United Nations Headquarters
NEW YORK:
Mr President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and
gentleman: I would like to begin today
by telling you about an American named Chris Stevens.
Chris was born in a town called Grass
Valley, California, the son of
a lawyer and a musician. As a young man,
Chris joined the Peace Corps, and taught English in Morocco. And he came to love and respect the people of
North Africa and the Middle East.
He would carry that commitment throughout his life. As a diplomat, he worked from Egypt
to Syria, from Saudi
Arabia to Libya. He was known for walking the streets of the
cities where he worked -- tasting the local food, meeting as many people as he
could, speaking Arabic, listening with a broad smile.
Chris went to Benghazi
in the early days of the Libyan revolution, arriving on a cargo ship. As America’s representative, he helped the
Libyan people as they coped with violent conflict, cared for the wounded, and
crafted a vision for the future in which the rights of all Libyans would be
respected. And after the revolution, he supported the birth of a new democracy,
as Libyans held elections, and built new institutions, and began to move
forward after decades of dictatorship.
Chris Stevens loved his
work. He took pride in the country he
served, and he saw dignity in the people that he met. And two weeks ago, he traveled to Benghazi
to review plans to establish a new cultural center and modernize a
hospital. That’s when America’s
compound came under attack. Along with
three of his colleagues, Chris was killed in the city that he helped to save.
He was 52 years old.
I tell you this story because
Chris Stevens embodied the best of America. Like his fellow Foreign Service officers, he
built bridges across oceans and cultures, and was deeply invested in the
international cooperation that the United Nations represents. He acted with humility, but he also stood up
for a set of principles -- a belief that individuals should be free to
determine their own destiny, and live with liberty, dignity, justice, and
opportunity.
The attacks on the civilians in Benghazi
were attacks on America. We are grateful for the assistance we
received from the Libyan government and from the Libyan people. There should be no doubt that we will be
relentless in tracking down the killers and bringing them to justice. And I also appreciate that in recent days,
the leaders of other countries in the region -- including Egypt,
Tunisia and Yemen
-- have taken steps to secure our diplomatic facilities, and called for
calm. And so have religious authorities
around the globe.
But understand, the attacks of
the last two weeks are not simply an assault on America. They are also an assault on the very ideals
upon which the United Nations was founded -- the notion that people can resolve
their differences peacefully; that diplomacy can take the place of war; that in
an interdependent world, all of us have a stake in working towards greater
opportunity and security for our citizens.
If we are serious about upholding
these ideals, it will not be enough to put more guards in front of an embassy,
or to put out statements of regret and wait for the outrage to pass. If we are serious about these ideals, we must
speak honestly about the deeper causes of the crisis -- because we face a
choice between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes that we hold
in common.
Today, we must reaffirm that our
future will be determined by people like Chris Stevens -- and not by his
killers. Today, we must declare that
this violence and intolerance has no place among our United Nations.
It has been less than two years
since a vendor in Tunisia
set himself on fire to protest the oppressive corruption in his country, and
sparked what became known as the Arab Spring.
And since then, the world has been captivated by the transformation
that’s taken place, and the United States
has supported the forces of change.
We were inspired by the Tunisian
protests that toppled a dictator, because we recognized our own beliefs in the
aspiration of men and women who took to the streets.
We insisted on change in Egypt,
because our support for democracy ultimately put us on the side of the people.
We supported a transition of
leadership in Yemen,
because the interests of the people were no longer being served by a corrupt
status quo.
We intervened in Libya
alongside a broad coalition, and with the mandate of the United Nations
Security Council, because we had the ability to stop the slaughter of
innocents, and because we believed that the aspirations of the people were more
powerful than a tyrant.
And as we meet here, we again
declare that the regime of Bashar al-Assad must come to an end so that the
suffering of the Syrian people can stop and a new dawn can begin.
We have taken these positions
because we believe that freedom and self-determination are not unique to one
culture. These are not simply American
values or Western values -- they are universal values. And even as there will be huge challenges to
come with a transition to democracy, I am convinced that ultimately government
of the people, by the people, and for the people is more likely to bring about
the stability, prosperity, and individual opportunity that serve as a basis for
peace in our world.
So let us remember that this is a
season of progress. For the first time
in decades, Tunisians, Egyptians and Libyans voted for new leaders in elections
that were credible, competitive, and fair.
