before i begin my remarks i would like to draw your attention to two changes on the program my niece charity sunshine a beautiful and talented young opera singer was going to perform today and her mother and that was going to offer our closing remarks however just a few days ago charity underwent emergency double lung transplant surgery at the cleveland clinic in ohio and my sister is by charity side as she faces this enormous challenge i know they are both here with us in spirit and i would ask you to send your warm wishes and pray years their way i have been told that there is a familiar saying in asia which states there is an invisible crimson thread that connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time place or circumstance the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break i cannot help but think of this saying when i consider the deep friendship and unbreakable connection that existed between my late father congressman tom lantos and today's award recipient his holiness it would be hard to imagine two individuals from more different settings and circumstances in life my father was a hungary and holocaust survivor who came to america as a penniless immigrant his holiness is the revered spiritual and political leader of the tibetan people who was forced to escape into exile in one nine hundred fifty nine in the face of the brutal repression of his nation very different men from extraordinarily different lives but what brought them together the invisible currents in thread if you will which made their friendship as inevitable as it was unbreakable was their deeply shared commitment to universal human rights it is to advance the noble cause of human rights that the lantos foundation was established our mission is to strengthen and up hold the role of human rights in american foreign policy sometimes admittedly this is easier said than done because standing up for those whose rights are being trampled usually offends the trample or on the night of his historical inspiring election president obama spoke of the trajectory of history saying the arc of history is long but it b towards justice these hopeful words should remind us that we cannot simply stand by and wait for the ark to bend we have a duty to use our power and influence to hasten its trajectory that is what his holiness with his profound message of peace justice and reconciliation has done his entire life and that is why the lantos foundation is so honored to be presenting t we have no doubt that the dull dalai lama is on the right side of history and we hope that our country and our president will be standing there with him his holiness often refers to himself as a simple buddhist monk my father perhaps with a bit of humor and a little less sincerity used to sometimes refer to himself as a simple one garion peasant neither description seems quite adequate when we consider the lives and accomplishments of these two honorable men and yet maybe it is not so far off the mark the belief which inspires both of their lives is a simple one that we are indeed our brothers keepers every one of us and every one of them i would like to close my remarks by quoting from the prayer that eleanor roosevelt a great woman and one of the architects of the universal declaration of human rights is said to have prayed nightly our father make sure of the good we cannot see i am honored now to introduce the distinguished chairman of the house foreign affairs committee and my late father's very good friend congressman howard berman following chairman remarks there will be a brief  awards the first lantos foundation human rights prize i've been asked to speak about my dear friend and colleague tom lantos it's been a little over a year and a half since tom passed away and i can tell you that we sorely miss having tom's strong and profound voice and his sense of history on foreign policy issues generally and human rights issues soon forgotten tom is not one who will be forgotten he will be remembered not only because of his unique background as a holocaust survivor but for the strength of his convictions and the power of his oratory tom had experienced personally what it meant to be hunted to be oppressed to be friendless and to be without a champion it was this experience that made him determined to become a defender of the rights of his fellow human beings and he lived up to that commitment in a remarkable way tom came to this country in one thousand nine hundred seven as good trina mentioned as a penniless immigrant and that's not an exaggeration like so many others he realized that the united states was a place with wide open doors of opportunity tom walked through those doors with gratitude and enthusiasm he became a profoundly patriotic american and he took every occasion to express gratitude for the opportunity he was given when he announced that he would not run for reelection due to the cancer that ultimately took his life tom said it is only in the united states that a panel a survivor of the holocaust and a fighter in the anti nazi underground could have received an education raised a family and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a member of the congress i will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country congressman lantos was a co founder and cochairman of the congressional human rights caucus for over two decades under his leadership and with the incredible help of his dear wife annette the caucus was in the forefront of evarts to protect the rights of children and women to free political prisoners to halt ethnic cleansing and to preserve religious freedom with the strong support of speaker pelosi the able eater ship of congressman mcgovern in will of the human rights caucus has been reestablished as the tom lantos human rights commission has been instituted as a permanent part of the congress so the vital work he started will go on we all miss tom but today is a day of celebration for the proud legacy he left behind the lantos foundation for human rights and justice which has been established to strengthen the role of human rights in american foreign policy eloquence and his passion to draw attention to the plight of oppressed people everywhere the lantos prize will likewise focus the world's gaze on heroic individuals like the dalai lama who through their brave example inspire us to more fully be our brothers keepers thank you response ability as republicans and democrats in every legislative body to stand up to speak out against these outrageous i think after seeing that video you can understand what the inspiration was behind all the extraordinary work that my father did and