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Posts Tagged ‘Lithuania’

Hillary Clinton: Wheels Up for Europe

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Belgium, Foreign Policy, Germany, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, NATO, Secretary of State, State Department, Switzerland, The Netherlands, U.S. Department of State on December 4, 2011| 10 Comments »

Secretary Clinton to Travel to Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

December 5, 2011

On December 4-8, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. In Bonn, Germany, Secretary Clinton will lead the United States’ high-level, interagency delegation to the International Conference for Afghanistan on December 5. The Bonn Conference, the first of its kind to be chaired solely by the Afghan government, will be an opportunity to review progress achieved since 2001 and highlight the strong international support for Afghanistan through transition and beyond. In Bonn, the government of Afghanistan and the international community will engage in mutual commitments to secure the gains already achieved and pave the way for an increasingly self-sustainable Afghanistan.

The Secretary will then travel December 6 to Vilnius, Lithuania, where she will participate in the OSCE ministerial, as well as meet with Lithuanian officials and with Belarusian and a wide range of other civil society representatives from across the OSCE region.

On December 6, the Secretary will visit Geneva, Switzerland to deliver remarks commemorating International Human Rights Day, which falls later that week. On December 7 in Geneva, she will speak at the ministerial event commemorating the 60th and 50th anniversaries of the Refugee and Statelessness conventions. The Secretary will also deliver the U.S. national statement at the Biological and Toxin Weapons (BWC) Review Conference, where we hope to revitalize international efforts against biological threats.

Later that day, the Secretary will travel to Brussels, Belgium, for ministerial-level meetings of the North Atlantic Council, the NATO-Russia Council, and with ISAF partners to discuss Afghanistan on December 7-8.

The Secretary will conclude her trip with a December 8 visit to The Hague, the Netherlands, where she will deliver the keynote address at the opening of a ministerial conference on Internet freedom that will launch a cross-regional, multi-stakeholder coalition committed to promoting the freedoms of expression, association, and assembly online.

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Hillary Clinton’s Interview With Rita Miliute of Lithuanian National TV

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on July 1, 2011| 8 Comments »

Interview With Rita Miliute of Lithuanian National TV

Interview

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Embassy Vilnius

Vilnius, Lithuania

July 1, 2011

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, former First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt only allowed female reporters to her press conferences, forcing – so editors to hire women. Do such methods – should be taken in our days for similar reasons, for – strengthen positions of women?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think that’s a very interesting question. Eleanor Roosevelt is someone whom I admire greatly, and because she would only be interviewed by women reporters, she forced newspapers to hire more women. I think that that is probably not necessary in today’s world because you’re sitting there and I am frequently interviewed by very able women reporters. But I do think that focusing on women’s rights and equality for women remains a very big issue for the world today.

QUESTION: But anyway, you are one of the most powerful, if not most powerful, women of the world. Do you agree with the words of one prominent Lithuanian diplomat who resided in Russian Federation and in Soviet Russia after its transformation? So he said, “Small countries are like coins, like a change in the hands of super states being used to pay their debts.” These words were said more than half a century ago, but what about today?

SECRETARY CLINTON: That is such an unfortunate sentiment, and it is one that we should reject completely. Just look at what Lithuania has accomplished in the last 20 years – not only your independence, but a thriving democracy, economic progress. There is so much to be proud of, and Lithuania is indeed a model. Some large countries should look to Lithuania if they want to learn about democracy and human rights and how to have a stable, prosperous society.

QUESTION: Dick Cheney, the U.S. vice president, delivering a speech here in Vilnius a few years ago, said that Russia’s deepening slide into authoritarianism and is willing to use oil and gas reserves as a political weapon. Have things changed since 2006?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think what has changed is a recognition by many countries, my own certainly included, that energy security is part of national security. Ever since I’ve been Secretary of State, I have had a team of people working on the whole question of energy security in Europe. Because we don’t have any objection with Russia or anyone selling gas to customers, but we don’t want to see unfair competition, we don’t want to see monopolistic practices, and we want to encourage European countries to do more to become energy-independent. And that’s why I was very impressed with the law that your parliament has just passed to have a national energy-independent strategy.

QUESTION: Official in Vilnius also declared the idea to create – to found energetic security research center. It was in NATO (inaudible) —

SECRETARY CLINTON: (Sneezed.) Excuse me, sorry. I apologize.

QUESTION: Do you see any (inaudible) of such a center and how it could affect both energetic security of Lithuania and relations with Russia?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I’m very interested in this Lithuanian idea, and we think more emphasis has to be paid to helping countries become energy-secure. If a center could contribute to that, it would be a worthy idea. But in the meantime, I think what Lithuania is doing to try to diversify your energy supply, looking at the ways of having solidarity in the region with the Baltic countries, to have more energy supplies that can be shared, I think that’s the most urgent priority right now.

QUESTION: Let’s talk about defense. Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed concern regarding European countries because they are not keen to assign proper budgets for defense needs. Is under-financing of defense causing danger for Lithuanian security?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I think what Secretary Gates was doing was sounding the warning bell. There is not an immediate danger. We take our Article 5 collective security obligations very seriously. And in fact, it is under the Obama Administration that we’re now doing the kind of contingency planning that is necessary to reassure all of our allies.

But I think Secretary Gates has a good point, and that is the United States has historically carried most of the load – disproportionately – for the financing of NATO because our defense expenditures are so high. And what we want to see is not only steady, and in some cases, increased defense budgets, but we want to see more cooperation so that assets can be shared. There is a lot of ways that regional economies can be obtained by having countries work together within NATO, and we want to see that occur.

QUESTION: Here, we come to the quote that belongs to you, and I would like to remind – you have said, “At the end of the day, no one on his or her deathbed ever says, ‘I wish I had spent more time at the office.’” So how to draw the balance line between professional aims and obligations and personal life, and expectations of the children to see mommy not just for the bedtime story only?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think it’s one of the biggest challenges that people face, particularly women. Trying to balance family responsibilities and outside professional responsibilities is a never-ending balancing act. And every woman has to do it for herself; there’s no formula for how to do it. But certainly, I think the most important thing in life is really your family responsibilities and how you raise children. And I have an adult daughter who I see a lot, but I don’t have to care for her like I did when she was a toddler or going to school or even keeping an eye out for her as a teenager. So these different stages of life demand different responses.

QUESTION: I have one more question about the history. With all the respect of – to United States for its long recognition of policy, America was among the states who approved Potsdam, Yalta, and Tehran agreements which divided Europe to – into the spheres of influence after the World War Second. And no regrets for this have ever been declared. Is it possible that someday, Washington will do this, sending a strong message that United States will never tolerate any double standards in all possible areas, meaning politics, sexual equality, rights equality, et cetera?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I think it’s fair to say that the United States has long believed that we should not have double standards. And sometimes in the decisions one has to make as a nation, there are bad choices and worse choices, and one tries to figure out how to save the most lives, how to provide the most support for the values that we share, and that was certainly the case after World War II, such a horrific war that took so many tens of millions of lives, and I think everyone was hoping that there could be peace. And certainly, from our perspective, we fought hard to prevent the march of communism and we never gave up on seeing the Baltic countries free again.

QUESTION: In 2003, you wrote that preserving your marriage and running for senator were the most difficult decisions of your life. Which one was harder to make?

SECRETARY CLINTON: They’re both difficult. Running for the Senate was a hard decision. Accepting President Obama’s offer to be Secretary of State was a hard decision. Everybody faces hard decisions in their life, and you do the best you can, and hopefully things work out.

QUESTION: Can you share your future plans, your professional future career plans?

