At Work on Issues

Advancing Democracy, Civil Society, and Women's Full Participation Around the World

The President, with the support and advice of the Secretary of State, often asks the First Lady to undertake overseas missions to promote American values and interests around the world. Since 1993, Mrs. Clinton has visited more than 60 countries as a means to achieve this objective.

As America’s foremost ambassador, Mrs. Clinton has taken the message of human rights, social development and empowerment of women around the globe. During her trips abroad, she has advocated for equality in education for girls and boys, meeting the critical health needs of women and children, access to economic opportunity through small loans to start up businesses (microcredit), and ensuring women an active role in the political life of their societies. She and Secretary Albright have advanced these issues as essential to the conduct of America’s foreign policy.

The First Lady has also promoted the role of civil society and religious tolerance, particularly in emerging democracies and countries with religious minorities. Mrs. Clinton has led efforts in the Western Hemisphere to improve the well being of children by inaugurating campaigns to eliminate measles, reduce maternal mortality and advance education reform. She also leads the “Vital Voices” initiative, which empowers women to make progress in their economic, political and judicial systems through public-private partnerships.

In taking her message across the globe the First Lady works closely with U.S. government agencies, particularly USAID and the Department of State, as well as with the United Nations, the World Bank, non-governmental organizations, and U.S. foundations and businesses. Examples of Mrs. Clinton’s work include her human rights address to the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, her keynote address at the World Bank’s Summit on Safe Motherhood, and working with the World Health Organization on an initiative to halt the spread of tuberculosis.

Below is more detailed information on specific international issues:

Human Rights

  • Column on Kosovar Refugees and NATO (6/23/99)
  • Announcement of Relief Aid in Macedonia, Skopje, Macedonia (6/22/99)
  • Column on Kosovo Refugees/ Trip to Macedonia (5/19/99)
  • Remarks by the First Lady on Her Trip to the Balkans (5/18/99)
  • Remarks at Fort Dix to Kosovo Refugees (5/5/99)
  • Column on Kosovo Refugees (5/5/99)
  • Remarks at the Relief for Kosovo News Conference (4/21/99)
  • Column on Elie Wiesel (4/14/99)
  • Remarks from The Perils of Indifference: Lessons Learned from a Violent Century, a Millennium Evening with Elie Wiesel (4/12/99)
  • Remarks on Kosovo Relief Efforts (4/9/99)
  • Column on Kosovar Refugees (4/7/99)
  • Column on Kosovo and Tolerance (3/31/99)
  • Column on the Israeli/Palestinian Peace Process (12/16/98)
  • Remarks at Neve Shalom, Wahat-Al-Salam Arab-Jewish Village (12/13/98)
  • Remarks at the White House Human Rights Day Event (12/10/98)
  • Column on the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (12/9/98)
  • Column on the KaBoom Partnership with Northern Ireland (9/1/98)
  • Remarks at Shanghai Synagogue (7/1/98)
  • Column on Northern Ireland (4/15/98)
  • Remarks at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (3/25/98)
  • Column on the Atrocities Facing the Children of Uganda (3/24/98)
  • Remarks at the United Nations (12/10/97)
  • Remarks on Cultural Diversity in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (11/14/97)
  • Remarks at the Rwandan Women's Roundtable in Kampala, Uganda (3/28/97)
  • Remarks at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania (3/24/97)
  • Keynote to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing (9/5/95)
  • Remarks to the NGO Forum, Huairou, China (9/6/95)
  • Remarks at Elie Wiesel Humanitarian Awards Ceremony (4/14/94)
  • Civil Society

  • Civitas Palermo World Conference: Making Education for Democracy an Internatioal Priority, Palermo, Italy (6/18/99)
  • NGO Roundtable on Civil Society, Fes, Morocco (6/17/99)
  • "Globalization into the Next Millennium," Remarks at the Sorbonne, Paris, France (6/17/99)
  • Remarks at the University of Galway, Ireland (5/12/99)
  • Remarks at the Hippy Program in Yad Rachel, Jerusalem (12/13/98)
  • Remarks to Representatives of Haitian Civil Society Organizations (11/21/98)
  • Remarks at Forum 2000, Pragrue (10/13/98)
  • Roundtable Discussion, Sofia, Bulgaria (10/11/98)
  • Remarks at the Roma Children Foundation (10/11/98)
  • Remarks at the Center for National Policy (9/17/98)
  • Remarks at the Ivan Franko Opera Ballet, L'Viv, Ukraine (11/11/97)
  • Remarks at Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty Headquarters (7/4/96)
  • Women as Citizens

