Applauding the selection of Liu Xiaobo as the winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, Secretary Clinton urged China "to uphold its international human rights obligations and to respect the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Chinese citizens." She also demanded "Liu Xiaobo's immediate release from prison."

Clinton's statement today is refreshing after remarks she made in February 2009 that  seemed to place human rights in China as a back-burner priority. At the time she said, "[O]ur pressing on those [human rights] issues can't interfere with the global economic crisis, the global climate change crisis, and the security crisis."

Below is Clinton's complete statement, issued today:

I applaud the Nobel Committee's decision to award this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo. Throughout its history, the Peace Prize has often been used to recognize the heroism of those who have, through persistent and peaceful efforts, sought to build a world that is more fair and free.

Mr. Liu has been a consistent advocate for fundamental freedoms and human rights for his fellow citizens and for peaceful political reform. Mr. Liu's work, including his role in the drafting of Charter '08, and his receipt of this honor highlight the fact that while China has made tremendous economic progress in the last three decades, political reform has lagged behind. As I said in Krakow this summer, governments should recognize the constructive role that citizens such as Liu Xiaobo play. We urge China to uphold its international human rights obligations and to respect the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Chinese citizens. We reiterate our call for Liu Xiaobo's immediate release from prison.

An Iranian woman who received a stoning sentence could be executed -- possibly in a week's time after Ramadan ends -- but will Secretary Clinton do anything to save her?

France's foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said Sept. 6 that the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani has become his "personal cause" and declared, "I'm ready to do anything to save her. If I must go to Tehran to save her, I'll go to Tehran."

Today, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso called the stoning sentence "barbaric beyond words." In late July, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered Ashtiani asylum, though he was rebuffed by Iran. The Vatican is considering using behind-the-scenes diplomacy to save the woman's life. People worldwide have held demonstrations, such as the Aug. 5 one in Berlin, as seen above.

Clinton's only public effort on Ashtiani's behalf has basically amounted to an Aug. 10 statement in which she said, "We remain troubled by the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani" "Troubled" is putting it mildly; horrified is more like it.

Of course, the United States does not have official relations with Iran, and Clinton must consider how anything she does on Ashtiani's behalf would affect other Iran-related issues, such as the country's nuclear program and support for Hezbollah.

Still, being a defender of persecuted women is right up Clinton's alley; it's something she's deeply passionate about. So, it's disheartening that one of the world's most powerful women isn't doing or can't do more.

Ashtiani's stoning sentence for adultery was stayed in July after international outcry, and Iran has said she could be hanged instead. Her fate is unclear. Her son told a Paris news conference by phone on Sept. 6 that he fears his mother could be executed after Ramadan ends late this week.

(If you wish to send a message to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei about this case, you can do so through Amnesty International's website by clicking here.)

Secretary Clinton must have read the blog post I wrote Tuesday in which I encouraged her to at least make a statement about the more than 179 horrific gang-rapes that occurred in Congo recently. Wednesday she issued a statement in which she strongly condemns the atrocities and states that "my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families."

She also mentioned that only 11 months ago, she presided over a U.N. Security Council session in which members unanimously passed a resolution to end wartime sexual violence. It's an absolute shame then that the United Nations hasn't acted fast enough on this resolution, and it's outrageous that this despicable violence occurred only about 20 miles from a U.N. peacekeeping base, likely with peacekeepers' foreknowledge that rebels were in the area where the rape spree was perpetrated.

The United Nations spends $1 billion annually on this peacekeeping mission, which is tasked with protecting civilians. The international body claims the mission only found out about the rapes after they occurred. When Inner City Press asked why the mission was unaware of a four-day rape spree so nearby, a U.N. spokesman said the area is "densely wooded." You would think that by now the peacekeepers would have figured out how to operate in a thick jungle. Inner City Press offers a great suggestion: Use some of the $1 billion to give civilians flares and satellite phones so they can communicate about danger.

The Security Council will be holding emergency consultations on Thursday, the 26th, at 10 a.m., Inner City Press reports, so at least something appears to be happening. But really, so much more could have been done since the resolution's passage last September.

Clinton says the United States will do all it can to work with the United Nations to "create a safe environment for women, girls, and all civilians" in eastern Congo. Let's hope she and the State Department will continue to press the U.N. on this serious issue.

Clinton's complete statement:

The United States is deeply concerned by reports of the mass rape of
women and children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo by the
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) - an armed,
illegal rebel group that has terrorized eastern Congo for over a decade -
and elements of the Mai Mai, community-based militia groups in eastern
Congo. This horrific attack is yet another example of how sexual
violence undermines efforts to achieve and maintain stability in areas
torn by conflict but striving for peace.

