Showing posts with label Secretary of State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Secretary of State. Show all posts

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Avon Foundation for Women Grants $500,000 to the U.S. To End Violence Against Women


Andrea Jung, Avon Chairman & CEO, and Avon's Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon announce donation to U.S. State Department's Secretary's Fund for Global Women's Leadership at Women of Courage Awards in the presence of the First Lady Michelle Obama and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. (PRNewsFoto/Avon Foundation for Women) WASHINGTON, DC UNITED STATES

11 Mar 2010 08:17 Africa/Lagos


Avon Foundation for Women Grants $500,000 to the U.S. Department of State Secretary's Fund for Global Women's Leadership

Donation to Fund International Programs to End Violence Against Women

WASHINGTON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Avon Foundation for Women (www.avonfoundation.org) presented a $500,000 grant to the U.S. Department of State Secretary's Fund for Global Women's Leadership to accelerate the global movement to end violence against women. Andrea Jung, Avon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Reese Witherspoon, Avon Global Ambassador and Honorary Chairperson of the Avon Foundation, made the announcement at the International Women of Courage Awards, hosted by Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, at the U.S. Department of State.


To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/avon/37730/


(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100311/MM68434 )


Violence against women is a global epidemic yet efforts to prevent it are underfunded. Nearly one billion women worldwide -- that is one in three women -- will experience violence in their lifetime. Yet around the world, services for victims are often limited or unavailable, and in many countries, laws to protect women do not exist or are not enforced. Women who are abused cannot reach their social or economic potential, which hurts families, communities and entire countries -- and can be especially detrimental to developing countries where involvement of women is essential to growth.


The U.S. Department of State will use the grant to fund innovative and breakthrough programs developed by international non-government organizations for the purpose of ending violence against women.


"We are tremendously privileged to partner with the U.S. Department of State, and share in their resolve to end violence against women. As the company for women, we are equally committed to providing women with an economic opportunity as we are serving as a change agent for critical issues that face women worldwide," said Jung. "We believe the answer to this complex problem lies in forging strong partnerships between the public and private sectors. If we fuse our strengths -- the vast resources and commitment from the private sector, combined with the public sector's regional expertise and grassroots networks -- then our collective efforts can chart a course for a life free of violence against women everywhere."


These new efforts underscore Avon's ongoing commitment to ending violence against women, which includes the Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program launched by Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women in 2004. These efforts have expanded to 45 countries including award-winning programs in Mexico and the Czech Republic. Behind the success of these initiatives is much-needed grassroots mobilization and fundraising driven by the company's network of 6 million Avon Sales Representatives worldwide. To date, Avon global philanthropy has committed more than $16 million to end violence against women, including $8 million coming from the global sales of Avon Empowerment Products developed in partnership with Witherspoon.


"I am proud to serve as Avon Global Ambassador and represent a company with a conscience and the courage to take on hard issues. Although we face many challenges around the world, nothing is more important than ensuring the safety of women and girls everywhere," says Witherspoon. "Investments like the one announced today by the Avon Foundation and the U.S. Department of State are essential to the development and implementation of programs to end this global crisis."


The Avon Foundation for Women, along with Vital Voices, is also collaborating with the U.S. Department of State to host a three-day conference, The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women in Washington, D.C., from March 9-11. This innovative public-private partnership, which is founded on the premise that local experts are best suited to know what solutions will work in their own communities, will foster the creation of cross-sector collaborations with the goal of reducing violence against women.


To facilitate the Global Partnership, Avon and the Avon Foundation for Women donated $1.2 million to Vital Voices to bring together 15 country delegations consisting of leaders from diverse sectors -- business, government, law enforcement, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) community, academia and others -- in a global forum to share insights, forge collaborations, and seek ways to overcome challenging cultural realities that have been barriers to progress. The Global Partnership will support regional events in India and Argentina in the fall of 2010. Additionally, the Global Partnership will create a violence against women campaign Toolkit that will provide information and strategies to develop effective advocacy, awareness and education campaigns and programs that NGOs can use to reduce violence against women in any country.


Avon Products, Inc.


Avon, the company for women, is a leading global beauty company, with over $10 billion in annual revenue. As the world's largest direct seller, Avon markets to women in more than 100 countries through approximately 6 million independent Avon Sales Representatives. Avon's product line includes beauty products, as well as fashion and home products, and features such well-recognized brand names as Avon Color, Anew, Skin-So-Soft, Advance Techniques, Avon Naturals, and Mark. Learn more about Avon and its products at www.avoncompany.com.