SECRETARY CLINTON: I don’t know what they are. I know that I’ve had a great privilege and honor representing my country, and I’m looking forward to the next 18 months of hard work on behalf of the United States. And then I’ll do something else, but what it is right now, I don’t know.

QUESTION: Many thanks.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, nice to talk with you.

Clinton Code Translator:
1.

I’m looking forward to the next 18 months of hard work on behalf of the United States.

Yes, 18 months of hard work on behalf of the U.S. but she does not say “as SOS.”
2.

And then I’ll do something else, but what it is right now, I don’t know.

I have a few plans. I can’t tell you right now which one I am going to employ.

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Video: Secretary Clinton’s Remarks at the Community of Democracies Ministerial

Posted in Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, Uncategorized, tagged Community of Democracies, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on July 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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Remarks at Community of Democracies Ministerial

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

LitExpo Center

Vilnius, Lithuania

July 1, 2011

Thank you very much, Minister Azubalis, and thank you for your vigorous leadership of the Community of Democracies during the Lithuanian chairmanship. And I especially appreciate the president being here to welcome all of us, and to be joined by so many distinguished representatives of government, civil society, business, young people, and women.

I think it is important that we use this session to take stock of where we are 10 years on, after the Community of Democracies was begun. And it is a perfect place to do that, here in Lithuania. Today the streets outside this hall are peaceful. But 20 years ago they were filled with Soviet tanks. And they rang out with the chants of protestors and the shouts of soldiers. The world held its breath.

Thankfully, those tanks retreated, and the Soviet empire began to crumble. But the future was far from certain. The transitions to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe were fraught with challenges. In the former Yugoslavia, ethnic strife sparked years of war. In some former Soviet republics – including next door in Belarus – authoritarianism retained an iron grip. And in nearly every newly-free nation, wrenching economic and social changes tested the resolve of people.

But today, here in Lithuania and across most of Europe, democracy is thriving. Protesters who helped bring down Communism went on to raise up strong democratic institutions and civil society. Leaders put the needs of their countries and their peoples ahead of their personal interests. So this region has become a model for the world, and its experiences – both the struggles and the successes – have taken on new relevance in recent days, because the world is once again holding its breath.

This year we have seen citizens across the Middle East and North Africa demand the same universal rights, dignity, and opportunity that Eastern and Central Europeans claimed two decades ago. Again, the future is uncertain. It is too soon to tell whether democratic institutions, pluralism, and the rule of law will emerge, or if those hopes will prove little more than a mirage in the desert.

What we do know is the outcome will be determined by the people themselves. And this moment belongs to them, particularly the young people who have inspired the world with their courage.

But I would argue that all of us here in this Community of Democracies have a stake in that outcome and a responsibility to help. We see our own stories in theirs. And we know that, just as any one democracy depends on people working together, a community of democracy depends on all nations, not only working together, but renewing our commitment. And we believe that established democracies have a special duty to help those that are emerging because these new democracies are fighting for their life. There are vicious autocrats clinging to power. There are interest groups pretending to support democracy, and only waiting until they can assume power. This is an hour of need, and every democracy should stand up and be counted.

Unfortunately, there is no playbook that we can pass on to those struggling to form their own democracies with a clear outline of the steps that can be taken and the results that will be assured, like a recipe in the kitchen. Every transition in every country in every era is unique. Here in the Baltics, citizens could draw on centuries of democratic traditions. People in the Middle East and North Africa are, in many ways, navigating uncharted territory.

But for all the differences, there are shared lessons. And we need to be sure we learn them and apply them, to take that hard-earned wisdom and put it to work. Because from Europe to Latin America to Africa to Asia, people have learned the fundamentals of successful democratic transitions: accountable institutions rooted in the rule of law; equal protection and participation for all citizens, especially women; a vibrant civil society; a free press; an independent judiciary and economic opportunity; integration into the international community and its norms and institutions; and leaders who understand that legitimacy flows from consent, not coercion.

Today I want to say a few words about these lessons and how they can help bring new members into the Community of Democracies.

First, we have learned that sustainable democracies are built on the strength of institutions that guarantee the rule of law and universal rights, including freedoms of assembly, association, expression, and religion.

Amid all the graffiti that covers the public spaces in Libya today, one message painted on a wall in the town of Derna stands out. It reads: “We want a country of institutions.” That means, among other things, independent courts, a free press, competitive political parties, and responsive government agencies. And yet, in my conversations with so many who are so eager to help lead the way to democracy in their own countries, these concepts are very difficult to understand and to apply.

But there are examples. In the 1990s, Estonia used cutting-edge technology to deliver unprecedented accountability and transparency. Twenty years on, expenditures from the budget can be tracked online in real time, government archives are paperless and open, investors can register a business in a matter of minutes – the quickest in the world – and citizens can vote online.

So today, Estonians are helping more than 25 countries around the world follow their example, including a number of projects in the Middle East, where in too many places bribery is rampant, institutions are corrupt, and political parties are repressed.

The region’s new democratic transitions can change that. I want to acknowledge Tunisia establishing an independent Electoral Commission, made up of jurists and civil society leaders. And we hope that transitional authorities in Egypt will invite international observers to witness their upcoming elections. Because while democracy is about far more than voting, free and fair elections are essential. And they require a level playing field for political parties, a free press, and transparent voting procedures. That’s the standard that all citizens have a right to expect, whether they are voting in Tunis, Cairo, or Moscow, for that matter.

Now, a second lesson of successful transitions is that democracy only works when there is equal protection and equal participation for every citizen, including women, ethnic and religious minorities and young people, because transitions can be particularly perilous for these groups. They are often the first to be excluded. But when they are included, they enrich and strengthen new democracies. We saw this in Poland, where women kept Solidarity alive when thousands of men were imprisoned. And after the revolution, they kept organizing. They ran for office. And the underground newspaper they started in the Gdansk shipyard became one of the most important publications in a free Poland.

In the Middle East and North Africa, women have marched, blogged, and put their lives on the line. But as I discussed last night, they have seen their participation limited in this transition period. One Egyptian woman recently remarked, “The men were keen for me to be there when we were demanding Mubarak should go. But now that he has gone, they want me to go home.”

This is not just a problem for women. It’s a problem for men too. It’s a problem for every citizen. And it’s a problem for the community of democracies. I hope that what we will do is make it very clear that, as parties are organized, as platforms are written, as campaigns are waged, and elections are won, no one can claim to be representing the democratic will if their intention is to marginalize women. We are watching closely the parties that are forming in countries like Tunisia and Egypt, and we have said we are, in the United States, willing to engage with parties that are pledged to non-violence and the political process. But we expect every party in a democracy to recognize the rights of women.

We are also watching closely to make sure that what happened in the Balkans in the 1990s does not reoccur. Ethnic and religious minorities are at risk. I remember talking with a group of Bosnians shortly after the Dayton Accords were agreed to. It was a group of Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. And one woman said that when the violence started she asked a friend, “How could this be happening? We’ve known each other for so long. We’ve been at each other’s families’ weddings and funerals. Why is this happening?” And her friend replied, “We were told that if we didn’t do this to you, you would do it to us.” That’s what they read in the newspaper, and that’s what they heard on the radio. It’s what extremists whispered in the night.

Today, the people of North Africa and the Middle East need to resist those whispers. This year, violent attacks from Egypt to Iraq to Pakistan have killed scores of religious and ethnic minorities. These fault lines cannot be permitted to open up. They will swallow the hopes for a better future for all.

And finally, young people cannot be left behind when the action moves from the streets to the parliaments. In many of these countries today, young people actually represent a majority. And transitional authorities must work with them to meet their aspirations. But young people themselves must enter the political process. When I visited Cairo this spring and met with young activists, they were still searching for unity and for their next goal. They need to organize and be part of politics, if they expect to see change take hold and be sustainable.