The United States has
repeatedly condemned the epidemic of sexual violence in conflict zones
around the world, and we will continue to speak out on this issue for
those who cannot speak for themselves. Less than a year ago, I presided
over the UN Security Council session where Resolution 1888 (2009) was
unanimously adopted, underscoring the importance of preventing and
responding to sexual violence as a tactic of war against civilians. Now
the international community must build on this action with specific
steps to protect local populations against sexual and gender-based
violence and bring to justice those who commit such atrocities.

Sexual
violence harms more than its immediate victims. It denies and destroys
our common dignity, it shreds the fabric that weaves us together as
humans, it endangers families and communities, it erodes social and
political stability, and it undermines economic progress. These
travesties, committed with impunity against innocent civilians who play
no role in armed conflict, hold us all back.

When I visited
the DRC last year, I learned an old proverb -- "No matter how long the
night, the day is sure to come." In the depths of this dark night of
suffering and pain, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and
their families. The United States will do everything we can to work with
the UN and the DRC government to hold the perpetrators of these acts
accountable, and to create a safe environment for women, girls, and all
civilians living in the eastern Congo. 

Secretary Clinton has called on the Iranian government to respect its citizens' most fundamental rights and is deeply concerned about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani (the woman once sentenced to death by stoning who might now be hanged instead), Ebrahim Hamidi (an 18-year old who faces imminent death for homsexuality), and Iranians who simply engaged in free expression after last year's presidential election. Her statement is below:

The United States is deeply concerned that Iran continues to deny its citizens their civil rights and intimidate and detain those Iranians who seek to hold their government accountable and stand up for the rights of their fellow citizens.

We remain troubled by the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who garnered international attention for her verdict of death by stoning. While the Iranian Government later stated she would not face execution by stoning, her fate is unclear. We are also troubled by reports that Ebrahim Hamidi, an 18-year old charged with homosexuality, faces imminent execution despite the fact that he is currently without legal representation. Neither case has proceeded with the transparency or due process enshrined in Iran's own constitution, and their lawyer, Mohammad Mostafaei, felt that he had to flee Iran after he was questioned by authorities and his family members were detained.

We are also concerned about the fate of Iranians who are in danger of imminent execution for exercising their right to free expression after the June 2009 elections, including Jafar Kazemi, Mohammad Haj Aghaei, and Javad Lari. The United States urges the Iranian Government to halt these executions in accordance with its obligations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and calls for the immediate release of all political prisoners and imprisoned human rights defenders.

The United States will continue to stand with people around the world who seek to exercise their universal rights and speak out in defense of human liberties.

In the July 24 photo above, a man from the International Committee Against Stoning protests in London's Trafalgar Square demanding the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who received the original stoning sentence on charges of adultery. If Iran doesn't want her, Brazil and its president sure do.

Rowdha Yousef, a Saudi woman, was alarmed when some of her female compatriots started advocating for greater personal freedom, so last August she started a campaign called "My Guardian Knows What's Best for Me" (with "guardian" referring to the male relative who serves as a Saudi woman's guardian and has authority over her when it comes to many legal and personal issues.) Given Yousef's conservative views, as reported in this great New York Times article, it might be surprising to many Westerners that she's an admirer of Secretary Clinton. I wonder what Clinton would think!

Here's the Times description of Yousef, with my bolding:

She is a 39-year-old divorced mother of three (aged 13, 12 and 9) who volunteers as a mediator in domestic abuse cases. A tall, confident woman with a warm, effusive manner and sparkling stiletto-heeled sandals, her conversation, over Starbucks lattes, ranges from racism in the kingdom (Ms. Yousef has Somali heritage and calls herself a black Saudi) to her admiration for Hillary Rodham Clinton to the abuse she says she has suffered at the hands of Saudi liberals.

My hunch is that much of this reaction against calls for greater women's freedom is driven as much by anti-Western sentiment as by a sincere conviction that the conservative status quo is the best. Calls for women's rights can represent Western influence seeping in, meddling, interfering -- and a lot of women don't like that. (Of course, stilettos and Starbucks seem to be acceptable forms of Westernization. Fashion and food can be hard to resist.)

On a related note: As seen in the photo above, Clinton received a rock-star reception when she visited Dar al-Hekma College this February, though it seems that the views of students at an elite Saudi women's college might not be representative of Saudi women as a whole. It's also worth noting that Clinton's reception there was in stark contrast with that of Karen Hughes (George W. Bush's undersecretary of state for public diplomacy) in 2005.

