Secretary Antony J. Blinken at the Human Rights Defender Award Ceremony

SPEAKER: Distinguished guests, please welcome the Secretary of State, accompanied by Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya, the Assistant Secretary of State Dafna Rand, and the 2024 Human Rights Defenders Award recipients. (Applause.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY RAND: Good afternoon, and may I be the first to wish you a happy International Human Rights Day.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: All right.

(Applause.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY RAND: My name is Dafna Rand, and I am honored to welcome you on behalf of the U.S. Department of State to celebrate the 2024 recipients of the Secretary of State's Human Rights Defenders Award.

Seventy-six years ago today, after the wreckage of two world wars and the Holocaust, the United States joined countries around the globe to enshrine this idea of human rights into a Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 1 of this declaration hearkens - it seems as almost to lift from our own Declaration of Independence. It reads: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act toward one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

In the decades that have followed - from the installation of a new democratic government in Argentina on this day in 1983, to unprecedented national protests demanding individual liberty in Hong Kong in 2019 - societies continue to celebrate December 10th.

Today, on this December 10th, let's signal our generation's intent to continue the fight for freedom. From Havana to Tehran to Caracas, those who defend human rights are being silenced and jailed. In Afghanistan, we condemn the Taliban's egregious discriminatory policies toward women and girls. Let's use today to celebrate strong civil societies and the tenacity and persistence of those who continue to hold out hope for a better future. And here we must say the future of Syria belongs to its people - of all faiths, of all backgrounds, and those who have demanded basic liberty, tolerance, and dignity for all. It takes extraordinary courage to be a champion and leader, to defend human rights when they are being targeted and they are under threat. And that is why we are here today.

In a moment, you will hear about these extraordinary champions we are welcoming to Washington, D.C. But first, let me be the first to thank our incredible champion. Mr. Secretary, with grit and perseverance, you have shown all of us in this building your commitment to the cause of human dignity and how central it is to our national security efforts. Thank you. (Applause.)

This event would also not be possible without our partners: the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, and Humanity United. Thank you to Evelyn Farkas and Srik Gopal, and you and all of your teams, all you have done to support these phenomenal individuals.

And with that, it is my honor to introduce another incredible human rights champion, a individual who has served with great distinction and cares deeply about this department, the one and only Under Secretary of State Uzra Zeya. She will now introduce the Secretary of State. Thank you. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY ZEYA: Thanks so much, Dafna. And good afternoon, everyone. I am so honored to join Secretary Blinken, Assistant Secretary Rand, our partners at the McCain Institute and Humanity United, and all of you in celebrating the truly remarkable recipients of the 2024 Secretary of State's Human Rights Defenders Award. Let's give them a round of applause. (Applause.)

Our honorees hail from diverse countries - from Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Burma, and Colombia to Eswatini, Ghana, Kuwait, and the Kyrgyz Republic. But together they are united in their personal courage, drive, and resilience to defend human rights and fundamental freedoms.

As we celebrate their contributions, we also recognize the significant hardships and dangers they and often their family, friends, and communities face due to reprisals against their work - threats, harassment, unjust imprisonment, torture, and even death. There is perhaps no greater example of these hardships than one of our award recipients for whom there is an empty chair: Rufat Safarov, who, while preparing to travel to the United States to receive this honor, was unjustly detained by the Azerbaijan Government. We strongly condemn this arrest and call for his immediate release.

And we must also recognize today Thulani Maseko of Eswatini, who is represented here by his wife. Thulani should be here today to receive this award for his vital human rights and democratic reform efforts. But he was taken from this world all too soon by brutal killers who still evade justice.

Now, while recognizing the remarkable individuals we're honoring today, we also acknowledge that human rights defenders are not alone in their courageous efforts. Alongside each defender is a chorus of partners, from family and friends to peers and ordinary citizens who stand with them, and who all too often also face repercussions for speaking truth to power.

