Civil And Constitutional Rights, Liberties, And Human Rights Latest Statements, Briefings, And Hearings

Here are summaries of and links to recent web sites and documents relevant to Civil and Constitutional Rights, Liberties, and Human Rights: 

Remarks by President Obama at the University of Yangon
Burma, November 19, 2012

Reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation.  The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished -- they must be strengthened; they must become a shining North Star for all this nation’s people.
And your success in that effort is important to the United States, as well as to me.  Even though we come from different places, we share common dreams:  to choose our leaders; to live together in peace; to get an education and make a good living; to love our families and our communities.  That’s why freedom is not an abstract idea; freedom is the very thing that makes human progress possible -- not just at the ballot box, but in our daily lives. Reade the full text here

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Remarks by President Obama and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi  
Rangoon, November 19, 2012
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Common Ground Awards in Honor of the Late Ambassador Chris Stevens
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, November 8, 2012

This is a very moving moment to honor someone whose life and work truly exemplify the meaning of “search for common ground.” And I greatly appreciate everyone who has supported this organization and its mission over a number of years, John Marks and Susan Collin Marks, my longtime friend Ambassador George Moose, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and supporters of Search for Common Ground. I also want to congratulate all of tonight’s honorees.Reade the full text here  

Statement of the U.S. at the Eleventh Session of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court 
Stephen J. Rapp, Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, November 15, 2012   

What does it mean for an institution like the ICC to succeed in ensuring justice for victims, and what has my government done to contribute to this project and advance our shared interests and values? There are a few issues that I would particularly like to focus on today that deserve the attention of friends of the Court, parties and non-parties alike. This list is not exhaustive of our work or our priorities, but each of these concerns is fundamental to the way forward, in the service of those most affected by crimes that shock our collective conscience.
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Global Entrepreneurship Summit 
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Thomas Nides, November 15, 2012 

First, we can’t have stable societies without economic opportunity, and nothing creates opportunity like entrepreneurship. Consider this: just to maintain current rates of unemployment, which are already too high, the Middle East needs to create 50 to 100 million jobs by 2020. We can’t get there without unleashing entrepreneurship. Focusing young people on what they can build together – peacefully—is in everyone’s interest.
Second, promoting entrepreneurship plays to America’s strengths. Our entrepreneurship is admired around the world, even by people who dislike our politics. In my travels, I get asked all the time: how do we create the next Silicon Valley in our country? Bringing innovative people together helps us bridge divides and build richer, stronger ties across borders.
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Delivering on the Promise of Economic Statecraft 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Singapore Management University, November 17, 2012  

Now, I think one of the questions that may be on your and others' minds is: "Why is the American President spending all this time in Asia so soon after winning re-election?" Well, the answer for us is very simple. Because so much of the history of the 21st century will be, is being, written in this region. America's expanded engagement represents our commitment to help shape that shared future. The strategic and security dimensions of our efforts are well known. But the untold story that is just as important is our economic engagement. Because it is clear that not only in the Asia Pacific but across the world, increasingly, economics are shaping the strategic landscape. Emerging powers are putting economics at the center of their foreign policies, and they are gaining clout less because of their size of their armies than because of the growth of their GDP.
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Robust Response to Country-Specific Situations: U.S. Accomplishments during its First Term on the UN Human Rights Council 
Fact sheet, U.S. Dept of State, November 12, 2012 

As we prepare for another three years of close collaboration with partners from all corners of the globe to address the many human rights challenges remaining before us, we reflect on the Council’s key accomplishments during our first term, including:
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14th Annual Award for Corporate Excellence
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, November 28, 2012

[S]o many – in fact, the vast majority of American businesses – have a very positive story about how they deliver lifesaving medicines to the most remote areas, or stand up for human rights – not only for their employees but for the larger community, invest in and create jobs that help more people have a good income to perhaps send their children not only to primary school but beyond. It’s good for the communities where they work and it’s good for the United States, because it helps to build stronger partners who can deliver more for their own people and even help solve some of the regional and global challenges we face.
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Millennium Challenge Corporation
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, November 27, 2012

…[I]n this Administration under President Obama, we’ve tried to put forth a new policy on development that really focuses on results, and MCC has been one of the foundational institutions that has given us the base for moving forward. We are working to put ourselves out of business, to hasten the day when countries no longer need foreign assistance. So we are pursuing country-owned efforts that are led, implemented, and eventually paid for by a nation’s own government, communities, civil society, and private sector.
That’s really the path that MCC has helped to blaze, because you work directly with governments to identify development priorities and to design country-specific plans that are backed by hard data. You put a focus on building local capacity and rewarding good governance, an approach that we are building on in all of our development work, including major programs like the Global Health Initiative and Feed the Future.
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Progress Report: Boosting Harvests, Fighting Poverty
Feed the Future, October 2012

Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s contribution to this global effort to improve food security and nutrition. Feed the Future is the platform for U.S. Government
food security investments in a select group of developing countries. These investments aim to reduce poverty and child stunting—the best surrogate indicator for nutritional status—and help vulnerable populations become more resilient to food crises. our investments in food security are deliberate steps toward achieving the overarching goals of Feed the Future: to reduce global poverty and hunger.
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Eleventh Session of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court Interactive Plenary Discussion on Complementarity
Stephen J. Rapp, Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues, November 19, 2012

It is crucial to be discussing the principle and the practice of complementarity here at the meeting of the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC. Although the ICC plays an important role in the system of international criminal justice, national courts have the primary role to play in ensuring justice for victims of atrocities. Indeed, the principle of complementarity is at the core of the ICC Statute. I would also highlight the importance of states parties and non-states parties alike remaining committed to strengthening domestic judicial capacity. Beyond furthering accountability, a strong national justice system is conducive to peace, stability, the consolidation of democracy, and economic development.
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Engaging Asia: Public Diplomacy and 21st Century Statecraft
Tara Sonenshine, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, November 15, 2012

Walking through this campus and looking around this room, I can see educational exchanges are alive and well. I am so impressed to learn that almost half of the students at APU are foreign exchange students from 83 countries, including China, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia. You get the principle. You are living it.
But what I do want to underscore why we invest so much time and resources into scholarships, programs, and exchanges. We believe they are essential to promoting mutual understanding between cultures and nations.   
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The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR): Funding Issues after a Decade of Implementation, FY2004-FY2013   
Congressional Research Service, October 10, 2012

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the largest bilateral health initiative in the world. The 2003 pledge of President George W. Bush to spend $15 billion over five years on fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria was considered groundbreaking. The initiative challenged the international community to reject claims that large-scale HIV/AIDS treatment plans could not be carried out in low-resource settings. In December 2002, one month before PEPFAR was announced, only 50,000 people of the estimated 4 million requiring antiretroviral (ARV) medicines in sub-Saharan Africa were receiving treatment. By the end of FY2004, 155,000 people were receiving treatment through PEPFAR.
Reade the full text here (17 pages) 

Does Foreign Aid Work? Efforts to Evaluate U.S. Foreign Assistance
Congressional Research Service, November 19, 2012

The U.S. government agencies managing foreign assistance each have their own distinct evaluation policies; these policies have come into closer alignment in the last two years than in the past. The Obama Administration’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) resulted in, among other things, a stated commitment to plan foreign aid budgets “based not on dollars spent, but on outcomes achieved.” This focus on evaluating the impact of foreign assistance reflects an international trend. USAID put this idea into practice by introducing a new evaluation policy in January 2011. The State Department, which began to manage a growing portion of foreign assistance over the past decade, followed suit with a similar policy in February 2012. The Millennium Challenge Corporation, notable for its demanding but little-tested approach to evaluation, also recently revised its policy. While differing in several respects, including their support for impact evaluation, the policies reflect a common emphasis on evaluation planning as a part of initial program design, transparency and accessibility of evaluation findings, and the application of data to inform future project design and allocation decisions.
Reade the full text here  (24 pages)

Comparative Study of Constitutions of OIC Countries, 2012 Update
United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), November 2012

USCIRF’s 2012 report, The Religion-State Relationship & the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief: A Comparative Textual Analysis of the Constitutions of Majority Muslim Countries and Other OIC Members, analyzes how constitutions of countries belonging to the OIC treat issues of human rights and religious freedom. This study, which updates a study USCIRF undertook in 2005, focuses on 56 countries. The study finds that these countries, stretching from Europe to Africa through the Middle East and into Asia, encompass a variety of constitutional arrangements addressing the role of Islam and the scope of religious freedom and other related human rights. A constitution’s text is important as both a statement of fundamental law and national aspirations, and a tool for those seeking to enforce its promises.
Links to various full text options 

Peacebuilding Efforts of Women from Afghanistan and Iraq: Lessons in Transition.
U.S. Institute of Peace. Kathleen Kuehnast et al. November 2012.

Afghan and Iraqi women leaders met earlier this year to discuss how women in North African transition countries can play a role in reshaping their societies. Based on their own experiences with transition, these leaders offered advice on what to do and what pitfalls to avoid.
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Young Voters Supported Obama Less, but May Have Mattered More 
Pew Research Center, November 26, 2012 

The divide between young voters and older voters was as stark this year as it was in 2008. While Obama lost ground among voters younger than 30, he still won this age group by 24 points over Mitt Romney (60% to 36%). He also maintained a slimmer advantage among voters 30 to 44 (52% Obama, 45% Romney), while losing ground among those 45 to 64 and those 65 and older.
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Open Doors 2012
Institute of International Education, November 2012

The number of international students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by 6.5% to 764,495 during the 2011/12 academic year.
Open Doors 2012 was released on November 12. IIE held a briefing at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, with the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, to discuss new statistics and trends on November 13
Links to presentations, the report, data, and other resources 

Updated: November 29, 2012