State Department

Washington, DC -- October 28, 2009 -- Following her meeting with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a contribution of $125 million for the first phase of a Signature Energy Program in Pakistan aimed at increasing electricity output and conserving wasted energy and money.

The funding will be aimed at repairing generation facilities, improving the overall effectiveness of local utilities providers, replacing inefficient tube well pumps and promoting energy efficiency.

The six projects announced by Secretary Clinton today will begin reducing the frequency of electricity blackouts, that interfere with commerce and have plagued the Pakistani economy.

These six projects include:    » read more »

Michael H. Posner, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

Washington, DC -- October 26, 2009 -- ASSISTANT SECRETARY POSNER: Thank you, Madame Secretary, for your remarks and for your leadership on this issue of religious freedom. I have recently been confirmed as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In this position, I’m charged with leading the bureau in which the Office of International Religious Freedom is a part.    » read more »

Senior Administration Officials

Washington, DC -- October 19, 2009 -- MR. CROWLEY: We’re now going to shift from on the record to on background, where we have anywhere from two to four experts who will try to help fill in some of the blanks. [Senior Administration Official], you want to come up, [Senior Administration Official], you want to come up? [Senior Administration Official], you’re going to stay?

Yeah, this is a background briefing attributable to Senior Administration Officials. So you just know who’s in the room, we have [Senior Administration Officials]. So [Senior Administration Officials], you want to come up and get started?

QUESTION: Shouldn’t the experts start by answering the question on money if they know? (Laughter.)    » read more »

Washington, DC -- October 19, 2009 -- SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning. Good morning. Well, I’m very pleased to be joined today by our Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice and the President’s Special Envoy to Sudan General Scott Gration.

And let me begin by saying that the Sudan policy we are outlining today is the result of an intensive review across the United States Government that included the three of us, but many others as well. It reflects the Administration’s seriousness, sense of urgency, and collective agreement about how best to address the complex challenges that have prevented resolution of the crisis in Darfur and full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.    » read more »

Washington, DC -- October 19, 2009 -- In the past, the United States’ approach to Sudan has been reactive rather than proactive and narrowly focused on emerging crises. The new strategy focuses on reinvigorating the international support that is critical to building peace and security in Sudan. The strategy is the first comprehensive U.S. policy on Sudan that recognizes the links between the Darfur crisis and implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.    » read more »

Office of the Spokesman -- Washington, DC -- October 19, 2009 -- Sudan is at an important crossroads that can either lead to steady improvements in the lives of the Sudanese people or degenerate into even more violent conflict and state failure. Now is the time for the United States to act with a sense of urgency and purpose to protect civilians and work toward a comprehensive peace.    » read more »

June 23, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Dick Lugar released the following statement on the nomination of Harold Koh to be Legal Adviser to the State Department. The Senate will have a cloture vote tomorrow on the nomination:    » read more »

June 20, 2009 -- Washington D.C. -- FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge, Joseph M. Demarest issued the following statement concerning New York Times Reporter David Rohde:

"On June 19, David Rohde, a reporter for the New York Times contacted family members to advise he had escaped from his abductors. Rohde was taken hostage in Afghanistan on November 10, 2008. The FBI is working with the U.S. State Department and Department of Defense to see that Mr. Rohde receives medical attention and is reunited with his family."    » read more »

Letter urges Secretary of State Clinton to be a proponent of treaty to regulate interstate transfer of weapons

June 17, 2009 -- Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and seven of her Senate colleagues are urging Secretary of State Clinton to be a strong proponent of an international Arms Trade Treaty to regulate the interstate transfer of conventional weapons.

The second session of the UN Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on the Arms Trade Treaty is scheduled to convene at the United Nations next month. The Working Group is tasked with creating international regulations on the export, import and international transfer of arms to help prevents the flow of weapons to world conflict zones.    » read more »

Washington, DC -- June 9, 2009 -- A three-member NAFTA arbitration tribunal rejected a $50 million claim filed by the Canadian mining company, Glamis Gold Ltd., challenging certain actions taken by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and certain measures adopted by the State of California relating to land reclamation in connection with proposed open-pit mining operations. The Office of the Legal Adviser of the Department of State represented the United States in the case.    » read more »

June 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement on Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-CA), President Obama’s nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security:

Mr. Chairman, Senator Lugar, I am proud to express my strong support for Representative Ellen Tauscher, President Obama’s nominee to be Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.

As a fellow Californian and friend, I can say with confidence that President Obama couldn’t have picked a more qualified individual for the job.    » read more »

Couple Allegedly Conspired to Provide Classified Information to Cuban Government

June 5, 2009 -- A former State Department official and his wife have been arrested on charges of serving as illegal agents of the Cuban government for nearly 30 years and conspiring to provide classified U.S. information to the Cuban government.

The arrests were announced today by David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Channing D. Phillips, Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director for the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Ambassador Eric J. Boswell, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security.    » read more »

June 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today chaired the Foreign Relations Committee hearing considering President Obama’s nominees for two important posts at the Department of State.

Senator Boxer is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues. The subcommittee is the first of its kind with a specific focus on women's issues.

The following is Senator Boxer’s opening statement:    » read more »

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State -- Washington, DC, June 1, 2009 -- "Forty years ago this month, the gay rights movement began with the Stonewall riots in New York City, as gays and lesbians demanded an end to the persecution they had long endured. Now, after decades of hard work, the fight has grown into a global movement to achieve a world in which all people live free from violence and fear, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

In honor of Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and on behalf of the State Department, I extend our appreciation to the global LGBT community for its courage and determination during the past 40 years, and I offer our support for the significant work that still lies ahead.    » read more »

Sends letter after reports of mistreatment of students in Pennsylvania

May 26, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asia Affairs, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to investigate the Department of State’s oversight of U.S. youth exchange programs following reports of abuse and mistreatment of nine foreign exchange students in Pennsylvania.    » read more »