AP Photo This photo provided by the White House shows President Barack Obama meeting with his national security team on Afghanistan and Pakistan, Friday, March 12, 2010, in the Situation Room of the White House in Washington. From left are, Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry, background, and the president.
I do not usually post from the press briefings, very rarely, but sometimes there is special information about the Secretary of State. Here are some specifics about today.
Philip J. Crowley
Assistant Secretary
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
March 12, 2010
DEPARTMENT: This afternoon, Secretary Clinton will address the final day of the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and that will happen in New York. She’ll reflect on the progress achieved in the 15 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing – where the world said with one voice that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights – and on the work that still must be done to fully realize the dreams and potential of Beijing.
The Secretary will argue that the status of the world’s women is not only a matter of justice. It is also a political, economic, and social imperative. When women flourish, their families, communities, and countries flourish as well. She will say that the world cannot make lasting progress if women and girls are left behind.
Fifteen years after Beijing, the Secretary’s message will be: Women’s progress is human progress and human progress is women’s progress. She will discuss how the Obama Administration has put this principle at the heart of the foreign policy of the United States because we believe that women are critical to solving virtually every shared common challenge that we face.
She will also have a bilateral with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, where we expect they will discuss the upcoming Quartet meeting in Moscow, as well as the situation in Gaza, and look ahead to the Haiti donors conference at the end of this month.
ISRAEL/PALESTINIANS: Secretary Clinton also spoke this morning with Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu to reiterate the United States’ strong objections to Tuesday’s announcement, not just in terms of timing, but also in its substance; to make clear that the United States considers the announcement a deeply negative signal about Israel’s approach to the bilateral relationship – and counter to the spirit of the Vice President’s trip; and to reinforce that this action had undermined trust and confidence in the peace process, and in America’s interests. The Secretary said she could not understand how this happened, particularly in light of the United States’ strong commitment to Israel’s security. And she made clear that the Israeli Government needed to demonstrate not just through words but through specific actions that they are committed to this relationship and to the peace process.
