I DO LIKE SANDERS BUT REALLY ..... WHERE WAS HE ....
20 years ago, Hillary led the US delegation to the UN Women's Conference in Beijing where she proclaimed: "Women's rights are human rights."
“Our very attendance was controversial. Many U.S. government officials, including some at the White House, didn’t want Hillary to travel to Beijing...But Hillary was undaunted — she wanted to be there.” 20 years ago, Ginger joined Hillary as a member of the US delegation to the UN’s World Conference on Women. Read her memories of the day Hillary famous declared that women’s rights are human rights, once and for all: http://hrc.io/beijing1995
Twenty years ago, representatives from 189 nations gathered in Beijing, China, for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. I was a member of the United States delegation, alongside First Lady Hillary Clinton.
<snip>
When we arrived, the main hall was electric with anticipation and overflowing with people who wanted to hear the first lady of the United States speak. As Hillary began her remarks, it was clear she was not going to shy away from talking about the abusive treatment of women around the world. When she came to that now-historic line — “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all” — the hall erupted. In a single sentence, she had captured all the reasons we were gathered in Beijing.
Twenty years later, Hillary’s words are still forceful, powerful, and important. And that’s because it was a speech from the heart. Hillary spoke with conviction, and her passion and commitment to addressing these issues — to shining a bright light on centuries of abuse toward women. It was genuine, it rang true and that’s why it continues to be so powerful.
She didn’t shirk from exposing deplorable practices, whether it was forced sterilization or dowry deaths. Her courage to speak out — to speak the truth — gave millions of women a voice to confront leaders in their own countries. One speech elevated women’s rights onto the international political arena at the highest levels of government around the world.
At the conference, we had spent days developing a global platform that would frame a women’s agenda for the international community. “Women’s rights are human rights” was included in the Beijing Platform for Action, unanimously adopted by 189 countries — an amazing accomplishment and a galvanizing first step.
As Secretary of State, Hillary worked to elevate the status of women and girls and strengthen the economic role they play in their communities and countries. In 2010, I sat beside her once again as she gathered the leaders of the Asia Pacific region who pledged to adopt a five-year action plan to broaden economic and educational opportunities for women. And as President, I know she will continue to fight for more opportunities for women and girls in the United States and around the world.
That’s who Hillary is: a lifelong fighter for women’s rights. She has spent her career championing the causes I care about as a woman and a child of immigrants. Now I am grateful I can be a champion of hers. https://medium.com/hillary-for-america/beijing-1995-i-was-there-95250ec81473
= new reply since forum marked as read
