12 December 2001

Lawmaker Hails Support to Free Afghans From Taliban Misrule

The Chairwoman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights hailed the support for the liberation of the Afghan people in a December 12 speech commemorating Human Rights Week.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Republican of Florida) said she was filled with "hope and optimism about the future" at the "overwhelming support given to the Afghan people in their battle to free themselves from the shackles the Taliban imposed on them."

Ros-Lehtinen, who as a child fled from Castro's communist Cuba, told fellow lawmakers the struggle for the protection of universal freedoms "has always been an arduous one."

In the aftermath of the terror attacks on the United States, as America's "values of liberty and democracy came under attack, the world once again recognized the need to focus on the plight of oppressed people everywhere," she said.

Following is the text of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen's December 12 speech from the Congressional Record:

Ms. Ros-lehtinen: Mr. Speaker, this week, we commemorate Human Rights Week. On December 10, 1945, haunted by the cruelties uncovered throughout the Second World War, a group of U.N. delegates, including first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, joined together in San Francisco to write what has become the internationally recognized standard for the protection of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The opening paragraph of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers to the "inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world." These words are a reminder to us all that when one people suffer, we all suffer. When one group is oppressed, it erodes the fabric of humanity and, thus, endangers the freedom and liberty of all. These words are a call for vigilance and action.

The struggle for the protection of universal freedoms has always been an arduous one and this year has presented new challenges and hardships, but also opportunities, for those of us in the human rights community, which have only served to strengthen our resolve.

A truly disappointing turn of events was the exclusion of the United States from the United Nations Commission on Human Rights aggravated by the participation of such abominable human rights violators as China, Sudan, Libya, Cuba, and Vietnam. This increased concerns that the continual imprisonment of human rights defenders would go unnoticed despite international pressure for their release.

In the aftermath of the September 11th attacks, as the U.S.'s values of liberty and democracy came under attack, the world once again recognized the need to focus on the plight of oppressed people everywhere. It is my hope that we are ushering in a new era in the human rights struggle marked by a renewed commitment and understanding.

Noting the overwhelming support given to the Afghan people in their battle to free themselves from the shackles the Taliban imposed on them, I am filled with hope and optimism about the future.

As a refugee from an oppressive regime, the struggle for freedom is central to my commitment to human rights. I stand today during Human Rights Week, in admiration and gratitude of those who have perished and currently languish in suffering because they choose to fight for the values of freedom and democracy in their own country. Today we honor them. For them we celebrate Human Rights Week.