Summary

Hillary Clinton begins her speech “Women's Rights are Human Rights” by thanking the UN for the invitation to speak, and by arguing that the contributions of women are reason for celebration. She describes the event as a coming together of women of different backgrounds, just as women around the world share common experiences.

The speaker lists the main aspects covered by the conference — women’s access to education, to healthcare, to jobs, and to equal human and civil rights.

She rejects the claims of those who think a UN conference on women is not important by arguing that conferences on women’s rights have previously been successful in addressing important international issues such as domestic violence.

She talks about her participation in the conference and argues that the world will improve for everyone if women enjoy equal rights. Clinton then mentions her 25 years' experience of working with issues regarding women and families, and her recent experience with meeting women all around...