Human Rights

12 March 2010 For Human Rights Heroine, “No Ordinary Arrest”   They came in the middle of the night asking for Jestina Mukoko. She did not even have time to put on her shoes and glasses before they seized and blindfolded her, taking her to an undisclosed location where the world would not know what happened to her for weeks. Ot is a story that is all too familiar for human rights advocates around the world, but Mukoko would not disappear so easily.

12 March 2010 Pakistan, Afghanistan Struggle to Protect Human Rights, U.S. Says  In two of the most complex political and security environments in the world, characterized by brutal insurgencies, Pakistan and Afghanistan achieved only modest advances in protecting citizens from violence and human rights abuses in 2009, according to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, issued March 11 by the U.S. Department of State.

11 March 2010 Secretary Clinton's Remarks to the Press on the Release of the 2009 Country Report on Human Rights  "The idea of human rights begins with a fundamental commitment to the dignity that is the birthright of every man, woman and child. Progress in advancing human rights begins with the facts. And for the last 34 years, the United States has produced the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, providing the most comprehensive record available of the condition of human rights around the world."
 • Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009
 • From the 2009 Human Rights Country Reports: United Kingdom

10 March 2010 Remarks by First Lady Michelle Obama at the International Women of Courage Awards

08 March 20110 VIDEO: Secretary of State Clinton’s International Women's Day Message  Secretary Clinton commemorates International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010 with a special message. Read Secretary Clinton's remarks.

04 March 2010 In the Middle East, Modest Progress Made on Women’s Rights   A new report on women’s rights in the Middle East and North Africa finds some progress but “a long road ahead.” Of all parts of the world, it is this region in which “the gap between the rights of men and those of women has been the most visible and severe,” says the report by Freedom House, an independent, nonprofit organization that studies and advocates for human rights worldwide.

02 March 2010 United States Guided by Principles on U.N. Human Rights Council  The United States will support the work that the U.N. Human Rights Council does well, and it will work constructively on aspects that need change, Under Secretary of State Maria Otero says.Otero addressed the opening of the 13th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. She presented three tenets that she said will guide U.S. participation: a commitment to principled engagement; consistent application of human rights law; and a commitment to the truth. Her remarks came during the opening of the 47-member forum's annual four-week session.

23 February 2010 Official Highlights U.S. Commitment to U.N. Human Rights Council  The Obama administration is reasserting a U.S. role and focus on human rights worldwide through its re-engagement and work with the United Nations Human Rights Council, says State Department Legal Adviser Harold Hongju Koh.

08 February 2010 Joint Statement by The European Union and The United States Calling On The Iranian Government To Fulfill Its Human Rights Obligations

22 December 2009 Human Rights: A Commitment to Action U.S. committed to promoting, defending human rights and democracy worldwide.

14 December 2009 Clinton Lays Out Obama Administration Agenda on Human Rights Washington  Support for democracy and the fostering of economic development are the cornerstones of the Obama administration’s agenda for promoting human rights around the world, says Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a speech at Georgetown University in Washington, Clinton presented the president’s goals for human rights in the 21st century. She said human rights must be seen in a broad context that recognizes both “negative and positive requirements.”

09 December 2009 Secretary Clinton Honors Champions of Human Rights: Marks International Human Rights Day  In commemoration of International Human Rights Day on December 10, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton honored two exceptional human rights champions.

02 December 2009 MENA Organizations Work to Abolish Violence Against Women  Violence against women, a truly global issue, crosses cultural, economic and political lines. At least one of every three women in the world has suffered some form of violence, from beatings to sexual crimes, according to the United Nations Development Fund for Women. Determined to erase these grim statistics at home and abroad, the Obama administration has committed to combating violence against women. President Obama has appointed special advisers to fight for women’s rights, such as Melanne Verveer, the first U.S. ambassador-at-large for global women’s issues.

25 November 2009 International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women  The UN General Assembly designated November 25th as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designated to raise public awareness of the problem on that day.  Secretary Clinton has made this issue a top priority for American foreign policy.

24 November 2009 Zimbabwean Activist Receives Kennedy Award for Human Rights  In the early 1980s, Zimbabwe’s Magodonga Mahlangu witnessed the massacre of thousands in Matabeleland, including family members, and she decided it was intolerable that the people of Zimbabwe were forbidden to know the truth about what was happening in their country. After she came to lead the Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) movement, co-founded by Jenni Williams in 2002, Mahlangu became an example to Zimbabwean women and men alike that the brutal rule by President Robert Mugabe’s regime could be met with peaceful and heroic public defiance. For her inspirational work and willingness to withstand intimidation and physical abuse by the regime, Mahlangu and WOZA were honored by President Obama at the White House with the 2009 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.

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

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009

11 March 2010 Secretary Clinton's Remarks to the Press on the Release of the 2009 Country Report on Human Rights  "The idea of human rights begins with a fundamental commitment to the dignity that is the birthright of every man, woman and child. Progress in advancing human rights begins with the facts. And for the last 34 years, the United States has produced the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, providing the most comprehensive record available of the condition of human rights around the world."

The complete text of the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009 is available from the Department of State Human Rights website.
From the 2009 Human Rights Country Reports:
 • United Kingdom

11 March 2010 U.S. Human Rights Report Has Far-Reaching Impact  The original purpose for the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices was to provide the U.S. Congress with information on countries to which the United States sends aid. “But it has become much bigger than that,” according to Michael H. Posner. “Today it is the single most comprehensive look at human rights around the world done by anyone,” Posner, assistant secretary for the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told America.gov in a recent interview. The report is “a baseline of information about what’s going on in human rights every year.”

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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