It also takes far-sighted leadership for this to work. And that is the obvious third lesson. We have seen great examples of leadership in transitions. Nelson Mandela is certainly the prime example. But too often we see leaders who derail the transitions, who put their own interests or the interests of their group ahead of the national interest, leaders who think democracy is one election, one time, or who rig elections to favor those already in power. That is not democracy. That is the path back to dictatorship. And we have seen revolution give way to repression in places like Iran.

So we need leaders to be held accountable. And we need to ensure that they know what is expected of them in a democracy. We saw it here in Central and Eastern Europe, as poets and professors rose to become presidents and prime ministers, and then stepped aside for other statesmen to take their place.

Fourthly, healthy democracies depend on healthy civil societies. We see it here in the Baltic States, where journalists are exposing official corruption and helping bring accountability to government. We see it in the Middle East and North Africa, in so many examples of people who are putting everything on the line.

But we have to protect civil society. And I thank the Community of Democracies for establishing a new alert system to galvanize a global response when governments propose laws that would restrict civil society. Five times we have raised the alarm, and five times the law has not passed. We have also worked with partners to establish a fund to help NGOs resist repression. We call it the Lifeline. And I thank all of the countries who are supporting this effort.

We think that engaging with civil society, as the United States is doing in our new strategic dialogue with civil society, helps us know better about how to help them. They are the ones going to prison, they are the ones being beaten up, they are the ones on the front lines of democracy.

And the fifth lesson is that democracy has to deliver for people a sense of dignity — intangible, but essential — and economic opportunities. In post-Communist Europe, governments made difficult decisions as they refashioned the social safety net and opened their markets. They knew that painful though it was, free markets unleashed human potential. Today, in so many of those places struggling to become democracies, the economies are stunted by cronyism and corruption. So we have to also work for economic reform.

We are hoping to launch Enterprise Funds to invest in Tunisia and Egypt, as we did in the Baltics at the beginning of their transitions. We are working with our European partners to refocus the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to support economic modernization in the Middle East and North Africa. And we join with the EU and the G8 to offer a new vision for regional trade and economic integration.

Democracies flourish when they are connected to and supported by other democracies. That is why this organization is as important as it has ever been. It was created almost as a looking back at how much had been accomplished in 2000. But now it needs to be vibrant and responsive to what lies ahead. And I applaud the Lithuanian chairmanship for the reforms that the community has adopted under its leadership. And we need to be doing more to prepare for the next meeting under the chairmanship of Mongolia.

I think it’s critical that the new partnership challenge formed by the community will include, as the first two participants, Tunisia and Moldova, who each will be paired with an international task force of activists and experts. And we thank the Dutch and the Slovaks for taking the lead in Tunisia. And Poland and the United States will co-chair the task force for Moldova. We will contribute $5 million from USAID to support this new initiative.

So, as we look forward to help those who are emerging, let us also be clear that we must prevent any setbacks to democracy in our own countries and regions. We should speak out when countries like Belarus brutally repress the rights of its citizens, or where we see opposition figures facing politically-motivated prosecution, or governments refusing to register political parties.

So, we have a very healthy agenda. But I don’t know of any more important work that could be done in the world today. Let us be sure that we support these new democracies, and we keep moving ourselves toward perfecting our own democracies. I think we are up to the challenge, but it does need a community of democracies to make sure we meet it.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

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Secretary Clinton’s Remarks With Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, U.S. Department of State, tagged Dalia Grybauskaite, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, U.S. Department of State on July 1, 2011| 5 Comments »

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Remarks With Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite After their Meeting

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Presidential Palace

Vilnius, Lithuania

July 1, 2011

MODERATOR: (In progress) and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. First, statements by the President and Secretary of State. Later, two questions. I advise the President of Lithuania to begin (inaudible).

PRESIDENT GRYBAUSKAITE: (Via translator) In the international stage and also in bilateral relations we have many mutual points of contacts, and our interests were in the progress of our conversation. Firstly, (inaudible) security, military security, and also the neighborhood, democratization processes, and opportunities to help those countries who need our help.

It is in the framework of NATO and the European Union and also in direct relations with the United Nations, Lithuania sees energy security as of primary urgency. I am very pleased that our nuclear energy projects has attracted interest of — to foreign companies, including an American company, and Lithuanian Government will be now assessing the bids. I am happy that the project has attracted international interest.

We also discussed the wish of the neighboring countries to build a nuclear power plant around Lithuania. We need to ensure their nuclear safety, not only Lithuania, but also beyond this border. And I heard the Secretary’s support in this respect. We also spoke about military security and the challenges that face us in the global space, firstly in the near neighborhood, and also in the far neighborhood. We also discussed cooperation and the benefits that both of our countries have when our people travel and have close personal contacts, and we discussed people-to-people contacts.

So, there was a range of issues that we discussed. And I am delighted that the Secretary of State expressed the support and understanding of the United States on all the issues that we discussed.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, Madam President, and it is a great honor for me to be once again in Lithuania, an example to the world of what democracy can deliver for people, and also a strong ally and partner.

We did have a broad-ranging discussion, and I appreciate greatly the cooperation that exists between the United States and Lithuania. Lithuania is making a major contribution in Afghanistan, where it trains police and helicopter pilots, and leads a provincial reconstruction team in Ghor Province.

Lithuania also takes seriously its responsibilities as a NATO ally, and so do we. So that is why we are working together, not only to advance security and democracy, but most importantly to emphasize the core mission of NATO: our solemn commitment to each other under Article V of the Washington Treaty to collective self-defense.

We also discussed Lithuania’s efforts to achieve a secure, sustainable, and safe supply of energy. We strongly support Lithuania’s energy independence strategy, which includes regional development of nuclear power, liquefied natural gas, unconventional oil and gas, as well as gas and electricity links between the Baltic States and the rest of the European Union. By focusing on regional cooperation and energy security, Lithuania is strengthening its own independence, but also the independence and security of its neighbors. And we are especially pleased to see United States companies being considered to take part in these important projects.

2011 is a banner year for Lithuania on the world stage. As chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Lithuania has been instrumental in raising awareness of the very difficult situation in Belarus. Together, we demand that Belarus release political prisoners and embark on a path of democratic reform, because it seems very sad for the people of Belarus that they stand in such stark contrast to their neighbors. And it reminds us that building a whole and free Europe is still an unfinished task.

We look to Lithuania for its leadership as host of the OSCE ministerial conference in December. All of us are inspired by the progress we have seen over the last 20 years in Lithuania. But we know that there is still more to be done, and we appreciate greatly all of the steps that Lithuania is taking.

I am especially pleased to be here for the Community of Democracies, and to have this opportunity to strengthen our bonds as fellow democracies. And I greatly appreciated the President’s co-hosting of the forum yesterday on women and democracy. So, for me it is a personal pleasure to be here in Lithuania and to see the great progress that is being made on behalf of the people of this country. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Now, (inaudible) questions. One question from American journalist and one question from Lithuanian journalist. Question for American journalist , Mr. Schmidt, AFP Agency.

QUESTION: Good morning. The State Department said earlier this week that the opposition meeting in Damascus signaled a step in the right direction for the Syrian regime. Then yesterday we saw troops sweep into new villages in the northwest and protests erupting in Aleppo. So, what, Madam Secretary, is your assessment of this situation? Was allowing this opposition meeting a real move toward (inaudible) change, or just a sham? Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Christophe, it doesn’t appear that there is a coherent and consistent message coming from Syria. We know what they have to do. They must begin a genuine transition to democracy. And allowing one meeting of the opposition in Damascus is not sufficient action toward achieving that goal. So I am disheartened by the recent reports of continued violence on the borders and in Aleppo, where demonstrators have been beaten, attacked with knives by government-organized groups and security forces.