Avon Foundation for Women


The Avon Foundation for Women (www.avonfoundation.org) is the world's largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on women's issues. Since it was founded in 1955, the Avon Foundation has been committed to the mission to improve the lives of women and their families. Now past the half century milestone, the Avon Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity that today brings this mission to life through two key areas of focus: breast cancer and domestic violence. Through 2009, Avon global philanthropy has donated more than $725 million in over 50 countries for causes most important to women.


Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100311/MM68434
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Video: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/avon/37730
Source: Avon Foundation for Women

CONTACT: Debbie Coffey, +1-917-754-2932


Web Site: http://www.avoncompany.com/
http://www.avonfoundation.org/


Thursday, December 3, 2009

Clinton Tells House Committee the Call for Additional Troops in Afghanistan is Necessary




3 Dec 2009 01:05 Africa/Lagos

Secretary of State Clinton Tells House Committee the Call for Additional Troops in Afghanistan is Necessary and Will Also Result in an Increase in Civilian Forces in the Region

DATELINE CITY: 02 December, 2009 / Washington, D.C.

FORMAT: Soundbites


STORY SUMMARY: Remarks by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on "U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan."


RESOURCES: Video, hard copy requests, contact information and more available at http://thedigitalcenter.com/projects/1281-secretary-of-state-clinton-tells-hou se-committee-the-call-for-additional-troops-in-afghanistan-is-necessary-and-wi ll-also-result-in-an-increase-in-civilian-forces-in-the-region


www.State.gov
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/index.htm
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5380.htm
http://www.state.gov/p/sca/ci/af/index.htm

SOUNDBITES / VIDEO:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
Soundbite (1)

Summary: Secretary Clinton said President Obama's call for additional troops is a difficult but necessary decision.


IN: "Simply put, among a range of difficult choices, we believe this is the best way to protect our nation now and in the future. The extremists we are fighting in Afghanistan and Pakistan have attacked us and our allies before. If we allow them access to the very same safe havens they used before 2001, they will have a greater capacity to regroup and attack again. They could drag an entire region into chaos. Our civilian and military leaders in Afghanistan have reported that the situation is serious and worsening, and we agree." OUT (:37)


Soundbite (2)


Summary: Secretary Clinton says US is committed to work with Afghanistan and Pakistan to stabilize the region.


IN: "We will work with the Afghan and Pakistani governments to eliminate safe havens for those plotting attacks against us, our allies, and our interests. We will help to stabilize a region that is fundamental to our national security. And we will develop long-term, sustainable relationships with both Afghanistan and Pakistan, so that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past. The duration of our military presence may be limited, but our civilian commitment must continue even as our troops will begin to come home. Now, accomplishing this mission and ensuring the safety of the American people will not be easy. It will mean sending more civilians, more troops, and more assistance to Afghanistan, and significantly expanding our civilian efforts in Pakistan." OUT (:49)


Soundbite (3)


Summary: Secretary Clinton remarks that civilian commitment will increase to support and work with additional troops and continue after the troops have gone.


IN: "A timeframe for transition will provide a sense of urgency in working with the Afghan Government, but it should be clear to everyone that the United States, our allies, and our partners will have an enduring commitment, a civilian commitment to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Our resolve in this fight is reflected in the substantial new increase in troops, but also in the significant civilian surge that will also accompany it.


The civilian effort is bearing fruit. Civilian experts and advisors are helping to craft policy inside government ministries, providing development assistance in the field, and when our marines went into Nawa province this last July, we had civilians on the ground with them to coordinate assistance the very next day. As our operations progress, our civ-mil coordination will grow even stronger. We are on track to triple the number of civilian positions to 974 by early in January. On average, each of these civilians leverages 10 partners ranging from locally employed staff to experts with U.S.-funded NGOs." OUT (01:08)


Soundbite (4)


Summary: Secretary Clinton says the U.S. will work to develop long-term relationships with both Afghanistan and Pakistan.


