US Mission Geneva

This past week the facts on the ground in Syria focused our attention and galvanized the international community to act. So today’s Special Session is very important for two reasons, and we have two goals in holding this session.

In remarks to the TNC on the current state of the Doha Round, Amb. Punke stated that “The United States has not given up on Doha, but we believe that the negotiations and the WTO more broadly, cannot avoid hard truths… As long as there are willing partners, we are willing to work together to find solutions.”

Members of the Human Rights Council are gathered today to express our outrage at the extreme violence used by the Syrian government to silence their citizens’ universal rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and participation in the affairs of their state. We condemn their brutal methods of silencing dissent, through shooting unarmed peaceful demonstrators and torture.

The United States Mission to the United Nations is very pleased to have been selected as a model of green diplomacy and environmental stewardship under a new award created by the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. Mission was chosen as the runner up in the first annual Greening Diplomacy Initiative (GDI) award, which recognizes leadership and innovation in sustainability projects at State Department buildings around the world.

Under Secretary Maria Otero, “While nearly a billion people worldwide live without access to clean water, the crisis disproportionately affects women and girls. On average, women in developing countries walk 6 kilometers a day to collect water.”

Ambassador Ron Kirk remarks “Nobody wants to give up on Doha, because we all know that this negotiation offers unique opportunities for deep and comprehensive trade liberalization on a multilateral level. We are continuing to work so that we can seize every available chance to achieve those opportunities.

The United States continues to commend the government of Paraguay for its commitment to reform. The government reports that its commitment was validated economically in 2010 by an increase of 14.5 percent in real GDP over 2009.

The United States continues to partner with local and international organizations and has so far supplied $47 million in humanitarian aid for Libya, says Mark Bartolini of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

The United States, working with countries from all regions of the world, initiated a Special Session of the Human Rights Council on Syria to address egregious human rights violations currently being perpetrated by the Syrian government. The international community has been shocked by the killing of hundreds of civilians in connection with peaceful political protests in the past week. We strongly condemn the killing, arrest and torture of hundreds of Syrians by the Syrian authorities.