America needs to be impeccable in our own human rights behavior -- and that should begin with immediately closing Guantanamo prison and all secret detention facilities, and providing all prisoners everywhere with access to legal counsel.
If the US expects others to take us seriously, we need to take ourselves seriously by honoring our own values and all international treaties, including the Geneva Conventions. Once we have re-established ourselves as a nation that honors human dignity, we can begin once again to promote it worldwide. We must join and support enthusiastically the International Criminal Court, so that leaders who engage in or allow crimes against humanity know they will be held accountable. And we should reward countries that respect the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and negotiate, constructively but firmly, with those who do not.
America must also renew its commitment to the rule of law and to multilateral cooperation. We must put aside the failed unilateralism of the Bush administration and re-engage our leadership role in institutions like the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the Organization of American States.
The third value I would like to speak to you about is courage. In particular the courage to do, not what is easy or expedient, but to do what's right.
As a diplomat and a public servant, I look at past presidents who had the courage to buck their party line and go against the conventional wisdom to make great gains for our country. It took courage for Truman to reinvest into post-war Europe-including Germany-- with the Marshall Plan. It took courage for the anti-communist Nixon to open China. It took courage for Carter to do what he did at Camp David. And it took courage for Reagan to meet with Gorbachev at Reykjavik. In the atmosphere of today, it's going to take courage to renew America's relationship with the world.
I believe a good place for us to start would be to lead an international effort to protect people trapped in situations like Myanmar and Darfur, where their governments fail to protect their own people. The "responsibility to protect" is a principle that has been unanimously endorsed by 150 heads of state at the 2005 UN World Summit. Such a norm would first demand action to prevent crimes against humanity. But should prevention fail, then the right to protect requires economic, political, diplomatic, legal, security and-- in the last resort-a multi-lateral, UN sanctioned military intervention to stop an atrocity from occurring.
The US has a special role to play in stopping genocide, especially in Africa where the two most horrendous recent human rights abuses have taken place, in Rwanda and now Darfur. History teaches that if the US does not take the lead on ending these abuses, no one else will.
We just need to courage to do the right thing. We need to work with our international partners and the United Nations to devise practical mechanisms that will enable the world community to respond quickly, legally, multilaterally and effectively to stop genocide and other great human rights abuses. The norm of national sovereignty is important, and should be preserved, but it is moot when governments fail to protect their own citizens from great suffering.
I would like to end my speech today with a personal request-serve the public interest. You represent the best and brightest of your generation. You will be sought out for the talents you have and the skills you've learned. And you will use them. But who will you use them for?
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