IN: "We will be delivering high-impact economic assistance and bolstering the agricultural sector. We will be helping to support an Afghan-led effort to open the door to those Taliban who renounce al-Qaida, abandon violence, and want to reintegrate into society." OUT (:16)


TRT: 3:56

VIDEO PROVIDED BY: U.S. Department of State


FOR TECHNICAL INFORMATION OR HARD COPY, PLEASE E-MAIL: digitalcenter@multivu.com


CONTACT: Ken Richards, +1-202-647-6251, richardskn@state.gov


/PRNewswire -- Dec. 2/


Video: http://thedigitalcenter.com/projects/1281-secretary-of-state-clinton-tells-house-committee-the-call-for-additional-troops-in-afghanistan-is-necessary-and-will-also-result-in-an-increase-in-civilian-forces-in-the-region
Source: U.S. Department of State

Web Site: http://www.state.gov/


Sunday, October 4, 2009

Secretary of State Clinton Remarks at the Corporate Council on Africa's Seventh Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit



2 Oct 2009 18:41 Africa/Lagos

Secretary of State Clinton Remarks at the Corporate Council on Africa's Seventh Biennial U.S.-Africa Business Summit


WASHINGTON, October 2, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- Hillary Rodham Clinton


Secretary of State


Washington Convention Center





Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Stephen, and it is a real pleasure for me to join you today and be part of what has already been a very substantive program. I thank you and the Corporate Council on Africa for your tireless efforts to develop stronger business and trade ties between the United States and the countries of Africa. And I want to also recognize my colleague in the cabinet, the U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk, who is a great advocate of increasing economic and trade opportunities as well. (Applause.)





Well, as Stephen said, I had an extraordinary trip in August and was able to visit some places that I had not yet had a chance to travel to, and to go back and see some places that were very familiar. But the point of the trip was to underscore the importance of Africa to the Obama Administration. It is obviously a cause that I personally am committed to, but it is truly a high-level commitment from the entire Administration, because we start from a premise that the future of Africa matters to our own progress and prosperity.





And the Obama Administration has strategies to help spur economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa and create conditions that will improve the lives of the African people, which to us is how you really measure success. We are eager to move beyond stereotypes that paint Africa as a land of poverty, disease, conflict, and not much else. And we will continue to lay a strong foundation for a new kind of engagement with Africa, one that is built on shared responsibility and shared opportunity, and on partnerships that produce measurable, lasting results.


From our perspective, for too long, Africa has been viewed as a charity case instead of a dynamic continent capable of becoming a global economic engine of the 21st century. So it is time to change the narrative. It is time to understand that strengthened trade policies will enable African businesses to tap more effectively into existing markets and create new ones. It is time to recognize that with technology and innovation, African nations can leapfrog dirty stages of development and become more quickly integrated into the global marketplace. It is time to recognize too that the reform of the agricultural sector is essential to Africa's future growth and prosperity, and that investing in people, especially women, will enable Africa to move much more quickly toward the kind of sustainable future that we all are hoping for.


Now, we have a big agenda and we have a very positive vision. But we have to acknowledge that none of this can happen without responsible African leadership, without good government and transparency and accountability, without acceptable of the rule of law, without environmental stewardship and the effective management of resources, without respect for human rights, without an end to corruption as a cancer that eats away at the entrepreneurial spirits and hopes of millions of people. (Applause.)


Now, we know that there are a lot of obstacles to overcome, but we are determined to work with you to achieve the goals that we have set forth. I was delighted that President Kagame was here, because even with the global recession, Rwanda's health indicators are improving, its economy continues to expand, and that is directly traceable to the sound policies that the government has implemented. In – yes, you should give that a round of applause. (Applause.)


In each of the seven countries I visited, I saw examples of activities and investments that are already paying dividends. I saw researchers in Kenya who are modernizing agriculture by creating tools that will enable us to provide new kinds of seeds, fertilizers and equipment to transform rural farming. Young entrepreneurs in South Africa are starting businesses and building open markets that are competitive with counterparts anywhere in the world.


Public and private partners working together in Angola on new models of development assistance; health professionals in the Democratic Republic of Congo risking their own lives to give life back to those dehumanized by violent conflict; members of civil society in Nigeria pressing for electoral reforms and an end to corruption; civil servants in Liberia working to build democratic institutions as the country pieces itself together after years of civil war; and leaders in Cape Verde whose emphasis on good governance and transparency and strengthening democratic institutions has elevated that small nation economically in only a decade.


So across Africa, we know there are opportunities to be seized and we know that there are people who will do the hard work. But what we have to do is to help create the right conditions, and we are focusing on five key areas; first, trade. We are Africa's largest trading partner, and at the AGOA conference in Nairobi, I said the United States would work to maximize the opportunities created by trade preference programs like AGOA. We want to work to build greater trade capacity in Africa, provide assistance to new industries, and we look forward to more bilateral investment treaties like the one we signed with Mauritius during my trip.