At the United Nations on Friday, Clinton delivered some powerful remarks on women's empowerment, marking the 15th anniversary of the U.N. world conference on women. In the following excerpt, she pointed out how so often women's backbreaking work is simply ignored, not counted:

I have to confess that when we started our Food Security Initiative, I did not know that most food was grown by women. I remember once driving through Africa with a group of distinguished experts. And I saw women working in the fields and I saw women working in the markets and I saw women with wood on their heads and water on their heads and children on their backs. And I remarked that women just seem to be working all the time. And one of the economists said, "But it doesn't count." I said, "How can you say that?" He said, "Well, it's not part of the formal economy." I said, "Well, if every woman who did all that work stopped tomorrow, the formal economy would collapse." [Applause.]

The speech rounded ou a week in which Clinton devoted much attention to women's empowerment, her signature issue. (And for more about women's empowerment worldwide, check out Kathleen Parker's excellent column from yesterday.) 

Here are a couple of photos from the U.S. State Department's website of Secretary Clinton's meeting with the Dalai Lama last Thursday, Feb. 18. China expressed its disagreement with the meeting, saying it was U.S. interference in the country's internal domestic affairs. At Friday's press briefing, Assistant Secretary Philip Crowley said, "I think on this issue, obviously, we just agree to disagree on this subject."

A few links to recent Clinton commentary on Foreign Policy:

•"Digging out of a hole" is how Shadow Government's David J. Kramer described Secretary Clinton's human rights speech Monday.

•In support of multilateral sanctions against Iran, Clinton said on Monday, "Sanctions can work," The Cable reports.

•An interview with Clinton on Pakistan policy is posted over at the AfPak Channel. The interview was conducted by Hassan Abbas of the Asia Society and Harvard Kennedy School.

•Clinton's "unappreciated warnings to Latin America" are discussed on Passport.

Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton hasn't been shy about pushing for human rights and openness in Russia. Yesterday she met with human rights activists and opposition journalists in Spaso House, the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Russia. Today, she did an interview on Ekho Moskvy radio (great photos here) in which she continued to press for human rights.

During the interview (transcript here), she said:

I have no doubt in my mind that democracy is in Russia's best interests, that respecting human rights, an independent judiciary, a free media are in the interests of building a strong, stable political system that provides a platform for broadly shared prosperity. We will continue to say that and we will continue to support those who also stand for those values."

Referring to the killing of journalists in Russia, which she discussed at Spaso House, Clinton said:

I mentioned the killings of journalists, and I said that this is a matter of grave concern not just to the United States, but to the people of Russia, and not just to the activists, but to people who worry that unsolved killings are a very serious challenge to order and to the fair functioning of society, and that we did not believe that enough was being done to make sure that no one had impunity from prosecution who might have been involved in any such criminal acts."

It's great that Clinton spoke up for human rights and didn't let realpolitik get in the way, as some accuse her of doing in China in February.

Photo: Valeriy Yevseyev, U.S. State Deptartment

Today's Washington Post has an op-ed written by Secretary Clinton that calls on governments and organizations around the world to partner against human trafficking. She states:

Trafficking weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress. It undermines our long-term efforts to promote peace and prosperity worldwide. And it is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights.

and

The criminal networks that enslave millions of people cross borders and span continents. Our response must do the same. The United States is committed to building partnerships with governments and organizations around the world, to finding new and more effective ways to take on the scourge of human trafficking. We want to support our partners in their efforts and find ways to improve our own.

The op-ed appears one day after Clinton released the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report."

Photo: OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images

China has expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to Secretary Clinton's statements marking the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protesters. (In the photo above, the People's Liberation Army guards a street leading to Tiananmen Square on June 6, 1989, two days after the infamous crackdown.)

On June 3, Clinton called on the Chinese government to "provide a public accounting of those killed, detained or missing, both to learn and to heal." She also said China should "give the rule of law, protection of internationally-recognized human rights, and democratic development the same priority as it has given to economic reform."

In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman criticized Clinton for "crudely meddling in Chinese domestic affairs." He also said, "We urge the United States to forsake its prejudices, correct its erroneous ways and avoid obstructing and damaging China-U.S. relations."

The Chinese government has never published a count of those who died. A New York Times article yesterday stated that hundreds died.

The bold tone of Clinton's remarks are a contrast to those she made in February, in which she seemed to downplay human rights as a priority.

Photo: MANUEL CENETA/AFP/Getty Images