We value human rights, and weneed to tell the story of America’s good work there, too. Weknow that the mosteffective way to promote the universal rights of all people, rightsandreligious freedom, is not from the podium, not from either end of PennsylvaniaAvenue. It’sfrom the front lines – wherever freedom and basic human dignityare denied. And that’s whatTim Kaine understood when he went to Honduras.
The brave employees of State andUSAID – and the Diplomatic Security personnel whoprotect the civilians servingus overseas – work in some of the most dangerous places on Earth,and they doit fully cognizant that we share stronger partnerships with countries thatshare ourcommitment to democratic values and human rights. They fightcorruption in Nigeria. Theysupport the rule of law in Burma. They support democraticinstitutions in Kyrgyzstan andGeorgia, mindful from our own experience that ittakes a long time to get democracy right, andthat it rarely happens rightaway.
In the end, all of those efforts,all of that danger and risk that they take, makes us moresecure. And we dovalue democracy, just as you’ve demonstrated here at UVA throughthePresidential Precinct program that’s training leaders in emerging democracies.
Thanks to a decade of intensivediplomatic efforts alongside our partners, a conflict thattook more than 2million lives – and people think about the Holocaust, 6 million over thecourseof World War II, we lost 2 million people in the longest war in Africa in ourtime in the lastyears. And of that South Sudan was born a free nation. Securingits future and peace for all ofits citizens is going to take continueddiplomatic efforts alongside partners like the African Union.And the more wecan develop the capacity of the African Union, the less the United Stateswillhave to worry.
I’ve stood in South Sudan. I’veseen those challenges firsthand, and they still face theworld’s newest countryand its government. Those challenges threaten to reverse hard-wonprogress andstability. And that’s why we’re working closely with that nation to help itprovide itsown citizens with essential services like water, health, andeducation and agriculture practices.
We value health and nutrition,and the principle of helping people gain strength to helpthemselves. Throughcornerstone initiatives like Feed the Future, we help countries not onlyplantand harvest better food, but we also help them break the cycle of poverty, ofpoornutrition, and of hunger.
We seek to reduce maternalmortality, eradicate polio, and protect people from malaria,tuberculosis, andpandemic influenza. And I will tell you proudly that through the GlobalHealthInitiative and programs that I was proud to have a hand in helping to create,like PEPFAR,we have saved the lives of 5 million people in Africa through theefforts of Americans. Today… (Applause.) And today – today astonishingly – weare standing on the edge of the potential ofan AIDS-free generation, becausewe know these diseases don’t discriminate by nationality,and we believe thatrelieving preventable suffering doesn’t need a justification. And Ithinkthat’s part of our values.
We value gender equality, knowingthat countries are, in fact, more peaceful andprosperous when women and girlsare afforded full rights and equal opportunity. (Applause.) Inthe last decade,the proportion of African* women enrolled in higher education went fromnearlyzero to 20 percent. In 2002, there were fewer than a million boys in Afghanschools andbarely any girls. Now, with America’s help, more than a third ofthe almost 8 million studentsgoing to school in Afghanistan are girls. Andmore than a quarter of their representatives inparliament are women. We shouldbe proud of that, and that helps to make a difference for thelong haul.
We value education, promotingprograms like the Fulbright exchanges managed by theDepartment of State. Theyenable the most talented citizens to share their devotion todiplomacy andpeace, their hopes, their friendships, and the belief that all of the Earth’ssonsand daughters ought to have the opportunity to lift themselves up. Todaythese exchangesbring hundreds of thousands of students to America from othercountries, and vice versa. In thelast year alone, more than 10,000 citizens offoreign countries participated in the StateDepartment’s academic, youth,professional and cultural exchange programs right here inVirginia. Virginiansalso studied abroad through State Department programs. Senator Fulbright,atwhose hearings I had the privilege of testifying as a young veteran returning fromVietnam,he knew that the value of sharing our proudest values bore fruit inthe long run, in the future.He said, “Having people who understand yourthought,” he said, “is much greater securitythan another submarine.”
Let me be very clear. Foreign assistanceis not a giveaway. It’s not charity. It is aninvestment in a strong Americaand in a free world. Foreign assistance lifts other people up andthenreinforces their willingness to link arms with us in common endeavors. And whenwe helpothers crack down on corruption, that makes it easier for our owncompliance againstcorruption, and it makes it easier for our companies to dobusiness as well.
When we join with other nationsto reduce the nuclear threat, we build partnerships thatmean we don’t have tofight those battles alone. This includes working with our partners aroundtheworld in making sure that Iran never obtains a weapon that would endanger ourallies andour interests. When we help others create the space that they needto build stability in theirown communities, we’re actually helping bravepeople build a better, more democratic future,and making sure that we don’tpay more later in American blood and treasure.
The stories that we need to tell,of standing up for American jobs and businesses andstanding up for ourAmerican values, intersect powerfully in the opportunity that we have nowinthis moment of urgency to lead on the climate concerns that we share with ourglobalneighbors. We as a nation must have the foresight and the courage tomake the investmentsnecessary to safeguard the most sacred trust we keep forour children and our grandchildren,and that is an environment not ravaged byrising seas, deadly superstorms, devastatingdroughts, and the other hallmarksof a dramatically changing climate. President Obama iscommitted to movingforward on that, and so am I, and so must you be ready to join us inthateffort. (Applause.)
Can we all say thank you to oursigners who are here? (Applause.)