The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva just concluded its 21st session, which was the last regular session of the United States' first term on the Council. Since we joined in 2009, working together with a broad range of cross regional partners, we made significant progress across a wide array of important human rights issues.
Early in the session, the United States along with the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Lithuania, the Maldives, Mexico, and Nigeria, presented a resolution on the rights of freedom of association and assembly. The resolution reaffirms the importance of respect for the rights of peaceful association and assembly as essential components of democracy. The resolution calls upon States to cooperate fully with… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and officials from the State Department and other U.S. government agencies are attending meetings at the 67th meeting of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from September 23 to October 1, 2012. Through a series of "Inside the State Department" videos, senior officials are providing perspectives on the events of the week.
On Friday, September 28, while in New York, Secretary Clinton hosted a G8 Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition Foreign Ministers Meeting and the Ad Hoc Friends of the Syrian People Ministerial. In the video above, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer, State Department Director of Policy Planning Jake Sullivan, and State Department Spokesperson… more »
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and officials from the State Department and other U.S. government agencies are attending meetings at the 67th meeting of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York from September 23 to October 1, 2012. Through a series of "Inside the State Department" videos, senior officials are providing perspectives on the events of the week.
On Thursday, September 27, while in New York, Secretary Clinton and senior U.S. government officials participated in a series of events focused on the Western Hemisphere. In the video above, Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta S. Jacobson speaks about the Secretary's participation in the Connecting the Americas… more »
As head of our delegation to the December 2011 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC) Review Conference, Secretary Clinton detailed a comprehensive U.S. program, including a new Bio-Transparency and Openness Initiative. While the BWC is not verifiable in the traditional sense, much can be done to enhance confidence in compliance with the treaty, one of the three pillars of the international non-proliferation regime against weapons of mass destruction.
As part of Secretary Clinton's initiative, the United States hosted a tour this summer of its National Interagency… more »
My job is about to get a whole lot busier! Monday Morning marks the effective start of the 67th United Nations General Assembly. Leaders from 193 countries will come to New York City during the annual series of meetings.
This is basically the diplomatic community's equivalent of the World Cup, World Series, and Super Bowl all rolled into one. My colleagues from the U.S. State Department and I will be headed up to New York this weekend. We will work pretty much nonstop for the next two weeks. We'll attend meetings, make speeches, brief the press and generally highlight our concerns and promote our national priorities whenever and wherever we can.
Tuesday morning, along with the world, we will be listening to President Obama when he addresses the UN General Assembly.
For anyone interested in global affairs, this is an incredible time to tune… more »
The days are long for the women of Yeumbeul, a village on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal. But after hours of selling fruit in the market, house chores and caretaking for their families, they flock eagerly to the local community center for evening literacy classes. Among them is twenty-year old Kewe Ndiayea, who dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but was forced to leave the school at age eleven when her family could no longer afford the $2 monthly tuition. Today, literacy classes are helping her make this dream a reality, and now Kewe is determined to become the next Diouma Dieng Diakhate, the Senegalese couturier cum political activist.
The Senegal courses are part of the UNESCO Global Partnership for Girls' and Women's Education, a groundbreaking initiative launched in May 2011 that leverages public-private partnerships to address gender disparities in literacy… more »
I have just returned from a thought-provoking visit to Niger, one of the largest countries in the Sahel -- a region of Africa where close to 19 million people are at risk of severe food shortages.
Before I flew to Niger, I had expected the trip would leave me feeling depressed and hopeless. More than 3 million people in the country do not have access to sufficient food, and suffer -- especially the children -- from moderate to severe malnutrition. And for Niger, this is nothing new. For the third time in a decade, Niger is reeling from the repercussions of massive drought, this time compounded by high food and fuel costs, locust infestations, and conflict in bordering Mali.
But despite those dire statistics, I saw a more hopeful picture when I toured the country. Indeed, by the time I left Niger, I was filled with optimism and confidence in the multilateral… more »
For the first time ever, young Americans are being offered an exciting opportunity to bring the voice of U.S. youth to the United Nations. This year, the U.S. Department of State is teaming up with the United Nations Association of the USA to send one young citizen to the UN General Assembly in New York as a pilot program entitled the U.S. Youth Observer Program.
That means, if you are age 18 to 25, and have an interest and passion for international affairs, civic engagement, and youth issues, you could qualify for this once in a lifetime chance to see the United Nations in action -- in person. The U.S. Youth Observer will travel to New York, interact with the U.S. delegation and other youth representatives from around the world -- and then report on their experiences… more »
It's normal to think that food assistance is simply about keeping stomachs full. But, in fact, it's far more complex than that. It's also about empowering and enabling people to support themselves and their communities on a sustainable basis. A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Zimbabwe and Mozambique to visit development projects supported by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in partnership with local authorities. It was there that I saw what a difference agricultural development efforts can make in people's lives.
Women Take the Lead
It was clear to me that women play the key role in providing food and income to their families in both these countries. In the areas I visited, small-scale farmers are almost exclusively female. Many of the local men have moved to South Africa to work in mines, therefore women are the community leaders… more »
Imagine if you did not have a country to call home. Imagine, not being able to legally get a job, marry, or own land. Forget about trying to travel. And if you had children, what legacy would you leave for them?
Statelessness impacts as many as 12 million people around the globe. Often, this under-recognized human right, the right to a nationality, can increase the risk of exploitation and abuse, including forced migration and trafficking in persons. Women and children are particularly vulnerable.
That's why the U.S. led resolution, along with Botswana, Colombia, Mexico, Iraq, Turkey, and Slovakia, passed at the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva today is so important. “The Right to a Nationality: Women and Children,” is… more »
Thank you, Jonathan, for this insightful post on World Food Day and the importance of strengthening our efforts as an international community to end world hunger…
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Spokesperson Nuland (Oct. 17): "Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Michael Posner, led a 22-member interagency delegation from the U.S. to discuss the full range of human rights issues affecting the country." more »
Oct. 16: Judith Heumann, Special Advisor for International Disability Rights, held a conversation with Ann Cody, Director of Policy and Global Outreach, BlazeSports; and Kirk Bauer, Executive Director of Disabled Sports USA. more »
![U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer addresses the Human Rights Council Urgent Debate on Syria in Geneva, February 28, 2012. [U.S. Mission Geneva/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0302_hrc_syria_m.jpg)
![U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Ambassador Laura E. Kennedy listen to the discussion at the Review Conference of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention in Geneva on December 7, 2011. [Eric Bridiers photo/State Department/Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0926_clinton_kennedy_m.jpg)
![United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the United Nations General Assembly, June 7, 2012 at United Nations headquarters. [AP File Photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0823_unga_m.jpg)
![Image used by UNESCO to promote women's literacy, September 2012. [UNESCO Image/ Used by Permission]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0919_unesco_always_m.jpg)
![Ambassador David Lane visits the a dry land farming and seed distribution site in Tolkobeye Niger, August 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0905_lane_usunrome_m.jpg)
![Marketplace in Mozambique, June 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0726_women_market_m.jpg)
![Life in close proximity to animals, coupled with poor basic amenities, means there is a high likelihood of disease, especially for the elderly, June 2006. [UNHCR/G.M.B.Akash photo]](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121019001543im_/http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0705_statelessness_m.jpg)