This democratic spirit has not been restricted to the Arab world. Over the past year, we’ve seen peaceful
transitions of power in Malawi
and Senegal,
and a new President in Somalia. In Burma,
a President has freed political prisoners and opened a closed society, a
courageous dissident has been elected to parliament, and people look forward to
further reform. Around the globe, people
are making their voices heard, insisting on their innate dignity, and the right
to determine their future.
And yet the turmoil of recent
weeks reminds us that the path to democracy does not end with the casting of a
ballot. Nelson Mandela once said: "To be free is not merely to cast off
one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of
others." (Applause.)
True democracy demands that
citizens cannot be thrown in jail because of what they believe, and that businesses
can be opened without paying a bribe. It
depends on the freedom of citizens to speak their minds and assemble without
fear, and on the rule of law and due process that guarantees the rights of all
people.
In other words, true democracy --
real freedom -- is hard work. Those in
power have to resist the temptation to crack down on dissidents. In hard economic times, countries must be
tempted -- may be tempted to rally the people around perceived enemies, at home
and abroad, rather than focusing on the painstaking work of reform.
Moreover, there will always be
those that reject human progress -- dictators who cling to power, corrupt
interests that depend on the status quo, and extremists who fan the flames of
hate and division. From Northern
Ireland to South Asia,
from Africa to the Americas,
from the Balkans to the Pacific Rim, we’ve witnessed
convulsions that can accompany transitions to a new political order.
At time, the conflicts arise
along the fault lines of race or tribe.
And often they arise from the difficulties of reconciling tradition and
faith with the diversity and interdependence of the modern world. In every country, there are those who find
different religious beliefs threatening; in every culture, those who love
freedom for themselves must ask themselves how much they’re willing to tolerate
freedom for others.
That is what we saw play out in
the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout
the Muslim world. Now, I have made it
clear that the United States
government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be
rejected by all who respect our common humanity.
It is an insult not only to
Muslims, but to America
as well -- for as the city outside these walls makes clear, we are a country
that has welcomed people of every race and every faith. We are home to Muslims who worship across our
country. We not only respect the freedom
of religion, we have laws that protect individuals from being harmed because of
how they look or what they believe. We
understand why people take offense to this video because millions of our
citizens are among them.
I know there are some who ask why
we don’t just ban such a video. And the
answer is enshrined in our laws: Our
Constitution protects the right to practice free speech.
Here in the United
States, countless publications provoke
offense. Like me, the majority of
Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most
sacred beliefs. As President of our
country and Commander-in-Chief of our military, I accept that people are going
to call me awful things every day -- (laughter) -- and I will always defend
their right to do so. (Applause.)
Americans have fought and died
around the globe to protect the right of all people to express their views,
even views that we profoundly disagree with.
We do not do so because we support hateful speech, but because our
founders understood that without such protections, the capacity of each
individual to express their own views and practice their own faith may be
threatened. We do so because in a
diverse society, efforts to restrict speech can quickly become a tool to
silence critics and oppress minorities.
We do so because given the power
of faith in our lives, and the passion that religious differences can inflame,
the strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression; it is more
speech -- the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and
lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect.
Now, I know that not all
countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of
free speech. We recognize that. But in 2012, at a time when anyone with a
cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a
button, the notion that we can control the flow of information is
obsolete. The question, then, is how do
we respond?
And on this we must agree: There is no speech that justifies mindless
violence. (Applause.) There are no words that excuse the killing of
innocents. There's no video that
justifies an attack on an embassy.
There's no slander that provides an excuse for people to burn a
restaurant in Lebanon,
or destroy a school in Tunis, or
cause death and destruction in Pakistan.
In this modern world with modern
technologies, for us to respond in that way to hateful speech empowers any
individual who engages in such speech to create chaos around the world. We empower the worst of us if that’s how we
respond.
More broadly, the events of the
last two weeks also speak to the need for all of us to honestly address the
tensions between the West and the Arab world that is moving towards democracy.
Now, let me be clear: Just as we cannot solve every problem in the
world, the United States
has not and will not seek to dictate the outcome of democratic transitions
abroad. We do not expect other nations
to agree with us on every issue, nor do we assume that the violence of the past
weeks or the hateful speech by some individuals represent the views of the
overwhelming majority of Muslims, any more than the views of the people who
produced this video represents those of Americans. However, I do believe that it is the obligation
of all leaders in all countries to speak out forcefully against violence and
extremism. (Applause.)
