President Obama and Secretary Clinton have reaffirmed our continued commitment to building a strong partnership with a free and democratic Iraq. Moving forward, one of the many areas where we hope to build on this relationship will be working with Iraqi authorities to help them safeguard their citizens from landmines, unexploded ordnance, and other excess and unsecured conventional weapons and munitions.
Surveys indicate that agricultural land is particularly at risk for landmines and unexploded ordnance, making clearance an economic necessity for communities to regain their livelihoods as well as an issue of securing Iraq's future.
During my year in Iraq at the U.S. Embassy and in my current position in Washington, I have experienced firsthand the powerful positive impact of educational and cultural exchange programs on both Iraqis and Americans. People from both countries -- particularly youth -- have so much to learn from one another. An important shared goal of the U.S. and Iraqi governments is to find more ways to bring our citizens together.
The U.S. and Iraq discussed these exchanges at a recent meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Joint Coordinating Committee for Cultural and Educational Cooperation in Washington, co-chaired by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock and Iraqi Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ali Al-Adeeb. American and Iraqi officials spent a productive morning reviewing our exchanges in the areas of higher education, primary… more »
Today, on the Ninth Annual International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, we stand in solidarity with men and women who are working to address and prevent this practice that takes place in many countries around the world. Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) occurs across cultures and religions, although no religion mandates the procedure. It is a practice rooted in beliefs about the “dangers” of women's sexuality, and involves a rite of passage into adulthood that has extremely detrimental consequences on the health and overall well-being of women and girls subjected to it.
It is estimated that 100 to 140 million women globally have undergone this procedure and three million girls are at risk every year. Cutting is often performed by untrained practitioners, employing no anesthesia and often using such instruments as broken glass,… more »
Last night, Americans gathered around their television sets -- or computer monitors -- to watch President Barack Obama deliver the State of the Union Address. For the first time, international audiences were able to watch the State of the Union Address live on U.S. embassy and consulate websites. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) streamed the speech with a new video player, placed directly on almost 300 English-language embassy and consulate websites and Facebook pages worldwide.
With an estimated 40 million displaced people worldwide, up to 12 million who do not have citizenship to any country, and some 10.5 million refugees around the globe, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) assists persecuted and uprooted people through our support to international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and by advocating for their protection through humanitarian diplomacy. From the Arab Awakening to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, global political upheaval and conflict have presented many humanitarian challenges, and as 2012 begins, I'd like to take a moment to share a few examples of the work we did last year.
Refugee Admissions: The United States welcomed more than 56,000 refugees… more »
May 23: The State Department, through its office of the U.S.-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), is pleased to announce $1.5 million in funding to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to support open governance and political participation in the Middle East and North Africa. more »
May 23: Today, Russia was invited to join the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) at a ceremony hosted by its parent body, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris. ã more »
![A Masai girl holds a protest sign during the anti-Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) run in Kilgoris, Kenya, in 2007. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0206_stop_fgm_m.jpg)
![Water center in Dolo Kobe, Ethiopia, 2011 [State Department photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0102_prm_water_center_m.jpg)