It is absolutely clear that the Syrian Government is running out of time. There isn’t any question about that. They are either going to allow a serious political process that will include peaceful protest to take place throughout Syria and engage in a productive dialogue with members of the opposition and civil society, or they are going to continue to see increasingly organized resistance. We regret the loss of life, and we regret the violence. But this choice is up to the Syrian Government. And right now we are looking for action, not words, and we haven’t seen enough of that.

MODERATOR: And question for Lithuanian journalist, (inaudible).

QUESTION: (Via translator) I would like to pose two questions, one to Madam Hillary, and then perhaps to the Lithuanian President. Firstly, why is it that the United States (inaudible) supports the nuclear power plant that is soon to be built in Belarus? This question is of great concern to Lithuania.

And the second question is with respect to the events in (inaudible) today. We are now speaking about democracy, human rights. And in this context in Lithuania we still have some accusations that have not been dispersed. Only several kilometers off from (inaudible) there was a secret CIA imprisonment facility where human rights might have been violated. Does the United States think that the transparency should exist in this sphere as well? Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, let me say, with respect to the proposed plant in Belarus, we have made clear that even though Belarus, like any country, has a right to explore civil nuclear power as an energy option, we have deep concerns about safety and security. Any plant would have to operate under the full IAEA safeguards. The plant would have to be initiated and established in a transparent, commercial process.

And so, any support that you have heard from us is abstract, because it is contingent on all of the conditions that I have just mentioned. And we understand — the President has made very clear — Lithuanian concerns about the location of the plant, in addition to the safety, the security, the maintenance operation, and all the other issues that we also have raised. Part of what we hope to see are guarantees about safety and security, and we certainly encourage that there be consultations about any location issues that could be considered problematic for Lithuania. I think we are a long way from that, but if Belarus were to pursue this idea of a plant, we would expect the international community to demand the highest standards of transparency, safety, and security.

With respect to your second question, I cannot comment on that. And I think it is clear that in the Obama Administration there has been a very transparent process that we have followed with respect to the problems that we all face because of the global terrorist threat.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

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Secretary Clinton’s Remarks in Vilnius On Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, U.S. Department of State, Vilnius on June 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

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Remarks On Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Radisson Hotel Lietuva

Vilnius, Lithuania

June 30, 2011

Thank you very much, Minister Azubalis, and thank you for Lithuania’s leadership with the Community of Democracies and with the OSCE. It’s a real privilege for me to be with all of you this evening for this Civil Society Strategic Dialogue. I know that around this table and in this audience are men and women of extraordinary courage and commitment. And as the minister said, we thought it was important to expand our dialogues beyond governments, and in fact to engage in an ongoing discussion with civil society at the same level that we do with governments around the world.

The foreign minister joined me in Washington for this launch of a Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society in February. And I want to introduce the team of people who have helped to lead this effort with me: our Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, Michael Posner; Tomicah Tillemann, our Special Advisor on Civil Society and Emerging Democracies; and others from our State Department in Washington, because what we hope is that this is an ongoing networking and discussion that can assist those of you who are on the front lines, doing the hard work of creating space for freedom, democracy, and opportunity.

In Krakow last July, when we met with the Community of Democracies, I spoke then about the critical importance of civil society and the many challenges facing civil society, but I don’t think – I’ll speak for myself; I certainly did not foresee all of the changes that would occur in just half a year. We saw in Tunisia the beginning of a great movement for freedom, and we saw one of the most efficient authoritarian regimes give way to citizens demanding their basic rights. In Egypt, we saw a peaceful movement based on simple ideas of dignity and democracy, and a call for transformative change. And yet, at the same time, we have seen governments unleash brutal waves of repression against civil society around the world. We’ve seen staggering violence directed against activists in Syria and other parts of the Middle East. From Belarus to Bahrain to Burma, we’ve seen crackdowns and arrests. And there have been numerous efforts to enact regulations and legislation to restrict and even eliminate your work.

I know that some of you are here at great personal risk, and I know you have left behind family, friends, and colleagues who continue that work at great personal risk. We come together today with our own causes and interests but as part of a community of shared values and a common commitment to human rights and freedoms. Because you are on the front lines, you understand better than any of us what is facing you, what you need from us, what tools could help you do the work that lies ahead. So for the next hour, I want to hear from you.

In Krakow last year, we made specific commitments to strengthen civil society and we’ve made some progress. Together, we have refocused the UN Human Rights Council on Defending Civil Society by seeing the passage of a historic resolution creating the first special rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association. We’ve convinced regional organizations like the Organization of American States to take up this cause. We’ve made strides in marshalling diplomatic pressure around the world to stand against civil society being put under threat. Canada has led a working group in the Community of Democracies, and five times we’ve come together when draft legislation anywhere threatened civil society, and five times the laws were not enacted.

Because technology both empowers and endangers your work, we are giving activists new tools to try to circumvent the many obstacles that governments are putting in your way. The United States has invested $50 million in supporting internet freedom and we’ve trained more than 5,000 activists worldwide. Right next door, there’s another one of our so-called tech camps, where we are training several dozen activists from around the world to be able to use technology and avoid being shut down by governments using technology against them. We are also increasing our funding to the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law so that when countries propose repressive laws, civil society has access to world class legal expertise. And finally, together with a consortium of NGOs, led by Freedom House and involving a dozen other countries, we created a fund called Lifeline. This fund will provide legal representation, cover medical bills arising from abuse, facilitate visits to activists in jail, and help replace equipment that is damaged or confiscated as a result of harassment.

So those are some of the promises we made and the promises we’ve kept, but we know there’s so much more to be done. You are changing your countries from within, and our priority is to do all we can to support you. So I look forward to hearing about what’s working and what’s not working, what we can do better, what we should stop doing, what we should do more of. And I thank you all for being with us as we take this time to take stock of where civil society is across the world.

And let me now turn it over to Assistant Secretary Posner.

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Secretary Clinton’s Remarks at TechCamp Vilnius

Posted in 21st Century Statecraft, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged 21st Century Statecraft, Alec Ross, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, TechCamp Vilnius, Technology, U.S. Department of State on June 30, 2011| 8 Comments »

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at TechCamp Vilnius, Thursday, June 30, 2011, in Vilnius, Lithuania. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Remarks on TechCamp Vilnius

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Alec Ross
Senior Advisor for Innovation

Radisson Hotel Lietuva

Vilnius, Lithuania

June 30, 2011

SECRETARY CLINTON: I want to thank Alec and Katie and everybody from the State Department team who are here as part of this tech camp. Alec Ross has been my right hand on all that we’re doing on internet freedom, and then the actual, practical day-to-day work that you’re talking about here. And I have to just thank you for being part of this tech camp. How many tech camps have we run now, Alec?

MR. ROSS: This is the third.

SECRETARY CLINTON: This is the third. And what we are finding as we do these around the world – because we had – didn’t we have a tech camp in Indonesia?

MR. ROSS: We did.

SECRETARY CLINTON: It’s almost miraculous, the way people come together to meet each other, to truly network in person as well as electronically. And then not so long after, there were these terrible mudslides and awful catastrophes in Indonesia, and the people who’d been at the tech camp put together a network to be able to bring relief supplies and help families get connected up with one another. So whether it’s Indonesia or it’s Haiti or it’s Lithuania, we believe that creating these opportunities to empower all of you with whatever information and ideas we can put on the table is a very important part of how we support civil society.

