Civil And Constitutional Rights, Liberties, And Human Rights Latest Statements, Briefings, And Hearings

Here are summaries of and links to recent web sites and documents relevant to Civil and Constitutional Rights, Liberties, and Human Rights: 

Keynote Address at the International Crisis Group’s “In Pursuit of Peace” Award Dinner 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, in New York, December 16, 2011   

The question of how women contribute to peace and security deserves far more quantitative research and rigorous study than it has received to date.

But long experience suggests at least four mutually reinforcing ways in which women influence peace processes, both inside and outside the negotiating room.
Read more...   

Women, Peace, and Security 
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, December 19, 2011

Now I know some of you may be thinking to yourself, “Well, there she goes again.  Hillary Clinton always talks about women, and why should I or anyone else really care?”  Well, you should care because this is not just a woman’s issue.  It cannot be relegated to the margins of international affairs.  It truly does cut to the heart of our national security and the security of people everywhere, because the sad fact is that the way the international community tries to build peace and security today just isn’t getting the job done.  Dozens of active conflicts are raging around the world, undermining regional and global stability, and ravaging entire populations.  And more than half of all peace agreements fail within five years.
Read more...     
Fact sheet

See also:

Promoting Women in Public Service Worldwide: The Women in Public Service Project and Colloquium
Fact sheet, U.S. Dept of State, December 16, 2011   
Read more...       

Establishment of the Office of the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights 
Maria Otero, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, January 5, 2012

For example, we strengthen democratic institutions; we strengthen judicial systems; we denounce human rights abuses; we help build stronger law enforcement capabilities; we provide humanitarian assistance when it’s needed; we address transnational crime, whether it’s drugs or trafficking in persons; we combat violent extremism, and we engage with youth and civil society in all of the countries that we work with. So this is a wide array of entry points into helping countries create more just societies and to help provide more protection to individuals
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International Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law 
Rosemary A. DiCarlo, U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, at Security Council debate on international criminal justice and the rule of law, January 19, 2012  

We must ensure accountability for those responsible for the most serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, and deter further violations. Hindering such persons from traveling, accessing funds, and arming themselves through the application of targeted sanctions can play an important role in deterring future violations. In this connection, we have strongly supported the application of targeted sanctions to help combat the threats posed by the most egregious of such violations to international peace and security.
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An International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities: Strengthening Long-Term Sustainability, Stability, Safety, and Security in Space  
Fact sheet, U.S. Dept of State, January 17, 2012 

In response to these challenges, the United States reached a decision to formally work with the European Union and spacefaring nations to develop and advance an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. The European Union’s draft Code of Conduct is a good foundation for the development of a non-legally binding International Code of Conduct focused on the use of voluntary and pragmatic transparency and confidence-building measures to help prevent mishaps, misperceptions, and mistrust in space. An International Code of Conduct, if adopted, would establish guidelines for responsible behavior to reduce the hazards of debris-generating events and increase the transparency of operations in space to avoid the danger of collisions.
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Internet Freedom and the Digital Earthquake of 2011 
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Michael H. Posner, January 17, 2012     

Meanwhile, some governments are trying to impose national and international restrictions that would cripple the exercise of human rights online. They are using terms like, quote, “information security” and “internet management” to try to justify repression. We must protect the free flow of information and also the integrity of the network. By that I mean the interoperability of the network both in the technical sense – the ability of the cables and servers that transfer data to talk to each other – and in the sense that countries must not isolate their citizens inside national intranets.
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The Spirit of Volunteerism
U.S. Department of State, January 2012

In the United States, just about everyone, at one time or another, has been a volunteer. On any given day, millions of Americans give of their time and talents to benefit their communities through volunteer service. Volunteering is so pervasive in the United States that it can be observed daily in almost every aspect of life.
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Global Causes Attract Growing Share of US Giving.
YaleGlobal. Susan Froetschel. January 10, 2012.

After the 2008 global recession, Americans understandably tightened their purse strings for charitable giving. Yet giving to international causes rose by about 15 percent in 2010, the largest percentage increase of all categories, including religion, health or education, according to Giving USA Foundation. Nonprofits in the international affairs category attracted 5 percent of U.S. contributions, more than received by nonprofits supporting arts/culture/humanities or environmental/animal categories.
Read more... [HTML format, various paging].

America's Civilian Operations Abroad: Understanding Past and Future Requirements
Center for a New American Security, January 13, 2012

America’s Civilian Operations Abroad: Understanding Past and Future Requirements ... examines the history of U.S. civilian operations abroad during the past 20 years and identifies several trends that are likely to affect future requirements.

[The authors] demonstrate in the report that U.S. civilian agencies have conducted dozens of operations every year, that the total number has increased over time and that there are good reasons to expect that pace will continue. Yet the costs of these operations have also grown substantially, and pressures to cut U.S. government spending will almost certainly reduce the resources available for these missions.
Read the full report here (PDF; 3.76 MB)

Real Time Charitable Giving
Pew Internet & American Life Project, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, January 12, 2012

Charitable donations from mobile phones have grown more common in recent years. Two thirds (64%) of American adults now use text messaging, and 9% have texted a charitable donation from their mobile phone. ...

Yet while their initial contribution often involved little deliberation, 43% of these donors encouraged their friends or family members to give to the campaign as well. In addition, a majority of those surveyed (56%) have continued to give to more recent disaster relief efforts—such as the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan—using their mobile phones.
Read the full report here (PDF; 2.27 MB)

Principles of Internet Governance: An Agenda for Economic Growth and Innovation
Brookings Institution, January 11, 2012

At a Center for Technology Innovation forum on January 11, government and technology industry experts advocated for a voluntary, multi-stakeholder process as a way to implement the Recommendation on Principles for Internet Policy Making, adopted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in December.

Leading the U.S. effort to establish these principles has been U.S. Ambassador to the OECD Karen Kornbluh, who delivered a keynote address reviewing how agreement on the recommendation was reached and the core values on which it is based. Following her remarks, Lawrence E. Strickling, assistant secretary for communication and information at the Department of Commerce, offered the Obama administration’s perspective on the next steps in constructing international policymaking principles that support the virtuous cycle of investment, access and innovation needed in today's economic climate.
Remarks & trnascript
Video / Audio

Democracy Policy Under Obama: Revitalization or Retreat?
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Thomas Carothers. January 2012.

Upon taking office in January 2009, President Barack Obama inherited a democracy promotion policy badly damaged from its prior association with the war in Iraq and with forcible regime change more generally. The new president and his foreign policy team responded at first by stepping back from the issue, softening U.S. rhetoric on promoting freedom abroad, and taking steps to rebuild America's democratic standing. The Obama team's overall engagement on democracy support is multifaceted and significant, and is rooted in a set of guiding principles that have helped revitalize the U.S. profile on the topic.
Read more...  [58 pages].

How Americans Will Live and Work in 2020: A Workshop Exploring Key Trends and Philanthropic Responses
RAND Corporation, January 20, 2012

At a workshop held on July 7, 2011, leading experts, journalists, policy advocates, and government officials gathered to discuss how trends in four areas — the economy, demographics, the workplace, and lifestyles — will affect the poor and vulnerable in America in the coming decade. In these proceedings, the authors summarize the four trends, present the results of the workshop’s assumption-based planning exercise, and supply key conclusions. They focus throughout on the role of philanthropic institutions, such as the project sponsor, the Rockefeller Foundation, in helping to address the challenges likely to confront America’s poor and vulnerable, which include a growing jobs-skills mismatch and inadequate funding for social services.
Read full document... (PDF) 

Updated: January 22, 2011