But we have to convince African countries to do more trading among themselves, and to break down the barriers at their own borders. (Applause.) It is absolutely clear that if African countries began to trade with one another, they would quickly have more increase in GDP than they could ever imagine by just bilateral agreements with Europe and the United States. So part of our goal must be to persuade our friends – open up your own markets to each other. (Applause.)


Second, development – we're not going to forget the needs that exist, and the Obama Administration has pledged to double foreign assistance by 2014, because we believe development is still a linchpin of global economic progress. But we will pursue a different approach. We are looking to generate concrete and lasting solutions, not long-term dependency that saps the dynamism of a country instead of adding to the potential. (Applause.)





We will focus on country-led plans and market-based investments in areas like food security, infrastructure, and women. We will focus on metrics and accountability, on nations eager to attack corruption and promote good governance. And we will do a better job at integrating development with diplomacy so that we can address the interconnected problems we face.





Now, last week in New York at the United Nations and at the Clinton Global Initiative, I outlined our new initiative to address global hunger and agricultural reform. Food security may seem far removed from the work that some of you do and the investments that you make, but it is so important to Africa. The continent's economy depends on agriculture, and 70 percent of the farmers in Africa are women, who are marginalized, who are ignored, who are not given the help they need to improve agricultural productivity for themselves and have a little left over to take to market to trade and sell.





Revitalizing and modernizing the agricultural sector in Africa is a smart investment for all of us to make, and I invite those of you who have any involvement in agriculture to work with us, to work with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program that provides such a good model. All of the member nations have pledged to devote 10 percent of their national budgets to agricultural development.





Once again, Rwanda is a model. It became the first country to complete its agricultural development plan and it's already showing results. In three years, Rwanda's investment in agriculture has increased fivefold and doubled agricultural GDP.


So food security is not just a question of getting food to hungry people. It is not simply a moral imperative. It represents the convergence of complex issues that have a direct bearing on economic growth. That's why the G8 in Italy pledged $20 billion toward food security. We pledged $3.5 billion for our own initiative over the next three years.


Now, in thinking about food security and agricultural productivity, the lens immediately widens. Because in order to be successful in that sector, we have to modernize and build infrastructure. Not long ago I asked an expert on Africa what the continent needed most. His answer was: “Three things: Roads, roads, and roads.” So we are pursuing strategies to improve infrastructure and provide better access to information, capital, and training.


We also have to emphasize aviation. One speaker at AGOA made the point that it is easier to fly from Nairobi to London or New Delhi to Kinshasa or Abuja than to fly between those African cities. And until we provide more support for safe and functional airports, like we are now doing with the government of Liberia, Angola, and Kenya, we will not maximize economic development.


We are also pursuing Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts with countries in Africa. And just two weeks ago, we signed an agreement with Senegal to provide $540 million to help that country rebuild its transportation and irrigation infrastructure.


The third pillar of our strategy is energy security. Africa is key to the United States and to global energy security, and the number of energy producers is growing. I had very productive meetings in Angola that will result in the creation of bilateral working groups on renewable energy, security issues, agriculture, and food, and we established a Memorandum of Understanding as to how we will pursue those objectives.


I also met with leaders in Nigeria and emphasized our commitment to partnering with Nigeria in areas such as electoral reform, anti-corruption activities, better stewardship of oil revenues, and efforts to build a more diversified economy, as well as the resolution of the conflict in the Niger Delta. I will be reaching out to the energy companies here who do business in the Niger Delta to figure out what we can do to try to resume a more productive outcome for the people of the Niger Delta in the production of energy.


There is no doubt that when one looks at Nigeria, it is such a heartbreaking scene we see. The number of people living in Nigeria is going up. The number of people facing food security and health challenges are going up. Why? Because the revenues have not been well managed. And the consequences of being a large energy producer has not been translated into positive changes for the Nigerian people.


Now, we encourage Nigeria, Angola, and other energy-producing countries to manage their resources and escape the natural resource curse that has plagued much of the continent. We have a new position in the State Department. It's the Coordinator for International Energy Affairs. I have appointed a very experienced expert, David Goldwyn, to work with our partner countries. We will help new producers devise transparent revenue management systems to help them avoid the challenges other countries have faced with large new flows of money from oil, gas, or mining.


