U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Office of the Spokesman
_________________________________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                                                                    December 14, 2009
2009/1277

Remarks

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
On the Human Rights Agenda for the 21^st Century 

December 14, 2009
Georgetown University
Gaston Hall
Washington, D.C.

SECRETARY CLINTON:  Thank you.  It is wonderful being back here at Georgetown in this magnificent Gaston Hall, and to give you something to do during exam week.  (Laughter.)  It’s one of those quasi-legitimate reasons for taking a break – (laughter) – which I’m very happy to have provided. 

  Thank you.  It is wonderful being back here at Georgetown in this magnificent Gaston Hall, and to give you something to do during exam week.  (Laughter.)  It’s one of those quasi-legitimate reasons for taking a break – (laughter) – which I’m very happy to have provided.   

I want to thank Jas for his introductory remarks, and clearly, those of you who are in the Foreign Service School heard reflections of the extraordinary opportunity you’ve been given to study here as he spoke about the culture of human rights.  It is also a real honor for me to be delivering this speech at Georgetown, because there is no better place than this university to talk about human rights.  And President DeGioia, the administration, and the faculty embody the university’s long tradition of supporting free expression and free inquiry and the cause of human rights around the world.

I know that President DeGioia himself has taught a course on human rights, as well as on the ethics of international development with one of my longtime colleagues, Carol Lancaster, the acting dean of the School of Foreign Service.  And I want to commend the faculty here who are helping to shape our thinking on human rights, on conflict resolution, on development and related subjects.  It is important to be at this university because the students here, the faculty, every single year add to the interreligious dialogue.  You give voice to many advocates and activists who are working on the front lines of the global human rights movement, through the Human Rights Institute here at the law school and other programs.  And the opportunities that you provide your students to work in an international women’s rights clinic are especially close to my heart.

>>The Full Text<<

 

 

Diane Sovereign, Consul General (CG) of the United States

Consulate General Wuhan

Ms. Diane Sovereign Consul General in Wuhan

Diane Sovereign, a career State Department diplomat,  was pleased and honored to take office on November 30, 2009 as Consul General of the United States Consulate General in Wuhan.  She brings her warmest regards to the government and people of Hubei. 

The Consulate General in Wuhan was established in November 2007 under the provisions of the 1981 U.S.-China Agreement on Consular Facilities. The Consulate General will continue to focus on providing emergency services to American citizens in the region, promoting U.S. exports and fostering other aspects of our commercial and economic relations, and expanding cultural and educational exchanges between the U.S. and central China.

As since the opening in 2007, the Consulate General will not issue visas. Visa applications will be handled as before through the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. 
CG Sovereign has been living and working in Beijing since 2005.  During her time in China she has had the opportunity to many wonderful cities in China. She looks forward in her next two years as Consul General to further exploring and understanding the people and places in the Wuhan Consulate General consular district of Hubei, Hunan, Henan, and Jiangxi.