It is time to marginalize those
who -- even when not directly resorting to violence -- use hatred of America,
or the West, or Israel,
as the central organizing principle of politics. For that only gives cover, and
sometimes makes an excuse, for those who do resort to violence.
That brand of politics -- one
that pits East against West, and South against North, Muslims against
Christians and Hindu and Jews -- can’t deliver on the promise of freedom. To the youth, it offers only false hope. Burning an American flag does nothing to
provide a child an education. Smashing
apart a restaurant does not fill an empty stomach. Attacking an embassy won’t create a single
job. That brand of politics only makes
it harder to achieve what we must do together:
educating our children, and creating the opportunities that they
deserve; protecting human rights, and extending democracy’s promise.
Understand America
will never retreat from the world. We
will bring justice to those who harm our citizens and our friends, and we will
stand with our allies. We are willing to
partner with countries around the world to deepen ties of trade and investment,
and science and technology, energy and development -- all efforts that can
spark economic growth for all our people and stabilize democratic change.
But such efforts depend on a
spirit of mutual interest and mutual respect.
No government or company, no school or NGO will be confident working in
a country where its people are endangered.
For partnerships to be effective our citizens must be secure and our
efforts must be welcomed.
A politics based only on anger --
one based on dividing the world between "us" and "them" --
not only sets back international cooperation, it ultimately undermines those
who tolerate it. All of us have an
interest in standing up to these forces.
Let us remember that Muslims have
suffered the most at the hands of extremism.
On the same day our civilians were killed in Benghazi, a Turkish police
officer was murdered in Istanbul only days before his wedding; more than 10
Yemenis were killed in a car bomb in Sana’a; several Afghan children were
mourned by their parents just days after they were killed by a suicide bomber
in Kabul.
The impulse towards intolerance
and violence may initially be focused on the West, but over time it cannot be
contained. The same impulses toward
extremism are used to justify war between Sunni and Shia, between tribes and
clans. It leads not to strength and
prosperity but to chaos. In less than
two years, we have seen largely peaceful protests bring more change to
Muslim-majority countries than a decade of violence. And extremists understand this. Because they have nothing to offer to improve
the lives of people, violence is their only way to stay relevant. They don’t build; they only destroy.
It is time to leave the call of
violence and the politics of division behind.
On so many issues, we face a choice between the promise of the future,
or the prisons of the past. And we
cannot afford to get it wrong. We must
seize this moment. And America
stands ready to work with all who are willing to embrace a better future.
The future must not belong to
those who target Coptic Christians in Egypt
-- it must be claimed by those in Tahrir Square
who chanted, "Muslims, Christians, we are one." The future must not belong to those who bully
women -- it must be shaped by girls who go to school, and those who stand for a
world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons. (Applause.)
The future must not belong to
those corrupt few who steal a country’s resources -- it must be won by the
students and entrepreneurs, the workers and business owners who seek a broader
prosperity for all people. Those are the
women and men that America
stands with; theirs is the vision we will support.
The future must not belong to
those who slander the prophet of Islam.
But to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the
hate we see in the images of Jesus Christ that are desecrated, or churches that
are destroyed, or the Holocaust that is denied.
(Applause.)
Let us condemn incitement against
Sufi Muslims and Shiite pilgrims. It’s
time to heed the words of Gandhi:
"Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the
growth of a true democratic spirit."
(Applause.) Together, we must
work towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences, and not
defined by them. That is what America
embodies, that’s the vision we will support.
Among Israelis and Palestinians,
the future must not belong to those who turn their backs on a prospect of
peace. Let us leave behind those who
thrive on conflict, those who reject the right of Israel
to exist. The road is hard, but the
destination is clear -- a secure, Jewish state of Israel
and an independent, prosperous Palestine. (Applause.)
Understanding that such a peace must come through a just agreement
between the parties, America
will walk alongside all who are prepared to make that journey.
In Syria,
the future must not belong to a dictator who massacres his people. If there is a cause that cries out for
protest in the world today, peaceful protest, it is a regime that tortures
children and shoots rockets at apartment buildings. And we must remain engaged to assure that
what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian
violence.
Together, we must stand with
those Syrians who believe in a different vision -- a Syria
that is united and inclusive, where children don’t need to fear their own
government, and all Syrians have a say in how they are governed -- Sunnis and
Alawites, Kurds and Christians. That’s
what America
stands for. That is the outcome that we
will work for -- with sanctions and consequences for those who persecute, and
assistance and support for those who work for this common good. Because we believe that the Syrians who
embrace this vision will have the strength and the legitimacy to lead.
