{"id":3272,"date":"2022-08-18T11:04:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T15:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/?page_id=3272"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:51:27","slug":"the-future-of-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/human-rights-institute\/events\/samuel-dash-conference-on-human-rights\/the-future-of-human-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"The Future of Human Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cAmerica has led the world in protecting liberty,\u201d states the Center for American Progress. Human rights \u201care in our national interests and showing the world that we respect the rule of law makes it harder for extremists to rally people against us.\u201d \u201cSupporting human rights is one of the best things America can do for the rest of the world.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Yet in recent years, America\u2019s own reputation for respecting human rights around the world \u201chas been torn to shreds. The list of the U.S.\u2019s own human rights abuses goes on and on.\u201d As the Center for American Progress states, \u201cWhen our own human rights record is tainted, it makes it harder than ever to criticize the practices of other countries that have abused human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Samuel Dash Conference on Human Rights features experts and advocates for human rights both in the United States and around the world. These individuals represent a broad community of thinkers, researchers, writers, government actors, and community activists, and they have come together to forge a clearer understanding of the roles and responsibilities that America bears in maintaining its commitment to international human rights standards and practices.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

William F. Schulz, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, opened the day\u2019s conference by saying that he believes in the best of the American tradition, as manifested\u2014among other things\u2014in the Bill of Rights, in demanding an end to slavery, in demanding political representation and equality for women, in our country\u2019s civil rights movement, and in Eleanor Roosevelt\u2019s vision for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. \u201cAll these manifestations of the best of the American tradition involve human rights.\u201d In quoting the former President Jimmy Carter, who said, \u201c<\/span>America did not invent human rights. Human rights invented America<\/span><\/i><\/b>,\u201d Schulz stated that the message for this conference is that, \u201c<\/span>Human rights will re-invent America once again.<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keynote Address \u2013 Madeleine Albright<\/span><\/b><\/h2>\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

Former<\/span> Secretary of State Madeleine Albright delivered a powerful keynote address in which she cautioned that \u201c<\/span>we can expect the future of human rights to be both controversial and complex<\/span><\/i><\/b>.\u201d \u201cWe must remember that foreign policy cannot be managed with a cookie cutter,\u201d she said. \u201cIn a diverse world, flexibility will sometimes be more important than consistency. And in an imperfect world, perfect solutions are often not possible while imperfect means are all that exist. Human rights are then indeed complicated.\u201d Therefore, \u201c<\/span>We cannot pretend to know all the answers, but neither can we be so conscious of what is complex that we lose sight of what is clear<\/span><\/i><\/b>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is clear is that the Bush administration has made mistakes that undermine America\u2019s commitment to human rights. In speaking of the use of torture, Secretary Albright stated that torture is \u201ca strategic blunder and a moral abomination. It is not a weapon in the fight against terror.\u201d Secretary Albright also recognized the U.S.\u2019s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court as yet another \u201cmistake,\u201d citing America\u2019s crucial involvement in creating the Nuremberg Tribunal, the International Court of Justice, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. \u201cThe America I love is not a child that pouts when rules good enough for others are suddenly applied to us,\u201d she stated. \u201cThe America I love is the world\u2019s leading defender and exemplar of international law.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCorrecting these errors is the beginning of what the next president must do\u2014but only the beginning.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b> \u2014 Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch Secretary Madeleine Albright\u2019s keynote address on the need for the United States to adopt a broad approach to human rights, acknowledge its own shortcomings, and strive to strengthen global norms:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n