i'd like to ask you all to give my mother a round  we will next hear a musical performance from the true reason chamber music foundation an organization of musical human rights heroes who are dedicated to documenting preserving and advancing the resilience of the human spirit as tom lantos human rights prize i think it's very appropriate that his holiness the dalai lama be the first recipient of the award named for the good man who cared so deeply for the dignity of the people of tibet and all people who are denied their god given rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness tom lantos believed that american leadership in opposition to human rights abuses not silence is the truest expression of our national character was born outside the united states and knew that personally the human beings can do when they are ungoverned by respect for the inherent dignity of every human being and moved by a moral duty to defend them against oppression tom lantos voice was among the clearest and most persuasive in our country urging americans to experience assaults on any one state as an assault on our own conscience when he died we lost one of the better angels of our national conscience and those of us who remain in positions of influence incurred a responsibility to echo the convictions that guided his work and his life we can't replace time but we can help ensure it is not forgotten whenever and wherever the rights of mankind or beset by the ambitions of despots we are distinguished from other countries because we were conceived not in loyalty to a land or a tribe or from a particular or creed but in an idea of liberty is he in a noble right of mankind and in accord with natures and nature's creator to accept the abridgement of that right or other society should be no less faults to the american art than to accept its abridgement in our own society injustice and tyranny abroad should be as intolerable to americans as they are intolerable here human rights are not an invention of america nor do they reflect standards to which particular cultures or religions can opt out they are universal and recognized as such in the united nations universal declaration of human rights as long as reflective people have lived they have identified those universal liberties that separate us from the animals those rights exist above the state and beyond history they cannot be rescinded by one government any more than they can be granted by another they inhabit the human heart and from there they may be a bridge but they can never be wrenched his holiness the dalai lama has spent his life in the passionate tireless and nonviolent defense of his people's right to self determination and a long trying years and every setback for their cause with an unyielding determination that is singular because of the patience humility kindness that are its most admirable qualities he is an inspiration to all people who possess a heartfelt sympathy for the suffering of their fellow human beings he is a father to his people and although he has been long exiled from their presence he inhabits their hearts as they inhabit his he gives them hope and he gives us an example of moral leadership to s our own humanity at the end of his nobel prize winning lecture the dalai lama offered a prayer that spoke of the sense of shared humanity that the world's great religions all profess and which has been his own abiding conviction for as long as space indoors and for as long as living beings remain until then may i to abide to dispel the mysteries of the world i've long believed that the true worth of a person is measured by how faithfully we serve a cause greater than our self interest a cause which encompasses us but is not defined by our existence alone the same holds true for the conduct of nations whenever people are imprisoned brutalized or murdered for demanding liberty and justice for themselves and their people or we will now hear from the honorable nancy pelosi speaker of the house of representatives speaker pelosi has been an extraordinary friend to his holiness through the years as she was to my father tom lantos and the  her for her tremendous support and friendship the speaker will present the lantos human rights prize following her remarks and after that we will be privileged to hear from our inaugural his holiness the conversation with this morning brought many of us together so many years ago a generation ago when tom lantos invited us to join his holiness the dalai lama in the capital of the united states invited his holiness and it was the first time his holiness would visit the capitol but as tom told us then it was his invitation but it was his wife and that idea of passionate commitment to this man of peace and to his work thank you annette for continuing to shine in a bright light on the dark corners of oppression throughout the world tom spirit of course lives through your work at the lantos foundation for human rights and justice but also lives in the house of representatives we are proud to continue thom's work through the tom lantos human rights commission as an official entity of congress them for their leadership we heard from the chairman of the foreign affairs committee it's clear to see your holiness that tibet has a friend in the chairman's office of foreign affairs committee which howard berman previously with tom lantos and before that ben gilman who is with us today thank you ben for your leadership as well this has been bipartisan from the start that special relationship between phases of the moon and the days of the week a wonderful gift of friendship which also anticipated his holiness's love of science is all in this took this watch with him when he left tibet in hundred fifty nine and he told us earlier this morning that he had the watch in his that was a pocket watch in his equivalent of a pocket when he received the congressional gold medal he received a medal from president bush from one president to another bipartisan over the generator and the bonds of the united states the bonds of friendship between the united states and his holiness and the that tibet and people are strong and durable as ever u s presidents members of congress and the american people continue to be inspired by his holiness his message of peace nonviolence human rights and religious understanding and we can all learn from him when we had a delegation that visited him in india last year and we were being particularly stirred up about our concerns about what is happening in tibet his holiness advised them particularly me to rid myself of my negative attitude and just think with more reconciliation and peace and friendship