I speak today about the resolve of this Administration to make advancement of human rights a central part of our foreign policy.

Many here today have long been advocates of human rights within our own society.  And throughout our nation that struggle for civil rights continues.

In the early years of our civil rights movement, many Americans treated the issue as a “Southern” problem.  They were wrong.  It was and is a problem for all of us.

Now, as a nation, we must not make a comparable mistake.  Protection of human rights is a challenge for all countries, not just a few.
           
Our human rights policy must be understood in order to be effective.  So today I want to set forth the substance of that policy and the results we hope to achieve.

Our concern for human rights is built upon ancient values.  It looks with hope to a world in which liberty is not just a great cause, but the common condition.  In the past, it may have seemed sufficient to put our name to international documents that spoke loftily of human rights.  That is not enough.  We will go to work, alongside other people and governments, to protect and enhance the dignity of the individual.