But let me tell you, the United States, too, stands alongside you. President Biden made a commitment to prioritize human rights in our foreign policy, and as I stand before you at the end of this administration, I can humbly say that while we may not always live up to the standards to which we aspire, we've delivered important progress and innovations that will leave a lasting legacy on human rights around the globe, including leveraging global institutions to address U.S. human rights priorities, where we made a firm commitment to reassert U.S. multilateral leadership, return to UN bodies like the Human Rights Council, and build new ties with new and emerging partners.

Resulting milestone outcomes included suspending Russia from the UN Human Rights Council due to its invasion of Ukraine, and forging global consensus on the first-ever UN General Assembly resolution on advancing safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence for sustainable development.

We also secured the world's first treaty on AI at the Council of Europe, which defines a shared vision for how rights-respecting governments will approach AI in a way that is consistent with respect for human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

We also employed novel and diverse accountability tools to hold human rights abusers accountable. We expanded our toolkit with the strategic goal of changing behavior and deterring would-be violators. Through close cooperation with the Departments of Commerce and Treasury, we used export controls and sanctions to hold commercial spyware vendors like NSO Group, Intellexa, Cytrox, and others accountable for selling malicious cyber intrusion tools to those repressing human rights and threatening human rights defenders.

Here in the State Department, we furthered these efforts by implementing a new policy that places visa restrictions on individuals who misuse commercial spyware or derive a financial benefit from the misuse of this technology as well as their family members.

And finally, we tackled new and emerging threats head-on. Around the world, we see governments that are increasingly brazen and reaching across their borders through acts of transnational repression to target human rights defenders, journalists, and others who dare to criticize them. They leverage emerging technologies to surveil and censor both at home and abroad. They manipulate information ecosystems to sow confusion and discord.

But just as they have evolved, so have we. We've put transnational repression, or TNR, on the agenda of the UN and instituted a new policy at home to restrict visas for perpetrators. We've also provided more than $16 million in active programs to those defenders working to counter corruption, including the journalists working to expose it.

Carrying out this work would be impossible without the dedication of fellow State Department colleagues, unwavering in their commitment to human rights. Public servants like Brett Dvorak, who served as a human rights officer at our embassy in Baku and about whom you will learn more shortly. Champions like Brett and his fellow human rights officers around the world, joined by our chiefs of mission and team members from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, are all critical to U.S. efforts to advance human rights globally. Our successes are the product of the work they do each day to challenge injustice and to build relationships with the defenders on this stage and others like them.

And now I am thrilled to turn to our star attraction, who has been a lifelong champion for human rights, the vulnerable, and the brave defenders and public servants who drive this agenda. It's my sincere privilege to introduce my boss, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Applause.)

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Good afternoon. Welcome to the State Department.

Let me just start by saying how deeply I appreciate the extraordinary leadership we have from Uzra Zeya and Dafna Rand in carrying this agenda forward for the department, for the country, for the world. The mission that is the advancement and the protection of human rights couldn't have two greater champions, and we've been blessed to have them here at the State Department these last few years.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate Human Rights Day than by honoring these truly remarkable individuals. It's easy to engage in hyperbole about just about anything these days, but this is the real thing. These are the real thing. And you'll hear a little bit more about them in just a few minutes. But also, doing it together with the State Department's champions - senior leaders like Uzra and Dafna, and Foreign and Civil Service Officers like Brett Dvorak.

Brett: When human rights defenders, journalists, and other civil society members in Azerbaijan were detained, were threatened, were harassed, they knew that you would be in their corner. We know how much it meant to them. And today, I'm glad that you can hear how much it means to the department and to your country. Thank you, thank you, thank you. (Applause.)

We're also so grateful to be joined today by many of our civil society partners in this work, including the McCain Institute and Humanity United.

This partnership between civil society and between government in working to illuminate, to elevate human rights is absolutely critical to mission success. And so we couldn't be more pleased to be working with you and more grateful for your presence today.

As you heard from Uzra, from the outset of this administration, President Biden has made advancing human rights a top priority.

That's simply because everyone, everywhere is entitled to these rights, including people in the United States.

And it's because we know that a world where human rights are respected is profoundly in our interest. As the last four years have underscored, countries that respect human rights are - on the whole - more stable, more secure, more peaceful. They're more reliable partners. They're better stewards of our shared planet.