I think any society needs three strong legs, if you think about a society as a stool. You need open, responsive, accountable, effective government. You need open, free, dynamic markets. And you need creative, innovative, persistent civil society. And one of those missing means you’re not going to have what you need. If you have a government that doesn’t work, or you have a market that doesn’t empower people, or you have a civil society that is oppressed, you won’t get the maximum benefit that every society should be able to provide to individuals so that each individual can live up to his or her own God-given potential.

So I don’t want to interrupt the work you’re doing because that’s what you’re here for. And it’s not only to look at charts like that – (laughter) – but to look at each other, and to meet each other, and to bring solidarity with each other in order to maximize your impact and those with whom you work as we keep moving toward a world where we have more freedom, more democracy, more opportunity and equality.

So with that, I’m going to ask Alec to come back here. He’s the guy who’s actually leading our efforts. And one of the things that we’re doing is not only these tech camps but also coming up with new apps, new technology, new ways of empowering you. And we know very well that for every advance in technology that you can make as individuals, there are forces that will also try to undermine that and will try to use the very same tools as a means of subverting and repressing. So we have to add to our numbers and we have to be willing to keep coming up with new ways of getting over, under, around, and through the walls and other techniques that are used to prevent people from freely communicating.

Those of you who know something about our country and our Constitution know that we enshrined in our First Amendment freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly. I don’t think George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, as smart as they were, could have imagined the internet, but the basic value and principle remains the same. Just as meeting in a physical place should be available, so should meeting on the internet be made available, and that’s why I made internet freedom one of the highest priorities of my time as Secretary of State.

So thank you all for being part of what is truly a movement, a global movement. And I’ll turn it back to Alec and to his team from the State Department, and I’ll look forward to hearing some stories about what came out of this tech camp the way I heard about it from the other tech camps that we’ve had. Thank you all very much.

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Remarks: Hillary Clinton at Women Enhancing Democracy

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, Women in Government, Women's Issues, tagged Atifete Jahjaga, Dalia Grybauskaite, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, Tarja Halonen, U.S. Department of State on June 30, 2011| 12 Comments »

At this milestone event we see Mme. Secretary with the President of Lithuania, the host country, Dalia Grybauskaite, Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, and Atifete Jahjaga, President of Kosovo. You cannot blame me if I feel a slight pang for not being able to call HRC “Mme. President” among these women leaders. It is obvious that they consider her a respected colleague.

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Remarks at Women Enhancing Democracy Event

Remarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State

Presidential Palace

Vilnius, Lithuania

June 30, 2011

(In progress) and thank you for your patience. I appreciate greatly being here for this important conference as part of the Community of Democracies beginning its second decade. And I want to acknowledge those who are on the podium with me. Thank you, Wendy, for that introduction; and Margot Wallstrom, thank you for the work you’re doing; and my friend, the president from Finland who has been a great leader in so many of these issues for so long; and my friend and our host and our ally in this important conference, Dalia, thank you so much for everything that you have done.

It is such a pleasure for the United States to be co-chairing the Community of Democracies Working Group on Gender Equality and the Promotion of the Rights of Women with a trailblazer when it comes to women in politics. And I am delighted to see in the audience so many distinguished leaders from across the world. In addition to the presidents of Finland and Lithuania, we have also Mongolia, Kosovo; I know Cathy Ashton will also be part of this important conference. And I’m also told by our global ambassador for women’s issues, Melanne Verveer, that the conversation has already been very productive.

I think this is an important time for us all to pause and take stock of where we are as democracies and whether we are fulfilling the promise and potential that we so believed in over the last decades. When the Soviet Union collapsed here in Europe, we knew that there was a lot of work to be done to build democratic institutions, to ensure the rule of law, accountability, transparency, protection of minorities, a free press, an independent judiciary, and so much else. But we also knew that if democracy did not deliver in tangible ways, in improving the lives of people, there would be great disappointment. And it was essential that women, half the population, needed to be given the opportunity to fully experience the benefits of freedom.

I’m not sure we could have foreseen even 10 or 11 years ago how much progress has been made. Just look at Lithuania today. Not only has it conducted a very successful chairmanship of the Community of Democracies, but it is setting a high standard for the rest of us – a female president, a female speaker of parliament, a female finance minister, and a female defense minister. Why, pretty soon, they’re going to start comparing Lithuania to Finland. (Laughter.) (Applause.) And what Central and Eastern Europe have proven is that democracy without the full rights and responsibilities guaranteed and the full participation welcomed of women is a contradiction. And so we can look at this region and see an enormous amount of progress. But let’s be very honest with ourselves – there is still a long way to travel.

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, 20 percent of seats in parliaments worldwide are now held by women. I would add that’s a higher percentage than in my own country. And with one-half the population, there is simply no reason women should only be represented at one-fifth of the seats at the table. In too many places, still today, and in too many discussions affecting the futures of entire societies, women’s voices, their vital voices are underrepresented or absent altogether.

But as we look at new democracies taking hold, from Latin America to Africa and the Middle East and Asia, I think there are so many lessons that can be learned and applied from what happened here in Europe.

Think about the Polish women who ran a shipyard’s newspaper that helped bring about a revolution that truly did change the world. Think about a woman like Nasta Palazhanka of Belarus, who joined a youth protest movement at age 14 and continues to devote her life to bringing freedom and human rights to her country. Or think about a woman like Zane Olina, who returned home from a Fulbright Scholarship in America and created a corps of volunteer teachers to serve in poor Latvian communities, and she calls her program Mission Possible. And of course, we see it in the President of Lithuania, who as an economist and now as president, has helped to put and keep Lithuania on the path to prosperity.

So if we are looking for examples of individual leadership, of results, we have many we can share from Europe. Today, it is North Africa and the Middle East experiencing its own season of change, and we especially have to work together to ensure that all people – women, as well as men – are part of that change.

Across the region, we have seen on our own television screens how women have stood on the frontlines of the struggle for freedom and human rights. They have more than earned their place as equals in the democratic societies they have struggled to create, but we know that transitions to democracy are difficult. And we know that they come from the soil of preexisting cultures, and so we have to be sure that democratic change doesn’t leave women behind. We need to, for example, ensure that the new democratic Tunisia embraces and reaffirms its commitment to women’s equality.

The United States was disappointed to see only two Tunisian women appointed to the Transitional Government, but there is also some good news. In April, the commission responsible for drafting Tunisia’s new electoral code ruled that there must be full gender parity on election candidate lists and not just at the bottom of the lists, but from the top down. And for our part, we are supporting on-the-ground efforts to increase women’s participation in the political process.

In Egypt, we have seen steps both forwards and backwards. Women played an absolutely critical role in carrying out Egypt’s revolution, and yet Egypt’s constitutional committee does not have a single female member. When women marched to celebrate International Women’s Day, they were harassed and abused. As one woman put it, “The men were keen for me to be here when we were demanding that Mubarak should go. But now that he has gone, they want me to go home.” So the United States supports efforts like the Charter of Egyptian Women. Nearly 500,000 women and men and 500 NGOs signed on to a set of demands for the political, social, and economic rights of women in Egypt. And we will be funding a wide variety of programs to help Egyptian women as they exercise their roles as community leaders, business owners, and citizens.

And today, we are pleased to welcome women from across the Arab world, including Hoda Badran of the Alliance for Arab Women. It’s a sign of how important the relationships are between old, young, and new democracies that they have taken the time, as their countries undergo dramatic change, to be here with us today.

We also need an active effort to ensure that women are safe from violence in the political process, on the streets, in their homes. And we were very troubled by reports of sexual violence used by governments to intimidate and punish protesters seeking democratic reforms in some Middle Eastern and North African countries. We urge all governments to conduct immediate, transparent investigations to hold those responsible accountable.

