i want to thank alejandro gonzalez arreola of mexico, representing civil society members of the open government partnership. and i want to thank all of you for joining us here today. the human progress has always been propelled at some level by what happens in civil society -- citizens coming together to insist that a better life is possible, pushing their leaders to protect the rights and the dignities of all people. and that's why the universal declaration of human rights states that everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. this is not a western value. this is a universal right. and civil society led the fight to end apartheid in south africa. it led the fight to bring freedom to eastern europe. it helped to heal places divided by conflict, whether in cambodia or colombia. here, in the united states, civil society has been the catalyst for virtually every major advance that we've made, from the abolition of slavery to women's rights, civil rights, the protections of workers and the protections of the environment. and yet, still today, in every region,

i want to thank alejandro gonzalez arreola of mexico, representing civil society members of the open government partnership. and i want to thank all of you for joining us here today. the human progress has always been propelled at some level by what happens in civil society -- citizens coming together to insist that a better life is possible, pushing their leaders to protect the rights and the dignities of all people. and that's why the universal declaration of human rights states that "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association." this is not a western value. this is a universal right. and civil society led the fight to end apartheid in south africa. it led the fight to bring freedom to eastern europe. it helped to heal places divided by conflict, whether in cambodia or colombia. here, in the united states, civil society has been the catalyst for virtually every major advance that we've made, from the abolition of slavery to women's rights, civil rights, the protections of workers and the protections of the environment. and yet, still today, in every regio