At the same time, we've been very open about the fact that the United States has not, does not always live up to these standards - either at home or in our relationships around the world. Rather than try to hide these shortcomings, rather than try to ignore these tensions, we grapple with them out in the open - striving, over years, over decades, even over generations, to close the gap between our principles and our practice.

The conviction that we have a strategic interest in upholding human rights is one of the things that distinguishes democracies like ours from autocracies; particularly those autocracies that are trying to rewrite the rules, rewrite the rights that have defined the international system since the end of the Second World War.

These authoritarians believe that governments can do what they want to people within their borders - and increasingly, beyond their borders as well. In fact, the relationship between how a government treats its own citizens and how it acts in the world is clear and profound. They dismiss the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as some kind of Western construct - even though its architects, the countries that adopted it, the people who have shaped it and shaped its evolving understanding in the decades since have actually come from all around the world.

The individuals that we honor today are a living rebuttal to this claim. Their very diversity shows that human rights are not the heritage or the aspiration of any one nationality, any one faith, any one ideology, any one region, or any other characteristic. They're universal. And people around the world are willing to take the most extraordinary risks - endure the most profound hardships - to make them real.

Today's honorees have a lot to teach us, a lot to teach us about how the United States can be a more effective partner to human rights defenders around the world. But let me highlight a few of the lessons that I think we can draw from their experience.

First, these awardees show the power of finding new tools and new methods to document abuses, to empower victims and vulnerable populations, and inform the public about their rights.

In 2000, during Colombia's brutal civil war, paramilitaries attacked the Afro-Colombian community of Mampujan - killing, torturing, sexually assaulting residents, driving them from their homes. In the aftermath, Juana Alicia Ruiz joined other women from the community to create a project to help survivors recount their abuses, to process their traumas through quilting. Juana's advocacy eventually led a Colombian judge to require the government to build a museum to educate the public about the massacre and to promote reconciliation.

In Ghana, vigilante groups use social media platforms to organize mobs to attack LGBTQI+ people, as well as to entrap, to blackmail, to harass them. As these attacks increase, Ghana's Supreme Court is considering legislation that would criminalize people for identifying as LGBTQI+, as well as threaten Ghanaians' constitutionally protected freedoms of speech, press, and assembly. In this context, Ebenezer Peegah and his organization started developing and distributing daily virtual updates that provide thousands of community members the information that they need like how to avoid vigilante groups, how to safeguard private online communications. He's also partnering with social media organizations to de-platform individuals and groups that are targeting LGBTQI+ people.

(Coughing.)

Do we have a glass? Let's see. We have some water here. Usually there's some. If we can get our friend some water, that would be great. Thank you.

Second, our honorees show how survivors can become advocates.

Mary Ann Abunda left her home in the Philippines for the promise of a good-paying job in Kuwait. Instead, when she arrived, she was forced to work as a domestic laborer, where she endured exploitation and abuse. Determined to prevent others from experiencing what she experienced, she teamed up with fellow workers to create an organization called Sandigan, which means "something to lean on" in her native Tagalog. The organization advocates for the rights of domestic workers and other migrant laborers in Kuwait, playing a critical role in passing legislation to improve their rights and their protections.

When Rufat Safarov - who we've already heard referenced - blew the whistle on corruption and other abuses he discovered while working in the Prosecutor General's Office in Azerbaijan, he hoped those responsible would be held accountable. Instead, Rufat lost his job. He was falsely accused of bribery. He was sentenced to nine years in prison in a sham trial. Upon his release, he founded an organization to help people who are targeted for defending human rights, for documenting graft, and other legitimate activities that a government doesn't like. Defense Line observes their trials. It visits them in prison, provides support to their families. It raises awareness about their cases throughout the international community.

Third, every one of these awardees has prioritized contributing to a broader community of advocates that not only makes them better at what they do - it strengthens the network of people around the world who are working to advance human rights.