Just this past week, the United States and the United Nations came together, as we often have, to once again stand up against violence that affects women and girls. We are particularly concerned about the Democratic Republic of Congo. We have committed more than $30 million to combat sexual and gender-based violence there. And we salute the Lithuanian parliament for making it clear that there is absolutely no safe space, in public or in private, for violence against women. This is not a private a concern. It is a matter of public interest and human rights.

I think we also have to remember, as we meet in this beautiful hall, talking about women and democracy, how many tens of millions, hundreds of millions, of women and girls in the world today don’t yet even have the basic necessities of life – deprived of education, deprived of health care, deprived of an opportunity to live up to their own God-given potential. And we will campaign for their rights, and we will work for the changes that are necessary.

But I also want to remind us to keep our eye on what happens every day in their lives, and look for ways we can make a difference. For example, the World Health Organization considers smoke from dirty cooking stoves to be one of the five most serious health risks affecting people in poor and developing countries. And who’s mostly hunched over those stoves, breathing that dirty air, harming their health, shortening their lives? Who mostly is wandering for hours looking for fuel, either trees and twigs or dung? Who is it that really bears the brunt of the work that is done day to day in most places in the world? Well, it is women and girls. And in an effort to try to provide clean cookstoves in 100 million homes by 2020, the United States, along with many other countries, led by the United Nations Foundation, is part of the Clean Cookstoves Global Alliance.

Because we think changing the conditions of women and girls must go hand-in-hand; their economic, political, and social empowerment must be addressed simultaneously.

This January, as a commitment to the Community of Democracies, the United States brought together more than 120 women from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus who own or wish to start small to medium-sized businesses to kick off the Invest for the Future Initiative. We want to help women across the world to train, network, and connect so that they too can start businesses to support themselves and their families, and eventually, employ their neighbors. And we will be expanding this program into Central Asia, the Balkans, Moldova, Belarus, and Ukraine.

We are especially appreciative of the work that has been done by so many of the European leaders represented here. We thank all of you for that support. I particularly want to thank the Scandinavian countries for the work you do to integrate refugees into your societies by giving women access to work and education, and by protecting women from the scourge of human trafficking. I want to acknowledge the programs that The Netherlands are running to train civil society leaders and business women in Afghanistan. And I want to thank Lithuania again for your support for women entrepreneurs in Georgia, Afghanistan, Belarus, and Ukraine.

We want to do more to figure out what it is women themselves want, because we don’t want to be in a position of imposing or trying to sell ideas that may or may not be responsive to the needs that women themselves have. Through the Gender Equality Working Group, we partnered with The Netherlands to put together dialogues with female civil society leaders. The first meeting was in Tunisia in May; it brought together women from Tunisia, Morocco, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon.

So our work is to help empower and enable, to convene and then to support. Our struggle is not just about the choices people make in the voting booth, it’s about all the choices that should be available to women today – to study, to take out a loan, to inherit money, to win custody of children, to start a business, to drive.

Sometimes dignity means nothing more profound than to walk safely to fetch water or visit a friend without fear that you’ll be beaten, harassed, or kidnapped. But for too many women in too many places, even these most basic rights remain a distant dream. Whether you are a woman in downtown Cairo or a mother in a small Indian village or a girl growing up right here in Vilnius or in New York City, we have to send a clear, unmistakable message that young women, just like young men, have the right to their dreams and their dignity in the 21^st century.

When you look back at the last 300 years of history, you can see a pattern. You can see that the 19^th century, the great human rights struggle was against organized slavery; the 20^th century, the great struggle was against totalitarianism; the great struggle of the 21^st century is to ensure that women are fully given the rights they have as human beings – in their families, in their societies, and in the world.

So let us work together, day by day, to make sure that when we meet again 10 years from now, we will be able to look back on progress, not only continuing progress in my country, which someday, perhaps, will match Finland and Lithuania with having a woman president – (laughter) – but in every country everywhere – (applause). And particularly, let those of us who enjoy the benefits of freedom, for whom legal restrictions and barriers have been broken down, and what remains are more internal, more psychological – let us be sure that we keep opening doors for those elsewhere. We cannot take any solace in our own freedoms when women elsewhere are denied those same rights.

So this is a great opportunity for us to come together and acknowledge that women’s progress is essential for global progress, and the United States stands with all of you as we make that progress together. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

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On Hillary Clinton’s Plane: Special Briefing En Route Budapest, Hungary

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Budapest, Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hungary, Lithuania, Secretary of State, Spain, State Department, U.S. Department of State on June 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Briefing En Route Budapest, Hungary

Special Briefing

Senior Department Official
Senior Official

Budapest, Hungary

June 29, 2011

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: So the Secretary is on her way to Budapest for the opening of the Tom Lantos Institute and her bilateral visit in Hungary. She will then go on to Vilnius, Lithuania for the Community of Democracies event and a bilateral visit there, and then onto Spain for a bilateral visit. To give you the flavor of this trip, we have two senior administration officials, and I will now turn it over to official number one.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: The Secretary is going to be able to visit three countries on this trip that she has not previously visited in her capacity as Secretary of State. And so that makes it a special trip for her and the countries involved. And she will on this trip do what we always do when we travel to Europe, which is advance our broad based and comprehensive partnership with Europe and with Europe abroad.

She’ll be talking across the board about the things that we are doing with and in support for these countries. She will look at internal developments, especially in the countries of Hungary and Lithuania as they mark 20-plus years of transition. She will also be looking at issues of economic adjustment, particularly in the country of Spain. And with all three of the countries she will be looking at the EU agenda as we collaborate with our EU partners, as all three of these countries are EU members. She will be working with them on our global agenda, as Europe is really the cornerstone of our global engagement, and she will be talking about the details of what we are doing to advance stability and democracy in every place from the Balkans to Afghanistan to Libya.

As part of our global engagement, one of the special themes of this entire trip and for each of her stops will be democracy and what we are doing together as democracies to advance the issues of human rights, fundamental freedoms, to perfect our own democracies, and to advance this agenda elsewhere. As you know, one of the issues that she has emphasized and that we are seeing on the ground is how difficult democratic transition can be and how important it is for us to seize moments of opportunity to make sure that we translate promise into reality, and as we do so, to make sure that we carry out a very special responsibility that we as established democracies, but also newer democracies, even like second generation democracies that have come through transition, to pay it forward and to help to use the assistance and the support, the lessons, and the experiences that we’ve gained to help others who are in the midst of their own struggle.

In Hungary, as you have heard already, the Secretary will start with the opening of the Lantos Institute, and there really will be two themes as part of that event. First is the extraordinary individual that Tom Lantos was as the only Holocaust survivor to be a member of Congress, a lifelong fighter for human rights and freedom, but also somebody who in the midst – in the course of his congressional tenure worked across partisan lines. And all of those themes will also carry over in terms of what the Lantos Institute is about, what it is set up to achieve, which is to advance democracy, inclusion, tolerance, bipartisan cooperation.

She will also meet with civil society leaders in Hungary that will allow her to carry on that message and that dialogue from the Lantos Institute, and she will be able to hear from political voices across the spectrum of Hungarian political life and to continue that dialogue. And then, of course, she will have a session with Prime Minister Orban, and in that session she will talk about all aspects of our wide-ranging partnership, the many areas on which we cooperate, everything from Libya, where Hungary is the protecting power for the United States, to Afghanistan, where they have 500 troops on the ground and lead a PRT or provincial reconstruction team, and to the EU agenda, where they are working on energy cooperation, issues relating to Roma, issues relating to Croatia’s accession into the European Union. And of course, as a friend and partner, we will also talk about advancing democracy, strengthening democracy within Hungary.

