International Crisis Group
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The Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking at the International Crisis Group’s annual In Pursuit of Peace Award Dinner, held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City on May 7th, 2014.
See more pictures from the event here.
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We’re busy preparing for tonight’s Gala honouring Hillary Clinton for her outstanding contributions to advancing peace and security! Follow along on Twitter at @CrisisGroup and with #ICGgala.
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Deadly Syrian stalemate spurs new diplomacy, little hope | Los Angeles Times
By Carol J. Williams
Galvanized by a Syrian death toll that has doubled to 36,000 in little more than a month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for a new rebel hierarchy to direct the fighting against President Bashar Assad and steer Syria back to peaceful ethnic and religious coexistence.
The latest proposal for halting Syria’s 19-month-old civil war brings little new strategy to the crisis. Rather, it vents frustration with the international community’s own “divisions, dysfunctionality and powerlessness,” as the International Crisis Group recently noted, that have prevented brokering an end to the bloodshed.
Like European leaders before her, Clinton acknowledged this week that the West’s reliance on out-of-touch exiles within the Paris-based Syrian National Council has done more harm than good in the effort to have opposition forces speak with one voice on their plans for a post-Assad future.
FULL ARTICLE (Los Angeles Times)
Photo: James Gordon/Flickr
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As Clinton preps for Asia-Pacific tour, is North Korea capable of reform? | NBC News
By Eric Baculinao
Change in North Korea, and its potential impact on American interests in the Asia-Pacific, is likely to be on the agenda when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets Chinese leaders next month on her region-wide tour.
Photo: UN
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Vietnam Law on Contested Islands Draws China’s Ire | Jakarta Globe
By Jane Perlez
In a show of its resolve in a dispute over the South China Sea, China sharply criticized Vietnam on Thursday for passing a law that claims sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, saying they are the “indisputable” territory of China.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing summoned the Vietnamese ambassador, Nguyen Van Tho, to strongly protest the new law, said a spokesman, Hong Lei.
“Vietnam’s Maritime Law, declaring sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, is a serious violation of China’s territorial sovereignty,” a ministry statement said. “China expresses its resolute and vehement opposition.”
Photo: Reuters
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Hillary Clinton meets with Palestinian and Israeli. Is something cooking? | Christian Science Monitor
By Howard LaFranchi
The dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace process is showing signs of stirring – prompted by renewed Palestinian threats of a unilateral declaration of statehood, Israeli worries over the long-term implications of abandoning the two-state solution, and a recent series of quiet contacts between the two sides.
And then there’s the desire on the part of the Obama White House – which was scorched by its decision to make Middle East peace a top priority as of Inauguration Day 2009 – to avoid having the Israeli-Palestinian conflict rear up as a time-consuming distraction as it enters the fall presidential campaign.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met separately Wednesday with chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, the latest signs of a renewed US interest in demonstrating that the peace process is not dead.
FULL ARTICLE (Christian Science Monitor)
Photo: Shahar Azran (IsraelinUSA)/Flickr
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US, EU urge peaceful resolution | Myanmar Times
By Zaw Win Than
BOTH the United States and European Union expressed deep concern over violence in Rakhine State and urged a peaceful resolution to the crisis, which has seen a state of emergency declared in the region.
“The United States continues to be deeply concerned about reports of ongoing ethnic and sectarian violence in western Burma’s Rakhine State and urges all parties to exercise restraint and immediately halt all attacks. The Burmese government has announced a State of Emergency and curfews in Rakhine State, but reports of violence continue,” US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a statement on June 11.
Photo: Boothee
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State’s human rights bureau turns 35 | Foreign Policy
By Josh Rogin
It’s not every day you see Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sharing a stage with neocon Bush administration official Elliott Abrams and liberal Congressman Jim McGovern (D-MA), but they all joined together this morning to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of State’s bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL).
“It is amazing to think how far DRL has come in 35 years,” Clinton said, after being introduced by Assistant Secretary of State for DRL Michael Posner. “It did have a rocky childhood, plenty of critics at post and in this building who said we have no business pestering people about human rights, that it would only get in the way of real diplomacy.”
When DRL got an office on the elite 7th floor of the State Department, there were “howls of protest,” she said, but “no one questions the value of the human rights bureau anymore.”
Clinton said that standing up for human rights gives the United States greater moral weight in the world and makes America more secure because countries that treat people with dignity are inherently more stable. She also alluded to the case of Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng to explain how human rights advocacy can cause diplomatic strife.
“Words do matter and when activists are harassed by their own governments, they turn to us for help. And I don’t have to tell any of you what kinds of complications that can occasionally cause. But that’s who we are and that’s who we want to be,” she said.
“Oh, to be 35 again,” Clinton said with a sigh.
Photo: Foreign Policy
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Annan, Clinton Meet on Syria as Violence Escalates | Voice of America
By Edward Yeranian, Scott Stearns, and Lisa Schlein
Syrian activists say violence nationwide killed 17 people Friday as international envoy Kofi Annan called for additional pressure on the Syrian government as he met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington.
Speaking tersely while standing next to Clinton, Annan said the two diplomats are looking how to move his stalled peace plan forward.
“Everyone is looking for a solution,” Annan said. “Some say the plan may be dead. Is the problem the plan or the problem the implementation? If it’s implementation, how do we get action on that?”
The Annan-brokered cease-fire has failed to deter attacks by the Syrian government and clashes with opposition rebels that have left hundreds dead.
Clinton said the pair want to figure out how to “engender a greater response” by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to Annan’s overtures.
The talks come as Rami Abdelrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, told VOA on Friday that a blast in front of a police station in the northwestern city of Idlib killed two security forces and three civilians. Another explosion that shook a Damascus suburb killed two more security force members.
The Observatory said demonstrators protested after Friday prayers across Syria, including in Aleppo, Damascus and Dara'a. Two civilians died in that southern city, including one shot by a sniper.
Government troops shelled Homs while heavy fighting left two killed in Latakia. The activist group also reported deaths in Deir Ezzor.
Photo: AP -
Russia savours its chance to play superpower | National Post
By: Araminta Wordsworth
That would mean Russian support at the UN Security Council for effective action, something that has been in short supply, despite the international handwringing. Russia claims it is neutral on Syria, despite arms shipments, investments and diplomatic obfuscation.
Nonetheless, Hillary Clinton, the U.S. Secretary of State, discerned signs of movement Friday when she said comments by Putin might imply Russia could be open to a “political transition” in Syria — code for negotiating an end to the blood-stained rule of Bashar al-Assad.
For Russia, one of Syria’s attractions remains the Mediterranean port of Tartus, which Damascus allows Moscow to use. This gives it a warm-water base for its navy. Moscow also enjoys the cachet of being Assad’s most powerful friend, propping up his discredited regime.
Photo: Antoine Antoniol / Getty
