Welcome letter from 2010 Annual Report
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Seventy years ago, as the Great Depression wore on and Hitler attempted to conquer the world, Franklin Roosevelt delivered his “Four Freedoms” speech. He painted a picture of a world in which all people are free from fear and want, and can speak and worship freely. The liberty of Americans, he argued, depends on the liberty of people everywhere. “Freedom means the supremacy of human rights everywhere,” FDR said.
Today, some politicians and pundits, casting themselves as “pragmatists,” claim that the country’s “hard” problems—steep unemployment, worsening debt, the threat of terrorism—must take precedence over “soft” concerns about human rights. Others argue that, after Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo, the United States has lost the moral authority to lead.
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Both are wrong. Even—perhaps especially—at a time of economic hardship and military peril, our national interest depends on a commitment to human rights.
This is where Human Rights First comes in. We’re the only organization whose central mission is to foster American leadership on human rights. Despite the country’s imperfections, those who work for freedom around the world continue to look to the United States for support, inspiration, and example. And when the United States abdicates its leadership role, it creates a vacuum that no other nation can fill and that dictators and tyrants are quick to exploit.
In 2010, I had the opportunity to bring human rights activists from 27 countries to the White House. Although their experiences varied widely, they spoke to President Obama with one voice: they said the most important thing he could do to support them was to lead by example. They have no hope of compelling their governments to respect rights that the United States doesn’t champion.
In a speech at the United Nations last fall, President Obama declared that “part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others. That belief will guide America’s leadership in this 21st century.” Whatever your political persuasion, if you believe as we do that the United States must lead on human rights, we invite you to join us. Together we can build the world we seek.
Elisa Massimino
President and CEO
Human Rights First