United States Mission Geneva

United States strongly supports the important work done by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, particularly its capacity-building activities to strengthen national rule-of-law systems and respect for human rights around the world.

Health is, in fact, at the heart of human progress. And we recognize that the wellbeing of people around the world is not just an important end in and of itself, but it is strongly linked to the security, prosperity and partnership of our country with our colleagues around the world. And that’s why global health is a central part of President Obama’s and Secretary Clinton’s plan for a more peaceful and a more prosperous global community.

The President’s National Space Policy, released today, is a strong statement of our principles and goals regarding U.S. national interests and activities in space. It is a commitment that the United States will lead the way in preserving space for the benefits of all nations.

The United States, working with its G-20 partners, has forged a strong and swift response to address global challenges.

The United States was extremely disappointed that the Latin American and Caribbean regional group put forward the single name of Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann to fill its vacant seat on the HRC advisory committee on June 18. (The vacancy arose upon the untimely death of one of the group’s representatives.) The position was filled without consultation with members from other regions.

It is particularly fitting for an American like me to discuss this topic here in Prague. Our Czech hosts provided the platform for President Obama to set forth his vision of a world without nuclear weapons and to set out a specific agenda to move towards that goal.

As the international community faces difficult global challenges, we are counting on UNDP to respond to 21st century problems, including poverty, hunger, disease, conflicts, environmental degradation, and gender inequality. With Helen Clark at the helm of UNDP and as the chair of the UN Development Group, UNDP is in a unique position to make positive changes.

The United States is energized by the progress we continue to make together against this epidemic. We are optimistic that, collectively, the international community is making the necessary changes in our response to meet the changing epidemiology and to face the dramatically altered international landscape from just a few short years ago.

The passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 two weeks ago establishes the most comprehensive international sanctions that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has ever faced. It reinforces the determination not only of the United States, but of the rest of the international community, to hold Iran to its international obligations, and to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.