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Legal Innovation in
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Negotiating a two
state solution

American Center

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

Thursday, November 18, 2010

2010 Report on International Religious Freedom.

U.S. Dept of State, report released November 17, 2010

With this report, we do not intend to act as a judge of other countries or hold ourselves out as a perfect example, but the United States cares about religious freedom. We have worked hard to enforce religious freedom. We want to see religious freedom available universally. And we want to advocate for the brave men and women who around the world persist in practicing their beliefs in the face of hostility and violence.

This report reflects a broad understanding of religious freedom, one that begins with private beliefs and communal religious expression, but doesn’t end there. Religious freedom also includes the right to raise one’s children in one’s faith, to share one’s faith peacefully with others, to publish religious materials without censorship, to change one’s religion – by choice, not coercion, and to practice no religion at all. And it includes the rights of faith communities to come together in social service and public engagement in the broader society.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/11/151081.htm (Remarks of the Secretary of State)

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/index.htm (The 2010 Report on International Religious Freedom)

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2010/148825.htm (Section of the report on “Israel and the Occupied Territories”)

Leading Through Civilian Power: Redefining American Diplomacy and Development

Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2010

Diplomatic objectives are often secured by gains in development. The resumption of direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians over the summer was the handiwork of talented and persistent diplomacy. But progress at the negotiating table will be directly linked to progress in building strong and stable institutions for a Palestinian state and providing Israel with the security it needs. And development objectives are often secured by diplomatic engagement. The impact of the Feed the Future global hunger program and the Global Health Initiative will turn in part on the promotion of policy reforms in partner countries; the Millennium Challenge Compacts are in part the product of sustained political engagement designed to create positive conditions for development. In many places, including Afghanistan and Iraq, the need for mutually reinforcing diplomatic and development strategies stems from the combined causes and effects of violent conflict, instability, and weak states.

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/66799/hillary-rodham-clinton/leading-through-civilian-power

Remarks to the American Task Force on Palestine.

Remarks by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, October 20, 2010

I have spoken frequently over the last year about why a two-state solution is critical to Israel’s long-term future. America’s commitment to Israel is rock-solid and unwavering, and we will continue making this case openly and often because we see that as the best way for Israel to safeguard her future.

But tonight I want to focus on why a two-state solution is essential to the future of the Palestinian people.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/10/149766.htm

U.S. Assistance to the Palestinian Authority.

U.S. Dept of State, November 10, 2010

To provide needed and timely funds, the U.S. announced today that it had transferred an additional $150 million in direct assistance to the PA.

This $150 million, plus the $75 million provided in April 2010, brings to $225 million the total provided in CY 2010 in direct budget support for the PA. (Note, however, that the U.S. FY 2010 commitment to the PA for direct budget support was $150 million. $75 million was provided in late 2009; the remaining $75 million was provided in April 2010.) This is the Department’s first contribution in FY 2011.

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2010/11/150812.htm

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at the 10th Anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.

October 26, 2010

Now, women’s participation in these activities is not a “nice thing to do.” It’s not as though we are doing a favor for ourselves and them by including women in the work of peace. This is a necessary global security imperative. Including women in the work of peace advances our national security interests, promotes political stability, economic growth, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Just as in the economic sphere, we cannot exclude the talents of half the population, neither when it comes to matters of life and death can we afford to ignore, marginalize, and dismiss the very direct contributions that women can and have made.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/10/150010.htm

2010 Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism.

Hannah Rosenthal, U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, November 8, 2010

We promote public discussion on the nature of new forms of anti- Semitism – how to recognize it and ways to combat it, working with NGOs and human rights and interfaith groups to foster thoughtful and problem-solving discussions. We do not just confront intolerance, we actively promote tolerance. We participate in sustained dialogues with opinion leaders and policy makers about increasing levels of anti-Semitism and how it is insidiously entering mainstream media and public settings globally. We have begun the ART Initiative – ART standing for Acceptance, Respect and Tolerance – in which we identify and highlight interfaith and interethnic groups that focus on advancing acceptance, respect and tolerance with youth. As with everything, really, building strong relationships with civil society, with governments, with opinion leaders, is the way to change a culture – from fear and stereotypes to acceptance and understanding, from narrow-mindedness to pluralism, from hate to tolerance.

http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/2010/150920.htm

U.S. Signature of the Child Protection Convention.

U.S. Dept of State, October 22, 2010

Today the United States of America signed the Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

This agreement ensures international recognition and enforcement of custody and visitation orders, complements and reinforces the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and contains provisions addressing cooperation on key issues such as runaway children and the cross-border placement of children in foster families or institutional care.

http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2010/10/149860.htm

Updated: November 23, 2010.