Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton celebrated the opening of the Lantos Institute in Budapest, Hungary, saying it was set up to “advance democracy, inclusion, tolerance and bipartisan cooperation” around the world.
The human rights institute is named after Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor and U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, who died in 2008. Lantos, a senior member of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, was a lifelong advocate for human rights wherever they were challenged.
“Tom fought for refuseniks in the Soviet Union, for Tibetans to practice their religion, for Christians in Saudi Arabia and Sudan, for Muslims in China, for ethnic minorities in the Balkans and for people living with HIV/AIDS around the world. No person was written off by Tom Lantos. He thought he had an obligation to reach out and embrace them all,” Clinton said in remarks at the institute’s inauguration June 30.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution June 29 by unanimous consent to commemorate the institute’s opening. Lantos founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in 1983, which Clinton called an “invaluable bipartisan enterprise” that brought human rights issues to people’s attention in a new way.
Clinton said the timing of the institute’s opening is opportune, as “democracy is struggling to be born around the world today.” She said that as citizens across the Middle East and North Africa demand new rights, the people of Central and Eastern Europe can share stories of their own struggles and triumphs.
“As we struggle to help new democracies emerge, we can’t let any democracy anywhere backslide,” Clinton said. “The stakes are too high.”
She called on democracies around the world to continue building and strengthening their institutions, as trust between people and their governments is “the glue which holds democracies together.”
Clinton urged people to work across all sectors of society to support democracy, civil society and the rule of law while protecting the rights of minorities.
While in Budapest for the institute’s opening, Clinton met with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The two discussed cooperation in Afghanistan, trade relations and Hungary’s efforts to strengthen its economy. Hungary has provided approximately 500 military personnel to operations in Afghanistan.
Clinton said they also spoke about preserving Hungary’s democratic institutions and providing checks and balances among branches of government, which are an essential component of democratic governance. She called for the country to commit to an independent judiciary, a free press and governmental transparency.
The secretary’s stop in Budapest comes ahead of her participation in the Community of Democracies sixth ministerial meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, June 30–July 1, and a brief visit to Madrid.
“The meeting will bring together different actors in democracy, including senior government leaders, civil society representatives, women, parliamentarians, youth and the private sector, around the shared goals of advancing civil society and supporting emerging democracies,” said Tomicah Tillemann, Clinton’s senior adviser for civil society and emerging democracies. Tillemann, who is Lantos’ grandson, spoke from the State Department during a June 24 briefing on the secretary’s trip.
In Madrid July 1–2, Clinton will underscore the close partnership and friendship the United States and Spain enjoy, based on shared values and common interests, the State Department said in a separate statement. “The secretary will meet with Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez to discuss a range of issues including Afghanistan, North Africa, and the Middle East, and trade, investment and the economy,” the statement said.