Education and awareness are essential to the protection of human rights worldwide, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said on Monday night at a discussion in the Rafik B. Hariri Building organized by student groups.
cGovern addressed an audience of about 115 people in the Fisher Colloquium at SSTOP, THiNK, STAND Up for Human Rights!, an event sponsored by Students Stopping the Trafficking of People, Truth and Human Rights in North Korea, STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition and other campus groups.
“McGovern has a long history of involvement in causes that promote and defend human rights,” said Dan Healy (COL ’13), a resident of McGovern’s district, as he introduced the congressman. “In Congress, he is a tireless advocate for making human rights central to our foreign policy – and opposing programs and policies . that run counter to that priority.”
cGovern is the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a congressional commission created in 2008.
During his speech, McGovern discussed Darfur, China, the environment and world hunger.
“The world won’t get better on its own. You need to stand up and make your voice heard,” McGovern said. “There are people all over the world hoping you will stand up, counting on you not to be quiet. Knowledge and education are the most effective ways to promote human rights.”
cGovern said he became interested in human rights in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he studied at American University and worked with former U.S. senator and Democratic presidential nominee George McGovern. He was particularly affected by the lack of world attention to the Cambodia genocide in the 1970s.
cGovern later became involved in the office of former Rep. Joe Moakley (D-Mass.) as a legislative aide. Moakley sent him to El Salvador to investigate the murders of six Jesuit priests and two women from Central American University.
“Religion is more that rituals, more than Mass and prayer. It is action,” McGovern said in reference to what he learned from three Jesuits he had befriended on a previous trip to El Salvador. “All we claim we believe in is nothing unless we put it into action.”
cGovern said his experiences led him to run for Congress.
“The call to action stuck with me,” McGovern said. “I wanted to spend a good portion of my career working on human rights.”
Scott Fleming, associate vice president for federal relations at Georgetown, said McGovern’s experience would inspire students.
“He is passionate about human rights issues and a great person to energize students to continue their work on such issues,” Fleming said.
Students involved in sponsoring the event said it was effective.
“I thought it was really interesting,” said Danielle LoVallo (SFS ’11), secretary of SSTOP. “It showed that it’s not up to just the government [to defend human rights], it’s student groups and organizations too.”
The co-president of STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition, Bridget O’Loughlin (SFS ’11), said she enjoyed the question-and-answer segment of the discussion.
“I was really impressed with the tough, challenging questions my fellow Georgetown students asked and equally impressed with his ability to answer those questions,” O’Loughlin said.
The event was co-sponsored by the Lecture Fund, the Program on Justice and Peace, the department of government, Students Helping Honduras, Invisible Children: Schools for Schools, the Center for Social Justice, the Georgetown University College Democrats, Corp Philanthropy, the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and the Office of Federal Relations.
“I was really happy with the way so many campus groups collaborated, and I think that needs to happen more on the Georgetown campus as a whole,” O’Loughlin said. “