In Iran,
we see where the path of a violent and unaccountable ideology leads. The Iranian people have a remarkable and
ancient history, and many Iranians wish to enjoy peace and prosperity alongside
their neighbors. But just as it
restricts the rights of its own people, the Iranian government continues to
prop up a dictator in Damascus and
supports terrorist groups abroad. Time
and again, it has failed to take the opportunity to demonstrate that its
nuclear program is peaceful, and to meet its obligations to the United Nations.
So let me be clear. America
wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is
still time and space to do so. But that
time is not unlimited. We respect the
right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but one of the purposes of
the United Nations is to see that we harness that power for peace. And make no mistake, a nuclear-armed Iran
is not a challenge that can be contained.
It would threaten the elimination of Israel,
the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in
the region, and the unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty. That’s why a coalition of countries is
holding the Iranian government accountable.
And that’s why the United States
will do what we must to prevent Iran
from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
We know from painful experience
that the path to security and prosperity does not lie outside the boundaries of
international law and respect for human rights.
That’s why this institution was established from the rubble of
conflict. That is why liberty triumphed
over tyranny in the Cold War. And that
is the lesson of the last two decades as well.
History shows that peace and
progress come to those who make the right choices. Nations in every part of the world have
traveled this difficult path. Europe,
the bloodiest battlefield of the 20th century, is united, free and at
peace. From Brazil
to South Africa,
from Turkey to South
Korea, from India
to Indonesia,
people of different races, religions, and traditions have lifted millions out
of poverty, while respecting the rights of their citizens and meeting their
responsibilities as nations.
And it is because of the progress
that I’ve witnessed in my own lifetime, the progress that I’ve witnessed after
nearly four years as President, that I remain ever hopeful about the world that
we live in. The war in Iraq
is over. American troops have come
home. We’ve begun a transition in Afghanistan,
and America and
our allies will end our war on schedule in 2014. Al Qaeda has been weakened, and Osama bin
Laden is no more. Nations have come
together to lock down nuclear materials, and America
and Russia are
reducing our arsenals. We have seen hard
choices made -- from Naypyidaw to Cairo
to Abidjan -- to put more power in
the hands of citizens.
At a time of economic challenge,
the world has come together to broaden prosperity. Through the G20, we have partnered with
emerging countries to keep the world on the path of recovery. America
has pursued a development agenda that fuels growth and breaks dependency, and
worked with African leaders to help them feed their nations. New partnerships have been forged to combat
corruption and promote government that is open and transparent, and new
commitments have been made through the Equal Futures Partnership to ensure that
women and girls can fully participate in politics and pursue opportunity. And later today, I will discuss our efforts
to combat the scourge of human trafficking.
All these things give me
hope. But what gives me the most hope is
not the actions of us, not the actions of leaders -- it is the people that I’ve
seen. The American troops who have
risked their lives and sacrificed their limbs for strangers half a world away;
the students in Jakarta or Seoul who are eager to use their knowledge to
benefit mankind; the faces in a square in Prague or a parliament in Ghana who
see democracy giving voice to their aspirations; the young people in the
favelas of Rio and the schools of Mumbai whose eyes shine with promise. These men, women, and children of every race
and every faith remind me that for every angry mob that gets shown on
television, there are billions around the world who share similar hopes and dreams. They tell us that there is a common heartbeat
to humanity.
So much attention in our world
turns to what divides us. That’s what we
see on the news. That's what consumes
our political debates. But when you
strip it all away, people everywhere long for the freedom to determine their
destiny; the dignity that comes with work; the comfort that comes with faith;
and the justice that exists when governments serve their people -- and not the other way around.
The United
States of America will always stand up for
these aspirations, for our own people and for people all across the world. That was our founding purpose. That is what our history shows. That is what Chris Stevens worked for
throughout his life.
And I promise you this: Long after the killers are brought to
justice, Chris Stevens’s legacy will live on in the lives that he touched -- in
the tens of thousands who marched against violence through the streets of
Benghazi; in the Libyans who changed their Facebook photo to one of Chris; in
the signs that read, simply, "Chris Stevens was a friend to all
Libyans."
They should give us hope. They should remind us that so long as we work
for it, justice will be done, that history is on our side, and that a rising
tide of liberty will never be reversed.
