In a heartfelt speech given at our nation’s capital in Washington, D.C., Secretary of State Pompeo began by stating that, “At the very heart of our mission is the preservation of human dignity.”
Secretary of State Pompeo was speaking to a crowded room at the Values Voter Summit an annual conference hosted by the Family Research Council. The conference is one of the largest annual conservative conferences held in Washington, D.C. In 2016, then-candidate Mike Pence referred to it as “the greatest gathering of conservative pro-family Americans in the nation.”
“[T]his administration understands an eternal truth – that each person has an essential worth simply because he or she is human and having been created by God,” said Pompeo.
“And our Declaration of Independence enshrines that self-evident truth,” said Secretary Pompeo. “We all know this, that each of us is endowed by our creator with inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“Our calling as Americans,” Pompeo said, is “to keep that ancient spark of wisdom in the laws of our own republic, and to do so as best we can all around the world.”
“We are assuring human dignity by advancing one of our most cherished and indispensable liberties. It’s enshrined in the First Amendment. It is our religious freedom,” said Pompeo.
“Since the earliest days of this presidency, President Trump has directed all of us in his administration to advance and defend religious freedom at home and abroad because religious freedom is a universal, a God-given right to which all people – all people are entitled,” he said. “Religious freedom is also an essential building block for all free societies, and our founders knew this.”
“Sadly, today more than 80 percent of the global population lives in countries that place significant limitations on religious freedom, and I know it brings many of us heavy hearts to watch the ongoing persecution of Christians and other minorities in countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Pompeo said.
Under Secretary Pompeo’s leadership, the State Department held the first-ever Religious Freedom meeting where representatives of over 80 countries stood with the United States’ cause of defending the rights of all individuals to believe and worship as they choose.
“The pent-up demand for this opportunity was so overwhelming that we’re going to do it again next year,” said the Secretary. “We envision this becoming a landmark gathering for the world. And we didn’t just talk. We came up with plans.”
Pompeo concluded by saying that the best thing the State Department can do to represent the United States around the world is to continue “making this nation the continued beacon – the beacon that says one’s right to worship their god is a fundamental freedom that every human being has, and that America values this and will demand it.”