and my boys were learning from this  well thank you mary for being with us it's been said over and over again though the his holiness describes himself as a simple model monk no more no less it's the simplicity that i hear international freedom award from the national civil rights museum a time so pleased that john lewis is with us today john teaches us every day here your holiness that each one of us contains a spark of divinity therefore is worthy of respect and we must remember that about everyone including ourselves and in the legacy dr king and muhammad gandhi his holiness leads the way following the power of nonviolence to promote freedom of his people and people around the world the more than twenty years his holiness has advocated for tibetan autonomy in the framework of the people's republic of  china has expressed a desire to visit china and to engage directly with chinese officials it is our hope that the chinese government will welcome this opportunity for a peaceful resolution of the issue of tibet because of tibet is a challenge to the conscience of the world we must not fail to meet that challenge in fact unless we speak out for human rights in china and in tibet we are moral authority to talk about human rights anywhere in the world and culture religion environment and by the way his holiness spoke to us about the environment and the ecological challenges of overpopulation into bed was it twenty two years ago nine and for human rights and justice the entire congress and millions around the world i sank you for your work to ensure the rights of all people and now i have the privilege of  on behalf of annette katrina and the lantos foundation i will now share this award citation the lantos foundation for human rights and justice hereby awards its inaugural lantos human rights  to the fourteenth dalai lama ten to show the religious leader of the tibetan people with courage compassion and humility he has given voice to the aspirations of all humanity for a life of dignity justice and respect as an unflinching advocate of nonviolent reconciliation he has advanced the cause of human rights in every corner of the globe his holiness when we finish i plan to ask his holiness what wrongs one would have to have committed in a past life in order to end up speaking after him on today's program and i also want to convey apologies both that i am not my mother and also from my mother she had hoped to be here this morning and since her love and greetings to all of you the two men we celebrate today the dalai lama and my grandfather have crafted lives that could not be more deserving of our admiration both of them have known hatred and persecution and have responded not with malice or cynicism but by dedicating themselves to ennobling the lives of others in making presentation of the lantos prize for human rights we could not ask for a more outstanding pair of exemplars and yet we would do both of them a disservice if we left with the impression that this event was about th we know that ultimately not every one of us can be a top most for a dalai lama with some exceptions not every one of us will chair the foreign relations committee or service a spiritual leader of our people most of us are thankfully unlikely to endure the agonies of war and exile that imbued their lives with purpose and perspective but we can and we must resolve to live by the principles but to find their legacy as we seek  more humane fellowship with humankind we there must look to their examples and have it inform our actions the question before us is whether the rest of us will take a stand in the halls of congress in the height dharamsala or in the suburbs of san francisco and join them in the great battle on behalf of millions of our brothers and sisters who live in suffering around the world that is the cause that unites us today some armies gauge success by kalinga numbers of opponents killed or wounded in the fight for human rights we measure victories in lives saved and suffering verdant but while the terms of battle are different the stakes are just as high and this is a struggle with no end in sight my grandfather accomplished relatively few of his human rights objectives before his death and his holiness has worked for decades on behalf of the peace of his people measured against the magnitude of the challenges that we face their accomplishments may seen incremental a life saved here a prisoner freed their liberty restored but those to those who they have saved their efforts have meant everything if you have any question of that fact look at me or my mother or my aunts or my brothers and sisters and cousins none of whom would be here today if a courageous diplomat had not stepped forward to save my grandfather from the holocaust sixty five ago this cause cannot move forward without our help and we must ask ourselves if we are ready to continue walking the path that these great men have trod when political prisoners are tortured in north korea when women are raped in congo when the innocent are locked in shipping containers in the deserts of eritrea for peacefully practicing their religion and when to bento are denied their liberty will we give our time our talents our resources on their behalf while we work within our spear of influence however lofty or lowly it may be to advance the frontiers of decency efficacy of the prize presented to his holiness this morning will be determined by whether we answer those questions in the affirmative it is my hope and conviction that we can and will meet this challenge that when we return to our homes  jobs and our families we will remember that this morning was not simply a celebration of the dollar dalai lama and tom lantos but an affirmation of the principles that should guide us all these two men were for hotter than any we are likely to encounter but as we work to advance the cause of human rights each of us has the opportunity to grasp something of their greatness in this long battle as in any long battle good leaders like the are necessary but they are not enough and are praised for them cannot serve as a proxy for our commitments to this cause a commitment to carry on until every man every woman and every child on this planet is free to realize their potential that is the opportunity that we celebrate today that is the obligation that we honor and that is the legacy that we must seek to uphold on behalf of the  we would like to thank you for your presence here today and we look forward to with you to carry on this struggle for another generation thank you after his holiness was departed we would invite all of you to join us for a reception in the lobby