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Civil and Constitutional Rights, Liberties, and Human Rights
Latest Statements, Briefings, and Hearings

Here are summaries of and links to recent web sites and documents relevant to Civil and Constitutional Rights, Liberties, and Human Rights

Remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, in Doha, Qatar
February 14, 2010

The ties between the United States and Muslim countries and communities stretch back to America's earliest days. Morocco was the first nation to recognize American independence. Later, we supported the emergence of independent Muslim-majority states after decades of colonial rule. Americans helped establish what are still some of the finest universities in this region. And we, in turn, have been enriched by a long tradition of educational exchanges. Soldiers and sailors from U.S. and Muslim-majority countries have stood side by side in peace-keeping missions worldwide, and we have worked together to rebuild after devastating natural disasters, including the 2004 tsunami, the 2005 earthquake, and now, of course, in Haiti. And the United States joins with other nations to protect Muslims in Bosnia and Darfur from violence and suffering.

So we have a lot to reflect on that is already the substance of our relationship, and what we have accomplished together. But we know that our shared purpose and values have often been obscured by suspicion and misunderstanding. It is time, as President Obama said in his speech in Cairo, for a new beginning based on a commitment to open dialogue and equal partnership, a new beginning that confronts the tensions between us and commits all of us to doing the hard work necessary to resolve them, a new beginning that acknowledges we each have a role and a responsibility in solving the common problems we face.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/02/136678.htm (Text of the remarks)

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/02/136687.htm (Text of the Q and A session)

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/02/136690.htm (Interview with al-Jazeera)

More Than Elections: How Democracies Transfer Power
eJournal USA, State Department, January 2010

Our contributors link peaceful transitions to a vibrant civil society. These voluntary civic and social organizations, they argue, engage and inform citizens, and instill a shared expectation that democracy is legitimate and undemocratic action is not. The essays gathered here explore transitions of power in the United States and other nations. We also examine a 21st-century development: how new social media technologies can strengthen civil society and thus bolster democracy.

A number of contributors point out that democracies are stable because election losers know that no victory is permanent, that winners cannot change the rules of future contests, and that losers can compete and win another day.

http://www.america.gov/publications/ejournalusa/0110.html

Background Briefing on Plans to Elevate and Strengthen Development as One of the Three Pillars of the Nation's Foreign Policy
State Department, Background briefing, January 6, 2010

And so the Food Security Initiative, as an important initiative announced by the President earlier this year, is in response to countries that often have their total gross domestic product – more than 30 percent of that coming from the agriculture sector, more than 60 percent of total employment in agriculture, and often more than 70 or 80 percent of that is of average disposable income spent on food.

Countries that have those attributes have been, over the past few years, increasingly asking for a more focused and strategic investment set of activities in food security and agricultural development. That’s why the President developed and launched the Food Security Initiative, and that will be an important part of taking this forward.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/01/134787.htm

Updated: February 17, 2009.