Secretary Clinton on U.S. Human Rights Agenda for 21st Century

"Today, I want to speak to you about the Obama Administration’s human rights agenda for the 21st century. It is a subject on the minds of many people who are eager to hear our approach, and understandably so, because it is a critical issue that warrants our energy and our attention. My comments today will provide an overview of our thinking on human rights and democracy and how they fit into our broader foreign policy, as well as the principles and policies that guide our approach.
But let me also say that what this is not. It could not be a comprehensive accounting of abuses or nations with whom we have raised human rights concerns. It could not be and is not a checklist or a scorecard. We issue a Human Rights Report every year and that goes into great detail on the concerns we have for many countries. But I hope that we can use this opportunity to look at this important issue in a broader light and appreciate its full complexity, moral weight, and urgency. And with that, let me turn to the business at hand."

See complete speech:

http://uruguay.usembassy.gov/usaweb/2009/09-338aEN.shtml

Launching of the Frank and Kathy Baxter Science Corner

The Frank and Kathy Baxter Science Corner of the Alianza Binational Center debuted yesterday with a live video conference featuring former Apollo XI astronaut, Buzz Aldrin.
Buzz spoke with Uruguayan students and scientists telling of his experience as a crew memeber of Apollo XI and landing on the Moon forty years ago, and the future prospects for the peaceful use of space to benefit mankind.
The Frank and Kathy Baxter Science Corner is intended to create an environment of communication between the Uruguayan and U.S. scientific communities for the exchange of advanced scientific information, to provide support materials and to encourage the study of science.
Frank Baxter is a former U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay.

See photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassy_montevideo/sets/72157622969466564/show/

Obama’s Acceptance of Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo

Today, President Obama formally accepted the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
"I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict -- filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other," remarked President Obama in his acceptance speech. "There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified," he added
See complete speech:
http://uruguay.usembassy.gov/usaweb/2009/09-332EN.shtml

Clinton Cites AIDS as Defining Health Challenge of Today

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton highlighted the continued threat HIV/AIDS poses to the world in a special event at the White House, calling HIV/AIDS “the defining health challenge of our time.”
Speaking November 30 with senior administration officials responsible for the global fight against HIV/AIDS, Clinton said, “We are gathered on the eve of World AIDS Day to renew and recommit ourselves” to helping the 33 million people worldwide afflicted with the disease that still has no known cure.
World AIDS Day was adopted by 140 countries in 1988. It is commemorated every December 1 to raise awareness about the pandemic that has killed more than 25 million people since it began in 1981.

Clinton used the White House event to mention a new five-year global AIDS strategy that will be unveiled later in the week and to announce that Washington will host the 2012 International AIDS Conference since the ban on people with AIDS entering the country had been lifted by President Obama.

See complete article:

http://uruguay.usembassy.gov/usaweb/2009/09-322EN.shtml