Obama calls for focus on civil society in New York

{mosads}Obama also challenged foreign leaders to make civil rights part of their bilateral negotiations with foreign partners, saying that to do so “gives countries pause.”

“Make sure this is on our agenda,” Obama implored.

The president, who moderated the hour-long discussion, said he knew from the United States that “sometimes you take a step back for every two steps forward” in the pursuit of civil justice.

“The restrictive laws that were put in place, the challenges to funding from outside groups, the threats and the intimidation and the violence and the mailings, these are all things that the early civil rights movements here in the United States went through,” he said.

Obama also urged activists within a nation to form coalitions to oppose laws that would affect civil society, even if they did not share the same primary goals. And, the president said, countries should develop “institutional structures that constrain what government can do.”

“An independent judiciary that is properly functioning and properly financed can serve as an important protector of civil society,” Obama said.

The president is expected to address the full U.N. general assembly on Tuesday.