and deserve, that they think the better option to gain respect is again. It is not the gangs fault, that is on us. We have created a society by omission and so everything that you do could either change the life of a person or it can toss it to the end of the cliff. We need to make the conscious choice to be peace builders because violence often chooses for us. And we have to choose not to continue down the path. Even think about the person you hate the most. Do you have the person in your head . [laughter] oh yeah. Would you be willing to forgive that person . [laughter] so the task is not easy when we say human rights are for all, we have to think that human rights are for those who we hate the most but we need to respect and we need to find Common Ground to build a different world. [applause] martha, what does it take . [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [speaking in foreign language] [applause] i think rosa already said it all, we really need to spread and radiate happiness. We all have anger and things were angry about and we have to get it out. But its only and loving ourselves and loving our bodies that we are able to see love in others. And in doing that and starting with ourselves, we are able to visualize that in others. Without love, our lives are very fastpaced and we all have things to do, there is a lot going on and we are very focused on accumulating goods and getting ahead. But without love, having those goods does nothing. Its something that we feel for ourselves and for each other. And that is the way to move on. [applause]. [applause] [applause] thank you all again for coming. It takes a village to make this happen. I want to thank mary and jeff and especially allie smith who was our coordinator. Our fabulous army of students helped us get to this day. Thank you all and everybody i didnt mention. Remain in your seat for now. Enjoy the day. [applause] aiming toward the reunification of the peninsula under a freely elected government in south korea. Third, if you believe, and you may not, that it is unacceptable for north korea to have Nuclear Weapons, at some point, military force has to be an option. Is the most controversial subject and many people say it is just unimaginable. You would use military force. Let me quote to you the words of general joad dunford on his last day as chairman. He has done an outstanding job. He said this to the aspen instant new Institute Seminar , on what is unimaginable. While idunford said told my counterpart both friend and foe it is not unimaginable to have military options to respond to nuclear north Koreas Nuclear capability. What is unimaginable to me is allowing the capability to allow Nuclear Weapons to land in denver, colorado. My job will be to develop military options to make sure that does not happen. And he was completely correct. John boltonsf remarks from earlier today. Weeknights we are featuring book tv programs showcasing what is available every weekend on cspan two. Tonight, author ben westhoff talks about his book, others explore the Opioid Crisis and his own addiction in his book in pain. We are also featuring American History tv programs this week as a preview what is available on cspan3. Tonight Gary Eagleman covered the entire civil war in 56 minutes beginning with the lead up and including the compromise lincolnsbraham election and state secession, confederate surrender and lincolns assassination. Eastern tonight at 8 00 on cspan3. On how to fixsion american politics moderated by politicos brian heath. Are joined later by federal Elections Commission chair ellen democrat, Margaret Spellings and Sicilia Munoz among others. This is just over an hour and 15 minutes. [applause]