  • UN International Women's Day Speech on Women's Rights (4/4/99)
  • Column on Women and Girls in North Africa (3/24/99)
  • Remarks at the UNIFEM Luncheon, United Nations, New York (3/4/99)
  • Remarks at Women's Conference, Sofia, Bulgaria (10/11/98)
  • Remarks: Vital Voices of the Americas - Women in Democracy (10/2/98)
  • Remarks at the First Ladies Conference in Santiago, Chile (9/30/98)
  • Remarks at the Playboard Event, Belfast, Northern Ireland (9/3/98)
  • Remarks at Vital Voices Conference, Belfast (9/2/98)
  • Column on Chinese Women (7/1/98)
  • Roundtable on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, Senegal (4/2/98)
  • Column on Women of Africa (4/1/98)
  • Remarks to the Central Asian Conference on Women in Politics, Almaty, Kazakhstan (11/12/97)
  • Remarks at the Ivan Franko Opera Ballet, L'Viv, Ukraine (11/11/97)
  • Remarks at the Joyce McCartan Memorial Lecture (10/31/97)
  • Remarks to the Women of Argentina (10/16/97)
  • Column on Women in Africa (4/2/97)
  • Remarks in Kampala, Uganda (3/28/97)
  • Remarks at the University of Capetown (3/20/97)
  • Remarks on International Women's Day (3/12/97)
  • Remarks to the Women of Australia (11/21/96)
  • Keynote to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, China (9/5/95)
  • Remarks to the NGO Forum, Huairou, China (9/6/95)
  • Remarks to the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi, India (3/29/95)
  • Remarks at Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan (3/27/95)
  • Health and Population Issues

  • Remarks to the Vitamin A Deficiency Initiative, Washington DC (3/16/99)
  • Column on Jordan and the Hague (2/10/99)
  • Keynote at the UN Population Forum/ International Conference on Population Development Cairo +5 (2/9/99)
  • Remarks at the International Conference on Population Development Cairo +5 NonGovernmental Organizations and Youth Forum, The Hague (2/7/99)
  • Remarks at the Mother and Child Pavillion, Hadassah University Medical Center, Jerusalem (12/13/98)
  • Remarks at FOSREF (11/22/98)
  • Remarks at MotherCare Event (11/18/98)
  • Remarks at the First Ladies' Conference on Domestic Violence, El Savador (11/17/98)
  • Remarks at Beijing Medical University (6/27/98)
  • Remarks Upon Receipt of the United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize at the World Health Assembly (5/14/98)
  • Roundtable on the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation, Senegal (4/2/98)
  • Remarks to the World Health Organization Forum on Women and Health Security, Beijing (9/5/95)
  • Girl's Education

  • Remarks at the US Agency for International Development's Girls' Education Conference (5/7/98)
  • Remarks at the Celebration of International Women's Day, Copenhagen, Denmark (3/8/95)
  • Microcredit

  • Speech on Women's Economic Security, Gaza (12/14/98)
  • Remarks at Microcredit Summit (2/3/97)
  • Remarks to the United Nations Development Fund for Women on the Women's Economic Empowerment Panel, Beijing (9/6/95)
  • US Engagement

  • Remarks to the Campaign to Preserve US Global Leadership (4/13/99)
  • Remarks to the USAID Atrium Dedication to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ronald Reagan Building, Washington DC (3/16/99)
  • Remarks by the First Lady and Mrs. Gore on Hurricane Mitch Relief (02/16/99)
  • Remarks at the Eid Al-Fitr Celebration at the White House (1/21/99)
  • Column on the Israeli/Palestinian Peace Process (12/16/98)
  • Remarks at Georgetown University, Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture (12/4/98)
  • Remarks at NGO Briefing on Hurricane Mitch (11/24/98)
  • Remarks at Ceremony of the Oath of Service, American Peace Corps Volunteers in Haiti (11/21/98)
  • Remarks to the American College of Sofia, Sofia, Bulgaria (10/12/98)
  • Arrival Statement in Sofia, Bulgaria (10/11/98)
  • Remarks on Hurricane Relief in Luquillo, Puerto Rico (9/29/98)
  • Remarks to the Congressional Black Caucus (9/18/98)
  • Remarks at the Center for National Policy (9/17/98)
  • Remarks at Peace Corps Event (9/15/98)
  • Remarks at the Playboard Event, Belfast, Northern Ireland (9/3/98)
  • Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the World Economics Forum (2/2/98)
  • Remarks at Akademgorodok in Novosibirsk, Russia (11/16/97)
  • Commencement Address to John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (5/22/97)
  • Remarks at the Corporate Council on Africa (4/21/97)
  • Remarks at the Nile Center, Kampala, Uganda (3/28/97)
  • Column on Trip to Africa (3/18/97)
  • Remarks at CNN World Report Conference (5/2/95)
  • Remarks to the International NGO Community at a forum of the UN World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen, Denmark (3/7/95)


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