We will talk in greater detail later about the agendas in Lithuania and Spain, but just to touch very briefly for them now, when we arrive later in the day in Lithuania after the Hungary stop, the Secretary will take part in an event on women enhancing democracy. This will include over 20 women leaders from the Middle East, Europe, elsewhere around the world. It is an event that is co-chaired by the Lithuanian and Finnish presidents, but it will also include leaders from Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Slovakia. It is women’s rights and advancement of women is a key part of our human rights agenda. It’s the work that Ambassador Melanne Verveer has been engaged in. The U.S. and Lithuania are co-chair of the Community of Democracies Working Group on Gender Issues, and this will be an opportunity for the Secretary and all these women leaders to address the issues that are associated there.

The Secretary will then have a Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society that is a continuation of the Strategic Dialogue she launched in Washington. She is committed to hearing directly from the people who are on the ground working to advance democracy. She wants to know about the problems and the challenges they face, but also about where they see progress and potential, and to share ideas about the way forward. There are about 150 civil society leaders who will be present in Lithuania for an event associated with the Community of Democracies, and this will involve individuals from that group.

On Friday morning, the Secretary will attend the Community of Democracies ministerial, which will include representatives from about 130 countries around the world. And (inaudible) —

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: About 130.

QUESTION: Do you know some of the prominent participants from other countries?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: We can get you the list. We can get you the list and go over that. And here again, it is about the need to help each other. It is about a need to share lessons learned, talk openly, and see what we can do at this crucial time for action, when we’ve watched the events in Egypt and Tunisia, we’ve watched Arab Spring across the Middle East and Africa, and again, as I said before, to recognize the reality of how difficult transitions can be, the need for those in transition to get help, and the responsibility of those who have been through that transition, long ago or recently, to reach out and help.

The Secretary will also do a number of bilateral meetings in Lithuania. She will meet with the prime minister, the president, and the foreign minister to talk about everything from energy and economy to democracy in the neighborhood and particularly neighboring Belarus. She will touch on issues and the positive developments with the Lithuanian parliament’s recent passage of a Holocaust compensation bill. And she will join the Baltic foreign ministers in an event to commemorate the 20^th anniversary of Baltic independence.

And then, just lastly, on Saturday morning in Spain, the Secretary will meet with both the prime minister and the foreign minister. As you know, Spain is a longstanding and greatly valued ally in Afghanistan. They’re working together with us in Libya across the board, and it’s an opportunity for us to look again at the cooperation that we have underway, also, so many contemporary issues, especially as they relate to the economy and what we can do together across the broad range.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: Senior Official Two, anything to add?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: I think it’s useful to see this trip within the context of the one the President just completed, to – it’s useful to look at this trip by the Secretary of State in the context of the trip the President just completed to Europe in May because these themes are continuous across our Administration. As you know, when the President traveled, one of the principal themes of that trip was the importance of our alliance relationships in Europe. During that trip he visited four countries. On this trip, we will visit three very close allies, important allies, both within Europe and in meeting the global challenges that we face. And so one significant element the President (inaudible) is that we strengthen those alliance relationships because they’re so important to us as we work together to catalyze global action.

Second, as [Senior Administration Official One] said – as Senior Official Number One said – this trip is an important trip with respect to the themes of democracy, development, both within Europe and beyond. That was a very significant element of the President’s engagement in Poland on the last trip, the final stop on his trip. And there, we are working to consolidate democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, especially with regard to those countries that haven’t yet made a full and successful transition to democracy. Senior Official Number One mentioned Belarus, which we are very concerned about. There could well be significant protests and further violence today. We’re watching that very closely. And so we will be putting a spotlight on Belarus. We also have concerns about (inaudible) in Ukraine, and we have continued engagement with the Government of Ukraine to express our concerns there.

I’d also say, with regard to democracy in Europe, that there’s an important element of the continuing efforts to achieve an integrated Europe, and there we have encouraged the EU to keep its door open and to continue to welcome those countries that meet its standards for membership. And that’s a very important incentive to countries that have not made their full transition to democracy, to achieve that transition in order to join the EU.

Third, a major theme of the trip is, as Senior Official One mentioned and which, again, reflects an important element of what the President did during his trip to Europe in May, is to speak with our close allies about our global agenda. There we work with our allies – the ones we will be visiting during this trip – on the full range of issues that we face together in the world. These are significant contributors to Afghanistan; they’re involved in the Libya operation, both in the NATO command and control and also in terms of providing support for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolution. We work with them, on the advance of the Arab Spring, more broadly on democracy promotion outside of Europe, and we work with them on climate change, we work with them on a huge range of issues, all of which will be discussed in the bilateral meetings that the Secretary will conduct.

So I think that it’s important (inaudible) to see this as a trip that reflects the continuing of our engagement with Europe from the outset of this Administration and which was highlighted during the President’s (inaudible).

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: Thank you. We can take three of your questions.

QUESTION: You said that the United States is particularly concerned – very concerned about events in Belarus, where there could be more violence, and about backsliding in Ukraine. To what extent is the U.S. Government concerned about the treatment of the Roma in Hungary and also what some might describe as backsliding in Hungary with regard to the press law, the constitution, et cetera? And to what extent will the Secretary raise those issues, in public or in private, while she’s in Hungary?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: I’ll speak up. You don’t have to —

QUESTION: Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: We are concerned. Roma is an issue of particular interest for Secretary Clinton and for this Administration. We’ve worked together with Hungary during the course of their EU presidency on their efforts to develop an EU policy toward the Roma, and that is an issue that we look forward to discussing. As I said at the outset, we are also very interested to see the strengthening of democracy in Hungary. We want very much to support advancements on democracy in Hungary, and that will be a key part of our dialogue, both with civil society and with the Hungarian Government.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: I think you can expect the Secretary to speak to both of these issues tomorrow quite clearly.

QUESTION: Can I ask a question about – you were talking about alliances as a foundation for stability. I’m wondering if the Secretary is going to bring up at all Greece in the context of meetings with other EU members because of the potential instability that could spread from there. And more broadly – she references this in her speech as well, NATO and the EU being a great foundation for stability and so on, but recently we’ve seen Secretary Gates criticize NATO as being almost outmoded or at least in need of a new mission, and Greece does threaten the EU. So I’m just wondering if you have any concerns about that? I mean, it’s – it doesn’t look – (inaudible) as a way to encourage (inaudible).

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Yeah. Both NATO and the EU have, for many decades, been a force for stability and a force for integration. And as my colleague mentioned, those are the trends and trajectories that we want to see continue and that we are working to support, both as it concerns aspiring members to those organizations but also the issues that arise in the context of membership for both of those institutions. The issue of the economic situation in Europe across the board is one that is current and that the Secretary will raise in the course of this trip. As you know, she’s not stopping in Greece, but we have said just about every day over the course of the past 10 days how pleased we are to see the courageous decisions being taken by the government in Greece and their determination to do those things that are necessary in order to bring their economy into the right circumstance.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: On NATO, the Secretary has said very clearly that it is important, even as we work together strongly in Afghanistan and Libya and Kosovo, around the world, not to be complacent, that we have to continue to invest in these institutions. And whether it’s NATO members investing in NATO, whether it’s EU members using the strength of the EU to try to address their economic issues collectively, the institutions add value to the national efforts.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: I would just also make a point, which is that that’s actually not what Gates said in his speech. It wasn’t about NATO needing a mission. What he – as the Defense Secretary, was asking that NATO do is ensure that it has the capabilities required to fulfill its commitments, and that’s a distinct difference.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: Time for one more.