In the time since the Kyrgyz Government adopted legislation that made it harder for civil society to raise funding and do their work, Aida Dzhumanazarova has provided groups with aid and advice on how to keep operating without running afoul of the law. At the same time, she's effectively lobbied parliament to remove or temper some of the harsher provisions of the law, such as one that would have allowed the government to lock up violators for up to 10 years. Because of Aida's efforts, countless NGOs and media organizations are still able to do their work in the Kyrgyz Republic.

Mang Hre Lian has been a champion of fellow human rights defenders and journalists in Burma since he came across the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the age of 19. The declaration inspired him, inspired him to write about the experiences of his native Chin Christian community, which - like so many of Burma's ethnic and religious minorities - has been brutally repressed for decades. Since leaving Burma after the 2021 coup, he's worked with defenders to document violations, to generate international attention, to stop ongoing abuses.

Finally, the defenders remind us that making progress on these issues requires bravery, requires resilience. Above all, it requires dogged persistence. For these individuals, advancing human rights, it's not a job; it is quite literally a lifelong mission. It requires staying at it despite setbacks, despite repression, with no guarantee of success. Amparo Carvajal has been fighting for human rights in Bolivia for more than half a century. Through the decades, she has taken on countless causes, from the individual cases of people tortured and disappeared to defending the rights of indigenous communities.

More recently, when a group aligned with the government violently occupied the office of her organization, Amparo, who is 85 years old, staged an around-the-clock-protest - (applause) - outside the building. She held her ground for 52 days, sleeping outside in freezing temperatures, all while battling cancer. When the occupiers eventually agreed to leave her organization, Amparo said, and I quote, "I find myself strengthened, because I never sold myself out," which can be said for her entire life. And I think you can tell you do not want to be on the other side of Amparo on anything. (Laughter.)

Thulani Rudolph Maseko also dedicated his entire life to advancing human rights in Eswatini. As a young man, he took his university to court for expelling politically active students. Later, he took on the cases of opposition figures, labor leaders, and others who were being persecuted for their work. He won a landmark case requiring the government to provide free primary education for all children. He was threatened, jailed, thrown into solitary confinement, but that did not stop him. When in 2021 people across Eswatini took part in peaceful protests to demand political change, Thulani formed a movement to coordinate the groups advocating for reform. His threats against leaders escalated. His friends urged him to leave the country. He refused.

On January 21, 2023, he was shot and killed in his home while sitting with his wife and two children, aged ten and six. No one has been held accountable.

Today we are joined by Tanele Maseko, Thulani's partner of 16 years, both in marriage and in human rights work.

Tanele: None of us can imagine, fully appreciate what you, what your family have been through, the sacrifices you've made. You honor us with your presence here today, and we're so proud to stand with you in demanding justice for your husband.

Now, one chair, as you will have noted, is empty on this stage, next to Tanele. It belongs to Rufat Safarov, the Azerbaijani human rights defender that I spoke of just a few moments ago.

Last week - just hours after visiting the U.S. Embassy in Baku to get his visa to travel here for this ceremony - Rufat was detained by security officers, and he's since been placed in pre-trial detention.

The Government of Azerbaijan should release Rufat - and release him immediately - as well as all the other journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and others that are unjustly detained.

In a social media post shared on Rufat's behalf shortly after his detention, here is what he wrote: "I'm not unhappy with my life. I have chosen dissident life. It's a privilege to defend people and [defend] humanity."

Of all we can learn from these honorees, maybe the most important thing is their bravery. It's the choices that Rufat, that Thulani, that every defender on this stage - as well as so many others whose names that we'll - we may never know - the choices that they have to make every single day, choices they make knowing the profound risks, because they believe so fervently in the rights and the dignity of their fellow human beings.

That includes so many human rights defenders in Syria, who never gave up over 14 years of conflict and relentless efforts by the Assad regime to extinguish them, and who now have renewed hope that perpetrators will be held accountable.

The choices made by these remarkable individuals, they also pose a challenge, a challenge to each of us, a challenge to ask ourselves: What could we accomplish with even a fraction of their bravery and dedication?

That's a question that we can, we must ask - as citizens, and especially as people privileged to serve in government.

