Human Rights

19 November 2009 U.N. Condemns Human Rights Violations in Burma, North Korea  The U.N. General Assembly has expressed its grave concern about ongoing human rights violations in Burma and North Korea. In a vote the evening of November 19, the assembly adopted resolutions urging both states to end systematic and widespread abuses against their citizens. The separate resolutions were adopted in the General Assembly committee responsible for social, humanitarian and cultural affairs — known as the Third Committee.

22 October 2009 Education, Economic Opportunity Help Curb Violence Against Women  Education and economic empowerment are among the most important tools to prevent the victimization of millions of women around the world who are suffering from violence, experts told members of the U.S. Congress. Speaking at a hearing before the International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Verveer noted that there is a very close relationship between poverty, lack of opportunity, desperation and the low status of women.

02 October 2009 United States Working to Bridge Gaps in U.N. Human Rights Council  The first session of U.S. participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council has been "a terrific learning experience," and although the United States will not always agree with the body’s opinion, "it’s important that we’re in there defending the values we hold dear," says Esther Brimmer, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for international organization affairs.

30 September 2009 Clinton Hails U.N. Resolution to Protect Women Against Violence  Says violence against women is criminal, not cultural.

15 September 2009 U.S. Emphasizes Freedom of Expression at Human Rights Council  The U.S. will emphasize the importance of freedom of expression as it takes its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council, says Assistant Secretary of State Esther Brimmer. Brimmer observed that freedom of expression unfortunately has become a battleground between Western states and members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. At issue is whether comment regarding religion, especially Islam, constitutes defamation.

14 September 2009 U.S. Assumes Seat on the UN Human Rights Council  Remarks by Assistant Secretary for Bureau of International Organization Affairs Esther Brimmer before the High-Level Session of the Human Rights Council.

25 August 2009 Hillary Clinton Works Toward Banishing Sexual Violence  Following her recent trip to Africa Secretary Clinton writes about the scourge of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and outlines U.S. efforts to address the fundamental cause of this violence.

11 August 2009 Obama, Clinton Condemn Sentencing of Burma"s Aung San Suu Kyi  The decision by Burma"s ruling military to convict and sentence Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 additional months of house arrest is "unjust" and violates universal human rights principles, said President Obama, who calls for the veteran democracy leader and other Burmese political prisoners to be set free.

10 August 2009 Human Rights Group Embraces Social Media via "The Hub"  Human rights activists are finding that easy-to-use technologies such as cell phones, small digital cameras and the Internet expand their ability to document and discuss human rights abuses. Now they have a central platform on which to place their material for the world to see. The Hub, launched in November 2007, bills itself as the world's first participatory media site for human rights. An interactive community, it allows just about any concerned citizen worldwide to upload videos, audio or photos and share their human rights stories with the world. The goal is to use interactive social media as a catalyst for positive social change.

20 June 2009 World Refugee Day  The United States is committed to supporting refugees and displaced people worldwide.

13 May 2009 Obama Calls for Halt in Sri Lankan Fighting  President Obama called on all sides in the Sri Lankan civil war to cease hostilities and allow the safe evacuation of tens of thousands of civilians trapped in a 2.5-kilometer conflict zone.

United States and United Kingdom Joint Statement On the Humanitarian Situation in Sri Lanka  

12 May 2009 U.S. Wins Seat on U.N. Human Rights Council  The United States has won a seat on the U.N. Human Rights Council and is eager to begin working both to improve the council itself and to advance the protection of human rights worldwide, said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

01 May 2009 Statement by the President in honor of World Press Freedom Day

01 May 2009 Statement by Secretary Clinton on World Press Freedom Day  Clinton reaffirms strong U.S. commitment to media freedom worldwide.

20 April 2009 U.S. Applauds U.N. Conference Efforts to Re-focus on Racism  While the U.S. is boycotting the Durban Review Conference, it praised the efforts of many countries to re-focus the conference squarely on racism and discrimination. Speaking at a press conference, President Obama said the U.S. would be happy to work with the Durban Conference "if we can move forward on some of these issues."

08 April 2009 United States Remembers 1994 Rwandan Genocide  President Obama says the 15th anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan genocide is a somber occasion to reflect on the deaths of more than 800,000 people killed "simply because of their ethnicity or their political beliefs."

01 April 2009 United States to Seek Membership on U.N. Human Rights Council  The United States believes that working within the U.N. Human Rights Council is the best way to improve the council's goal of thwarting global human rights abuses, says the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system made up of 47 elected members. Its mission is to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights globally, State Department acting deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said in a prepared statement.

27 January 2009 U.S. Contributes $125 Million to Support UNHCR Efforts Worldwide  Initial contributions to support UNHCR’s Annual and Supplementary Program

Human Rights – Useful Links  Compiled by America.gov

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2008

25 February 2009 State Department releases 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

The complete text of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2008 is available from the Department of State Human Rights website.
From the 2008 Human Rights Country Reports:
 • United Kingdom

Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2006

05 April 2007 Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2005-2006   The State Department releases report on U.S. support of human rights   This fifth annual submission complements the longstanding Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2006, and takes the next step, moving from highlighting abuses to publicizing the actions and programs the United States has employed to end those abuses.

Religious Freedom

26 October 2009 Freedom of Speech and Religion Must Be Balanced, Clinton Says  There must be a sensible balance between freedom of religion and freedom of speech, says Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. ldquo;An individual’s ability to practice his or her religion has no bearing on others’ freedom of speech,” Clinton said at a special briefing October 26 marking the release of the 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.

26 October 2009 Briefing on the Release of the 2009 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom
 • International Religious Freedom Report 2009
 • From the International Religious Freedom Report 2009: United Kingdom

Trafficking In Human Beings

16 June 2009 Fighting Human Trafficking a Critical Part of U.S. Foreign Policy  U.S. hopes to cultivate more public-private partnerships to fight slavery.
 •  Trafficking in Persons Report
 •  Secretary Clinton's Remarks
 •  Briefing by Ambassador Cdebaca on Trafficking in Persons Report
 •  Fact Sheet - Trafficking in Persons: Coercion in a Time of Economic Crisis
 •  United Kingdom - the full report is available in PDF format as a single file. Due to its large size, the PDF has been separated into sections for easier download. UK Country Report begins on page 51 of Country Narratives: Q-Z (page 294 of actual report.)

Women's Rights

November 2006 An America.gov publication: Women Of Influence

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