President Obama Delivers the 2013 State of the Union Address

Posted by DipNote Bloggers / February 13, 2013

President Barack Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, gives his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 12, 2013. [AP Photo]

More: White House Blog -- President Obama's 2013 State of the Union

President Barack Obama delivered the State of the Union address in the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on February 12, 2013. In his remarks, President Obama addressed a number of foreign policy issues.

President Obama said, "Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda.

"Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. This spring, our forces will move into… more »

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Food Security and Minimizing Postharvest Loss

Posted by Jose W. Fernandez / February 12, 2013

Soybeans are harvested on a farm near Pergamino, Argentina, July 14, 2012. [AP File Photo]

On February 19, the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs along with the Office of Global Food Security and the Foreign Service Institute will host the conference "Food Security and Minimizing Postharvest Loss." Government officials, representatives from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and foreign diplomatic corps will discuss the issue of postharvest loss, focusing on Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

Postharvest loss is collective food loss along the production chain, from harvest and handling to storage and processing to packing and transportation.… more »

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International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM: Working Together To End a Devastating Practice

Posted by Melanne Verveer / February 07, 2013

A Masai girl holds a protest sign during the anti-Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) run in Kilgoris, Kenya, April 21, 2007. [AP File Photo]

On February 6, 2013, in observance of the tenth anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, I had the privilege of leading a panel discussion at the State Department to help bring global attention to a harmful traditional practice that risks the lives, dignity, and well-being of women and girls in far too many places around the world.

I was honored to be joined by such dedicated leaders and practitioners as Amina Salum Ali, Ambassador of the African Union to the United States; Dr. Nawal Nour, a Sudanese-American from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston; Bacary Tamba from Tostan, a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Senegal; and Jessie Hexpoor from Hivos, an NGO based in the Netherlands. They each have made, and are continuing to make, extraordinary contributions toward putting an end to female genital mutilation/cutting… more »

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Ten Ways You Can Help Fight Modern Slavery

Posted by Luis CdeBaca / February 01, 2013

Girl, 7, works in a brick factory on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, June 12, 2012. [AP File Photo]

Today our nation celebrates National Freedom Day, which commemorates the day in 1865 when the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery was sent to the states for ratification. It is also the culmination of January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Around the world, as many as 27 million people are still victimized in human trafficking, or modern slavery. This scourge occurs everywhere in the world -- including our own country. However, there is progress. Here in the United States, nearly every state has some form of anti-trafficking legislation -- and Wyoming is poised soon to become the last state to criminalize modern slavery. The passage of this… more »

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President Obama Signs Memorandum Institutionalizing the Office of Global Women’s Issues

Posted by Melanne Verveer / February 01, 2013

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and First Lady Michelle Obama pose for a photo with the recipients of the 2012 International Women of Courage Award, on the 101st Anniversary of International Women's Day, March 8, 2012, at the State Department in Washington. [AP File Photo]

I am happy to share some very good news. On Wednesday, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum ("the Memorandum") that will help ensure that advancing the rights of women and girls remains central to U.S. diplomacy and development around the world -- and that these efforts will continue to be led by public servants at the highest levels of the United States government. Secretary Clinton was proud to be at President Obama's side as he… more »

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Championing the Cause of Ending Global Hunger and Undernutrition

Posted by Jonathan Shrier / February 01, 2013

This photo taken Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012 shows a wheat farm near Debre Zeit, in Ethiopia's Amhara region. [AP File Photo]

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been a champion of the fight to end global hunger and undernutrition, making the case for increased investments in food security and nutrition to help move people out of poverty, create stronger communities, and build a more stable world.

At the Office of Global Food Security, we are looking forward to working with our partners across the whole of the U.S. government, international community, private sector, civil society, and partner nations to build on Secretary Clinton's legacy and to making 2013 another momentous year in the fight to end world hunger and undernutrition.

Throughout 2012, the Obama Administration continued… more »

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Closing the Internet Gender Gap

Posted by Melanne Verveer / January 24, 2013

Female Indian students pose with tablet computers in New Delhi, India, Oct. 5, 2011. [AP File Photo]

About the Authors: Melanne Verveer serves as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. Ambassador Verveer co-authored this entry with Shelly Esque. This entry appeared first on The Huffington Post.

There is no doubt that over the last decade, the Internet has created a revolution. Never before has information been so widely available or people better connected to one another. The Internet can be a great equalizer. And yet, access to it is not equally distributed. Notably, Internet access for both men and women in North America is nearly five times that of Africa.

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Technology Advances U.S. Diplomacy Goals

Posted by Tara D. Sonenshine / January 17, 2013

In this photo taken, Nov. 8, 2011, a woman poses with her Blackberry mobile phone in Johannesburg. The woman says she cherishes her phone as a link to family and friends, and also sees it as a radio, a library, a mini cinema, a bank teller, and more. [AP File Photo]

When we apply technology at its best to public service at its most critical, we can make powerful differences in the lives and well-being of people.

Advances in communications and information technology are allowing us to do just that, whether we are using crowd-sourcing or Twitter, or reaching people via mobile phones or Skype. We are assisting survivors in the wake of natural disasters. We are monitoring elections to ensure they are free, safe and fair. We are reaching more people in non-permissive environments. Technology has become not only our virtual eyes and ears, but our helping hands, in a variety of ways.

Take Ushahidi ("witness" in Swahili), a crowd-sourcing platform developed by Kenyan citizens in 2008 that uses technology to collect, verify, and map information from citizens on a variety of issues. That can include incidents of violence,… more »

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Advancing Human Rights Vital to U.S. National Interests

Posted by Michael H. Posner / January 07, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks with participants of the Lower Mekong Initiative Women's event in Siem Reap, Cambodia, on July 13, 2012. [State Department photo by Paul Watzlavick/ Public Domain]

As we start the New Year, I want to reflect on four events that took place in the last few months of 2012 that illustrate how the Obama Administration's human rights policies are achieving concrete results.

• In November, President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Burma. This visit was the culmination of 18 months of active diplomatic efforts between the United States and Burma focused significantly on political and economic reform and the protection of human rights. During the President's visit, the Burmese government announced a series of important human rights commitments, including access for the International Committee of the Red Cross to prisons and conflict areas, the opening of… more »

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The Fight Against Modern Slavery: Fulfilling the Promise of the Emancipation Proclamation

Posted by Luis CdeBaca / January 04, 2013

This Feb. 18, 2005 file photo shows the original Emancipation Proclamation on display in the Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington. [AP File Photo]

On New Year's Day, our nation celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. President Obama commemorated the anniversary with two Presidential Proclamations: one that celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation and reaffirms the timeless principles it upheld, and a second that declares January 2013 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month and calls on all Americans to recognize the vital role we can play in ending all forms… more »

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