We are about two thirds of the way through the United States' April Presidency of the UN Security Council. It has been quite a month. Syria, North Korea, Sudan and South Sudan, Mali, Guinea-Bissau -- the Council has been working furiously on a broad range of issues spanning the entire globe.
However, as Ambassador Rice has repeatedly… more »
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![Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addresses the G8 foreign ministers at the start of a working session at Blair House in Washington, April 11, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0412_g8_ministerial_m.jpg)
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On April 11-12, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted her G-8 counterparts for the G-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting at the Blair House in Washington, D.C. During the opening plenary on April 11, Secretary Clinton said:
"I greatly appreciate this opportunity to discuss in person the many global issues that require joint leadership from the G-8 nations. The events of this past year, even of just this past week, affirm the continued need for comprehensive international cooperation, and the G-8 is an essential forum for that."
During the two-day meeting, the Foreign… more »
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![The United Nations Security Council holds a meeting on the situation in Syria, Jan. 31, 2012 at United Nations headquarters. [AP File Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0404_unsc_m.jpg)
When Ambassador Susan Rice assumed the rotating monthly Presidency of the UN Security Council from the United Kingdom this week, she began by taking a question on Twitter.
"The world is shrinking," Ambassador Rice said recently. In a world of freely moving information, we also face rapidly evolving threats that can just as easily cross borders. As President, Ambassador Rice is using her agenda-setting power to focus the Council's attention on such 21st century challenges, from the proliferation of nuclear materials to illicit arms flows to humanitarian crises.
Ambassador Rice… more »
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Istanbul, Turkey March 31-April 1 to attend the second meeting of the "Friends of the Syrian People." This meeting built upon steps that our friends, allies, and the Syrian opposition continue to take in an attempt to halt the slaughter of the Syrian people and pursue a transition to democracy in Syria. During a press availability in Istanbul, Secretary Clinton said, "Today, the international community sent a clear and unified message that we will increase pressure on the Assad regime in Syria and assistance… more »
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![From left to right: United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdallah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Omani Minister of Foreign Affairs Yussef bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Hamad Al-Sabah, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Hamad bin Jassim, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Muhammad al-Thani, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, pose for a group photo before a U.S.- Gulf Cooperation Council forum at the Gulf Cooperation Council Secretariat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 31, 2012. [AP Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0331_clinton_gcc_m.jpg)
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 30-31, 2012. While in Riyadh, she met with King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. During their meeting, King Abdullah and Secretary Clinton discussed the situation in Iran and upcoming plans for the P-5+1 meetings with the Iranians. They talked about Syria in advance of the second meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People, which is scheduled to take place in Istanbul, Turkey on April 1, 2012. They also discussed Yemen, Tunisia, Egypt, global oil supplies, and… more »
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![Secretary Clinton boards plane in Beirut, Lebanon, April 26, 2009. [State Department Photo]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2009_0716_clinton_departs_m.jpg)
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton travels to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from March 30-31, 2012. While in Riyadh, she will meet King Abdullah and Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal. She will also attend the First Ministerial Meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council-U.S. Strategic Cooperation Forum. In her conversations, she will discuss the full range of bilateral and regional issues, including ongoing security cooperation in the region, as well as the international community's continuing efforts to stop the bloodshed in Syria.
Secretary Clinton will then travel to Istanbul, Turkey from March 31-April 1 to attend the second meeting of the "Friends… more »
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![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]](http://blogs.state.gov/images/Dipnote/behind_the_scenes/2012_0302_hrc_syria_m.jpg)
This week's "Photo of the Week" comes to us from Eric Bridiers, who serves at the U.S. Mission in Geneva. In this photograph, Bridiers captures the domed ceiling of the Human Rights Council chamber, which was created by Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo using pigments from across the globe.
Today, Under Secretary of State Maria Otero addressed the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council and underscored the significant impact the Council makes on the world. Under Secretary Otero said, "When the United States joined the UN Human Rights Council two years ago, we set forth four values that would guide our work in this body: universality, dialogue, principle, and truth. We knew then, as we know now, that the honest dialogue and dedicated effort of this Council will help all of our… more »
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Earlier today, I spoke before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, where I joined many other nations gathered to demand an end to the Assad government's outrageous and ongoing crimes against the people of Syria. Syrian civilians and international journalists risk their lives daily to inform the world of the horrendous scale of slaughter and suffering, and the Commission of Inquiry launched by the UN Human Rights Council last August concluded that the Syrian government forces have perpetrated crimes against humanity. No one can deny that Bashar al-Assad and his regime are waging a brutal campaign of slaughter, bombardment, torture, and arrest that already has murdered thousands of women, men, and children, with more killed each day.
As I said earlier today, the Syrian government must… more »
Posted under: Near East and Asia
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco February 24-25, 2012. In Tunisia, Secretary Clinton participated in the first meeting of the "Friends of Syria" group as part of our ongoing efforts with our friends, allies, and the Syrian opposition to crystallize next steps to halt the slaughter of the Syrian people and pursue a transition to democracy in Syria. At the meeting, she said "Syria is a proud country of 23 million people, with a rich history and ancient culture. The end of Assad can mark a new beginning for Syria. It is… more »
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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton addressed the Friends of Syria meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, on February 24, 2012. Secretary Clinton said, "I want to thank Tunisia for hosting this meeting today and I salute the Arab League for its leadership throughout this crisis. I want to particularly applaud the selection of Kofi Annan as a special envoy for both the UN and the Arab League. He will seek to advance the consensus reflected in the Arab League transition plan and the UN General Assembly's resolution, and I look forward to working with him."
"Now, we are all here because the Assad regime's escalating violence in Syria is an affront… more »
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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 »