And so, to our honorees today, to everyone fighting for human rights around the globe: I urge you to keep setting the example. Keep challenging us to prove worthy of your courage. Keep holding us accountable.

You will make this country better. You'll make the world better. And to each and every one of you, I say thank you for the inspiration, thank you for what you show us - the best of humanity - every single day.

Congratulations to each of you. (Applause.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY RAND: All right, this is the moment of action. We're going to give the actual awards to each of our nominees. Mr. Secretary, thank you for your leadership and your unwavering support. We are going to call each person by name to come receive their award and to stop for a photo.

So first, we'll start with Ebenezer Peegah, our committed advocate and pioneer in the fight for equal rights of all people in Ghana. (Applause.)

And next we call up Mang Hre Lian of Burma, whose documentation efforts and leadership in promoting freedom of expression and press freedom will be essential to the return to a democratic Burma. (Applause.)

And next we call up Mary Ann Abunda, who, as a survivor of human trafficking, has demonstrated exceptional courage and resilience in her efforts to combat the exploitation and abuse of domestic workers in Kuwait. (Applause.)

Welcome to Aida Dzhumanazarova of Kyrgyz Republic, a shining example of a new generation of Kyrgyz civic leaders working to preserve hard-fought democratic gains in the face of closing civic space. (Applause.)

Juana Alicia Ruiz of Colombia, who has dedicated her life to fostering grassroots reconciliation among communities in the aftermath of Colombia's 50-year internal conflict. (Applause.)

Amparo Carvajal, whose ceaseless promotion of human rights over more than half a century - (cheers) - has been critical to improving rights of countless Bolivians. (Applause.)

And then Mr. Secretary, if you could take the next award and stand by the empty chair, we want to honor Mr. Rufat Safarov of Azerbaijan, our indefatigable advocate for accountability and the release of all individuals (inaudible) detained. Rufat is not with us today because he has been unjustly detained for his human rights work. He embodies the courage of human rights defenders and should be with us today. (Applause.)

And last, but not - certainly not least, we have Thulani Maseko of Eswatini, and to accept his award posthumously, his wife, Tanele Maseko. Thulani's life inspired the people of Eswatini, the reformers and defenders everywhere, to believe in the power of principled advocacy. (Applause.)

And now please join me in one more robust round of applause for all of our phenomenal awardees. (Applause.)

We have one last award that we want to give, and you've heard about this individual. As we honor the relentless pursuit of human rights defenders around the world, we too here in the United States have a responsibility to do all that we can to ensure that we advocate for them as part and parcel of U.S. diplomacy. In Washington and around the world, our staff at the State Department maintain regular contacts with human rights defenders like these, and they understand the challenges they face, their concerns, and they think of creative ways to assist them.

Our embassies that I want to honor today, all of our embassies, have dedicated human rights officers who are continuously thinking up new ways to innovate and modernize to meet the pressing human rights challenges of the day. Each year, we offer an award, and after many, many submissions from all over the world from countless ambassadors who extolled the human rights work that was being done, one individual stood out. Today we honor Brett Dvorak. You are the recipient of the 2024 Department of State Human Rights and Democracy Achievement Award. Thank you for your exemplary work in promoting human rights. (Applause.)

So this is the end of our ceremony, and I don't know about you but I am very inspired. Thank you so much to our partners in civil society, to our staff on the Hill who are here with us today, to friends across the U.S. State Department and U.S. Government for celebrating and commemorating Human Rights Day. As the Secretary noted, human rights are universal, and people all around the world, just like those we've honored today, are willing to take great risks. Thank you again, Mr. Secretary, for your leadership and your support for all of our efforts to protect and defend these individuals. (Applause.)

So now we have a few housekeeping notes. First, please remain in your seats as the Secretary and our awardees depart the room. And once they have departed, if all of you would like to stay, we have a DRL-sponsored reception right out there, so you know it will be fancy. And escorts will be at this door to show you how to get to the Delegates Lounge, where we can continue the celebration and greet and meet each other. Thank you again to Humanity United, to the McCain Institute at Arizona State University, and for each of the partners in this room and around the world. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

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