QUESTION: Firstly, you mentioned Belarus, both of you. What do you hope to achieve beyond the expressions of support or condemnation that we’ve heard for the last 20 years? What does the Arab Spring bring to the table that wasn’t there before, and what would you hope to get from Communities of Democracies or the Western democratic liberal community?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Do you want to start with that, and I’ll –

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ONE: Sure. I’m happy to start on Belarus. And as you know, Belarus has been a longstanding problem. Things have recently gotten worse, and it is an issue of great concern for the countries of the region, but for all of the friends of democracy across Europe and Eurasia. There have been a number of statements that have been issued by political leaders about the situation in Belarus, but those statements have also been backed up by actions. Everything by sanctions from the European Union to travel restrictions, other measures, asset freezes, things – steps that have been undertaken by the United States Government as well as by many European governments individually and the EU together.

There have been – also been efforts to set up funds to take concrete action to promote democratic development inside Belarus to liberalize travel for those not associated with the regime so that we can work at the problem, if you will, from both directions.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: One of the things you’ll see tomorrow in Lithuania is some of the work that we’re doing to strengthen civil society through a variety of means. I don’t want to —

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: I think we’ll talk a little bit more about that precise vehicle tomorrow when we pre-brief on Lithuania. But –

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL TWO: Yeah. But there’s some exciting work we’re doing to support civil society in repressive places and to get tools to enable those who are seeking to break out of the oppression that they’re experiencing, and that work we’re doing closely with our European allies. You heard this when we were in Poland with the President, that the Poles have played a leadership role in this regard in working with us on Belarus, but we also have close cooperation with the EU broadly and with a number of these countries bilaterally, including with the Lithuanians.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: Okay, guys.

QUESTION: Can I ask one more? A quick one? On her speech, (inaudible) reference to countries that crow about their economic growth but don’t respect the freedoms, as if they’re mutually exclusive. I’m assuming that’s a reference to China, and I’m wondering if there’s any sort of – if the U.S. is having or seeing any sort of encroachment by China or China’s attempts to (inaudible) people in Central and Eastern Europe, the way you see China sort of pushing its agenda in South America or Africa.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: The Secretary, as you know, throughout her tenure, has stressed the importance of democracy, economic liberalization, development going hand in hand, and that there is a limit to how much you can do on one track if you aren’t also making progress on the other track. So I think you just see that theme repeated here.

Thanks, you guys.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.) She’s not going to go beyond what the U.S. Government has previously said about Greece, correct? The economic stuff gets left to the Treasury as it always does? There’s nothing new or –

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL THREE: The Greeks are in the middle of trying to work through their issues, so we are supportive of the efforts that the government is undertaking and watching closely as they make very important decisions in the next couple of days.

QUESTION: I think the Treasury – its purview for the most part

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Update on Secretary Clinton’s Travel Itinerary

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hungary, Lithuania, Secretary of State, Spain, State Department, U.S. Department of State on June 28, 2011| 3 Comments »

Subsequent to her visits to Hungary and Lithuania (as originally posted below), Secretary Clinton will make a stop in Madrid at the end of this week. Here is the update.

Secretary Clinton To Travel to Madrid, Spain

Press Statement

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 28, 2011

Following her travel to Hungary and Lithuania, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Madrid, Spain, July 1-2, 2011. In Madrid, Secretary Clinton will underscore the close partnership and friendship the United States and Spain enjoy, based on shared values and common interests. The Secretary will meet with Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiménez to discuss a range of issues including Afghanistan, North Africa, and the Middle East and trade, investment, and the economy.

Here is the original post.

Secretary Clinton to Travel to Budapest and Vilnius

Press Statement

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 24, 2011

Secretary of State Clinton will travel to Budapest, Hungary, June 29, to participate in the dedication of the Lantos Institute. The establishment of the Lantos Institute has been supported by the Government of Hungary to promote Hungarian-born Congressman Tom Lantos’ long commitment to democratic principles and the protection of individual and human rights. Secretary Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister Orban, Foreign Minister Martonyi, and representatives of civil society while in Budapest.

Secretary Clinton will visit Vilnius, Lithuania, from June 30 to July 1, to participate in the Community of Democracies 6th Ministerial. The Ministerial will bring together senior government officials, parliamentarians, NGOs, women and youth leaders, and the private sector to advance the shared goals of strengthening civil society and supporting emerging democracies. During her visit, the Secretary will participate in the “Women Enhancing Democracy” gathering of world leaders, held under the auspices of the Community of Democracies’ working group on women’s empowerment. She will also host a session of the Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society focused on challenges to the freedoms of speech and association. While in Vilnius, the Secretary will hold bilateral meetings with President Grybauskaite, Prime Minister Kubilius, and other Lithuanian officials.

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This Week: On Hillary Clinton’s Agenda

Posted in Foreign Policy, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Secretary of State Travel, state department, U.S. Department of State, tagged Foreign Policy, GLIFAA, Hillary Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hungary, Lithuania, Secretary of State, State Department, Trafficking in Persons Report, U.S. Department of State on June 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »

These are among Mme. Secretary’s events for the upcoming week. For the third time we will see her release a Trafficking in Persons report. On a happier note, we will also see her celebrating Pride Month with members of GLIFAA and other State Department employees. Once again, she will be boarding her Big Blue Bird for a trip abroad, and, as always, we wish her Godspeed.

Secretary Clinton to Deliver Remarks at Event Celebrating LGBT Pride Month on June 27

Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 23, 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver remarks on “The Human Rights of LGBT People and U.S. Foreign Policy” at an event co-hosted by the State Department and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), on Monday, June 27 at approximately 10:25 a.m., in the Dean Acheson Auditorium at the Department of State.

The event will be streamed live on www.state.gov.

Preceding the Secretary’s remarks, Under Secretary Maria Otero will lead a panel discussion with senior U.S. Government Officials at 9:30 a.m. The discussion topics will include the status of LGBT people around the world and how the U.S. Government can promote the protection of their human rights.
The event is part of a series of LGBT Pride Month celebrations at the U.S. Department of State.GLIFAA, officially recognized by the U.S. State Department, represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) personnel and their families in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, and other foreign affairs agencies and offices in the U.S. Government. Founded in 1992 by fewer than a dozen employees who faced official harassment simply because of their sexual orientation, GLIFAA continues to seek equality and fairness for LGBT employees and their families. For more information, please visit http://www.glifaa.org/ or follow @GLIFAA on Twitter.

Secretary Clinton to Release the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report on June 27

Washington, DC

June 24, 2011

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will release the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report on Monday, June 27, at approximately 2 p.m. in the Benjamin Franklin Room at the Department of State. In addition to remarks by Secretary Clinton, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero and Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Luis CdeBaca will deliver remarks.

Secretary Clinton to Travel to Budapest and Vilnius

Press Statement

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson

Washington, DC

June 24, 2011

Secretary of State Clinton will travel to Budapest, Hungary, June 29, to participate in the dedication of the Lantos Institute. The establishment of the Lantos Institute has been supported by the Government of Hungary to promote Hungarian-born Congressman Tom Lantos’ long commitment to democratic principles and the protection of individual and human rights. Secretary Clinton will also meet with Prime Minister Orban, Foreign Minister Martonyi, and representatives of civil society while in Budapest.

Secretary Clinton will visit Vilnius, Lithuania, from June 30 to July 1, to participate in the Community of Democracies 6th Ministerial. The Ministerial will bring together senior government officials, parliamentarians, NGOs, women and youth leaders, and the private sector to advance the shared goals of strengthening civil society and supporting emerging democracies. During her visit, the Secretary will participate in the “Women Enhancing Democracy” gathering of world leaders, held under the auspices of the Community of Democracies’ working group on women’s empowerment. She will also host a session of the Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society focused on challenges to the freedoms of speech and association. While in Vilnius, the Secretary will hold bilateral meetings with President Grybauskaite, Prime Minister Kubilius, and other Lithuanian officials.