Medal of Freedom conferred on Mary Robinson by President ObamaJuly 31st, 2009"I am both humbled and honoured to be awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama. None of us achieves what we have done without the support of others, so I am aware that many other people share in this honour. It is wonderful to be recognised in such extraordinary company"
- Mary Robinson
The Medal of Freedom is the highest US civilian honor, awarded to "individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." All of us at Realizing Rights believe Mary Robinson, our founder and president, is richly deserving of this honor. We are therefore deeply troubled by recent statements unjustly criticizing her for actions during her term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. These statements have resulted in inaccurate and unwarranted media comment and we feel it is important to set the record straight. It is true that the Durban World Conference Against Racism in 2001 was marred by offensive anti-Semitic words and actions, especially at the parallel meeting of nongovernmental organizations. Mary Robinson spoke out strongly at the time against these hateful attacks and refused to accept the final NGO statement to the Durban conference or to forward its recommendations to governments - both unprecedented actions by a UN official. Recent statements suggest that the final outcome of the Durban conference resulted in a “Zionism=Racism” text. In fact, the end result of Durban makes no such reference and was a resolution which the then Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres called a “great, very important success” for Israel. (Agence France Press, “Peres calls UN racism conference great success for Israel,” September 8, 2001.) Mary Robinson worked tirelessly during the conference preparatory process to ensure a consensus result. She set down a clear marker that the World Conference would not allow for discussions equating Zionism with racism saying during the preparatory process that: “[T]here can be no return to an issue settled by the General Assembly, the former Zionism-racism problem”. (Statement of Mary Robinson to the Bureau of the Third Preparatory Committee, Thursday, August 9, 2001.) In the end, the final Durban Declaration included one reference to the Israel-Palestinian conflict which reads in full: We are concerned about the plight of the Palestinian people under foreign occupation. We recognize the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the establishment of an independent State and we recognize the right to security for all States in the region, including Israel, and call upon all States to support the peace process and bring it to an early resolution (Para 63). That language was consistent with what the United States had agreed to in the past, and with the Bush administration’s post-World Conference policies regarding the conflict. Any balanced account of the difficult Durban conference must recognize this result. Charges that Robinson’s tenure as High Commissioner included other examples of “extreme, one-sided anti-Israel sentiment” are also unjustified. To suggest that votes concerning Israel in the then UN Commission on Human Rights, an inter-governmental body, were in any way Robinson’s doing show a marked lack of understanding of UN processes. As High Commissioner, Robinson's office served as the secretariat of the Commission but had no role in setting its substantive agenda which was the exclusive responsibility of Member States. The truth is that Mary Robinson has been and continues to be a champion of the inherent dignity and equal rights of all people. During her career as a lawyer in her native Ireland she brought landmark cases before the courts including legal actions which led to the removal of discrimination against children born out of wedlock, and the achievement of equal pay and opportunity for women in the workplace. During her term as president of Ireland and later as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, she served as a witness to human rights abuses around the world and helped ensure that the voices of victims were heard. Today, her work for human rights continues through her numerous activities and leadership roles. Mary Robinson is a true agent of change and richly deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Members of the Realizing Rights Board:
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Mary Robinson has been named by US President Barack Obama as one of the recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom.
