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 Human Trafficking (1/19/2000)

Remarks at OSCE's Combatting Human Trafficking Signing, Istanbul, Turkey (11/18/99)

Remarks at the Lauder Morasha Jewish School in Warsaw, Poland (10/5/99)

Column on Kosovar Refugees and NATO (6/23/99)

Announcement of Macedonian Relief Aid, 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 Kosovar 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 on Human Rights Day (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 on Human Rights at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda (3/25/98)

Column on the Atrocities Facing the Children of Uganda (3/24/98)

Remarks on Human Rights 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)

Remarks to the NGO Forum, Huairou, China (9/6/95)

Keynote to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing (9/5/95)

Remarks at the Elie Wiesel Humanitarian Awards Ceremony (4/14/94)

Civil Society

Remarks on Cultural Preservation in Aspendos, Turkey (11/18/99)

Remarks at the Rabin Annual Lecture: "Building a Secure Peace," Tel Aviv (11/11/99)

Column on the White House Conference on Philanthropy: Gifts to the Future (10/27/99)

Remarks by the President and First Lady at the White House Conference on Philanthropy (10/22/99)

Remarks at "Culture Counts: A Conference on Financing, Resources and the Economics of Culture in Sustainable Development," Florence, Italy (10/7/99)

Column on Democracy in Poland (10/6/99)

"Partners in Transition: Lessons for the Next Decade," Remarks in Warsaw, Poland on the Growth of Democracy in Eastern Europe (10/5/99)

Remarks upon receiving the 1999 W. Averell Harriman Democracy Award from the National Democratic Institute (9/23/99)

Civitas Palermo World Conference: Making Education for Democracy an International 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 (6/17/99)

Millennium Lecture 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 on Globalization at Forum 2000, Prague (10/13/98)

Roundtable Discussion on Civic Participation, Sofia, Bulgaria (10/11/98)

Remarks at the Roma Children Foundation, Sofia, Bulgaria (10/11/98)

Remarks at the Center for National Policy upon receipt of the Ed Muskie Award(9/17/98)

Remarks on Civil Society at the Ivan Franko Opera Ballet, L'Viv, Ukraine (11/11/97)

Remarks at Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty Headquarters (7/4/96)

Address at the Liz Carpenter Lecture Series on Civil Society, University of Texas, Austin (4/7/93)

Women as Citizens

Column on Beijing 5 Years Later (6/7/2000)

Remarks at the Vital Voices Reception at the White House (2/15/2000)

Column on Vital Voices Event at the White House (2/16/2000)

Remarks at the Vital Voices Conference on Women and Democracy, Reykjavik, Iceland (10/10/99)

Remarks at Roundtable of Women Entrepreneurs at the ACUS Caterina Textile Plant in Warsaw, Poland (10/5/99)

Remarks at the First Ladies Conference in Ottawa, Canada (9/30/99)

Column on Women and Girls in North Africa (3/24/99)

Remarks at the UNIFEM Luncheon, United Nations, New York (3/4/99)

Remarks on Women's Rights at the United Nations on International Women's Day (3/4/99)

Remarks at the 21st Century Women's Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria (10/11/98)

Remarks at: Vital Voices of the Americas - Women in Democracy, Uruguay (10/2/98)

Remarks on Women's Civic Leadership at the First Ladies Conference in Santiago, Chile (9/30/98)

Remarks at the Playboard/Kaboom Playground Partnership Event, Belfast, Northern Ireland (9/3/98)

Remarks at the Vital Voices Conference in 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 on Civil Society at the Ivan Franko Opera Ballet, L'Viv, Ukraine (11/11/97)

Remarks at the Joyce McCartan Memorial Lecture (10/31/97)

Remarks on Empowering Women, Buenos Aires, Argentina (10/16/97)

Column on Women in Africa (4/2/97)

Remarks on Women and Democracy at the Nile Center in Kampala, Uganda (3/28/97)

Remarks on Women, Human Rights and Democracy at the University of Capetown (3/20/97)

Remarks on International Women's Day (3/12/97)

Remarks on Democracy and Women, Sydney, 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 on Women's Empowerment 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

Column on International Family Planning (4/12/2000)

Remarks to the Vitamin A Deficiency Initiative, Washington D.C. (3/16/99)

Column on Jordan and the Hague (2/10/99)

Keynote at the U.N. 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 in the Republic of Haiti (11/22/98)

Remarks at MotherCare Event in Guatemala (11/18/98)

Remarks at the First Ladies' Conference on Domestic Violence in El Savador (11/17/98)

Remarks on U.S./China Cooperation on Medical Research 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 U.S. 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 Women's Economic Empowerment, Beijing (9/6/95)

US Engagement

Column on Earthquake Damage in Turkey (11/17/99)

Remarks at the "From Violence to Dialogue" Conference at Tel Aviv University (11/10/99)

Remarks on the Covenant for the Prevention of Violence, Elem Youth Center, Kfar Saba, Israel (11/10/99)

Column on the United Nations (11/10/99)

Remarks to the Campaign to Preserve U.S. Global Leadership (4/13/99)

Remarks at the USAID Atrium Dedication to Hillary Rodham Clinton (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)

Eleanor Roosevelt Lecture on Human Rights at Georgetown University (12/4/98)

Remarks at NGO Briefing on Hurricane Mitch (11/24/98)

Remarks at Ceremony of the Oath of Service by 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)

Hurricane Relief Annoucment in Luquillo, Puerto Rico (9/29/98)

Remarks to the Congressional Black Caucus on U.S. Engagement in Africa (9/18/98)

Remarks at the Center for National Policy on receipt of the Ed Muskie Award (9/17/98)

Remarks at the Dedication of the New Peace Corps Building (9/15/98)

Remarks at the Playboard/Kaboom Playground Partnership Event, Belfast, Northern Ireland (9/3/98)

Remarks at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic 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 on Women and Democracy at the Nile Center, Kampala, Uganda (3/28/97)

Column on Trip to Africa (3/18/97)

Remarks at the 6th CNN World Report Conference (5/2/95)

Remarks to the International NGO Community at a forum of the U.N. World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen, Denmark (3/7/95)