Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Nobel Peace Prize Award to Three Outstanding Women Leaders

Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement regarding the awarding of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist, and Tawakkul Karman a pro-democracy activist in Yemen and founder of Journalists without Chains.

“This is a proud day for human rights and for women and girls around the world. By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to President Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman, the Nobel Committee has sent a clear and unmistakable message that ‘democracy and lasting peace in the world’ can only be achieved when women are afforded the same opportunities as men to participate in the shaping and decision-making of their societies. Indeed, the Nobel Committee stated explicitly that it hoped the award of the Peace Prize to these three courageous and accomplished women would ‘help to bring an end to the suppression of women that still occurs in many countries, and to realize the great potential for democracy and peace that women can represent.”

The United States is a global leader in standing up for women and girls. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has traveled around the world with a similar message that no society can be truly democratic without the participation of half of its population.  Both the State Department Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, issued in December 2010, and the World Bank‘s recently issued ‘World Development Report: Gender Equality and Development’ underscore the importance of investing in women to achieve global stability, security, and prosperity. As Secretary Clinton has said, ‘The subjugation of women is a threat to the national security of the United States. It is also a threat to the common security of our world, because the suffering and denial of the rights of women and the instability of nations go hand in hand.’

Given the courage and accomplishments of these three outstanding leaders, and the many women alongside of them in Liberia, Yemen and throughout the Middle East and North Africa, the message of the United States must be equally clear and unequivocal in support of women’s rights. This means the Obama administration and the U.S. Senate should give priority to ratifying CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women, and join with the 187 nations around the world that have ratified this comprehensive human rights treaty for women.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.