And to that end, we are pleased to have contributed $6 million last week to the World Bank's multi-donor trust fund for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. We believe that within the right legal framework Africa can be an enormous market for investment and for economic growth, as well as a secure producer and supplier of energy.


Fourth, we need to build more public-private partnerships. In the 1960s, nearly 70 percent of all money flowing from the United States to the developing world was official development assistance; today, over 80 percent is from private sources.


We want to build on all of the generosity, the talents that are at our disposal – in the government, in the business community, in groups like the CCA, and in civil society. Under the leadership of Ambassador Elizabeth Bagley, who heads our global office for public-private partnerships, we recently announced several new partnerships, including one that will bring together USAID, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Global Impact Investing Network, and JP Morgan Chase to support the development of social impact investing strategies. We are trying to figure out to do what we do better through government, but how we maximize and do better what we can with the private sector and the not-for-profit sector as well.


And fifth, and perhaps most important, we are stressing good governance, transparency and accountability, ending corruption, and adherence to the rule of law. I don't need to tell this group that although there are so many opportunities for investment, none will succeed unless conditions are favorable for business and investment.


Companies are not going to be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, crime or civil unrest, or corruption that taints and distorts every transaction and decision, or to countries that violate the rights of their people and, worse, allow violence toward women and girls to be practiced with impunity.


South Africa offers a compelling example of the relationship between good governance and economic development. South Africa emerged from apartheid and engaged its citizenry in the democratic process and is now Africa's economic engine. And as Stephen said, having a South Africa-U.S. Business Council will once again demonstrate how closely we wish to work with our partners in South Africa.


Now, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative is incredibly important, so we are providing technical assistance, we're promoting more effective law enforcement through professional training of officers. And I am pleased that we won passage yesterday of a UN Security Council Resolution on gender and sexual-based violence that will be backed up by action through the UN.


There is so much to be done, but I am so excited about the potential. It's a big world out there, and we could spend time worrying about everywhere, and there are lots of opportunities everywhere. But I remain convinced that no place holds the opportunities of the future like Africa does. But that doesn't mean – (applause) – that we can just expect it to happen. We have to work together.


When I was at the University of Nairobi at a town hall, a great friend of mine and extraordinary environmental and peace advocate and Nobel Peace prize winner, Wangari Maathai, was with me was sitting in the audience, and she said something that has stuck with me that I have repeated across Africa and literally across the world. She said, “Africa is a rich continent. The gods must have been on our side when they created the planet. And yet we are poor.”


It is a painful truth; through colonialism and post-colonialism, the continent's riches have too often gone to the few, not the many. But Africa itself holds an example that I would recommend to all of you – those of you in government and those of you in business – and that is the arrangement in Botswana for the mining and marketing of their diamonds with De Beers.


The Government of Botswana in the late ‘40s and early ‘50s, post-independence, was so visionary. The leadership there was so devoted to building a country that would have the advantages that they wanted to see for their people after colonialism had finally ended. So they struck a hard bargain, and they created, essentially, a trust fund where a percentage of the revenues from the diamonds went into that fund, and then that fund was used to pave the roads. And if you've traveled in Botswana, you know that the roads are the best in Sub-Saharan Africa except for South Africa. And we can see the results year after year after year.


I got a letter the other day from the chairman, Mr. Oppenheimer, of De Beers saying, “Thank you for mentioning our relationship with Botswana. It has created a stable, successful environment for us to do business in.” Yes, you could have had short-term profits at the expense of long-term profitability. But instead, a different bargain was struck. I commend that example to all of you. (Applause.)


And let me just finally say that we stand ready to help. We stand ready to help our friends in Africa. We stand ready to help American businesses and corporations. We want to look back after the Obama Administration and be able to say we made a difference in Africa, and we can see the results. (Applause.) This is not only because it's the right thing to do and the smart thing to do; it's very personal to President Obama. He considers himself a son of Africa because of his father's lineage. And he and I talk about how we want to see positive changes, changes that we all know can be made given the intelligence and the work ethic and the extraordinary abilities of the people of Africa. So let's make sure that the governments of Africa are worthy of their people.


Thank you all very much. (Applause.)


Source: US Department of State


Hot Topics
September Employment Report
Tsunami In Samoan Islands
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Bank of America to Pay $713 Million in TARP Preferred Dividends
Forty-Six Percent of People Fear Being Left Behind in the 'Great Recovery'
New Coen Brothers Movie A Serious Man Opens October 2
Car Industry Set to Stay Lean and Mean, but Good Times are Ahead
3rd Quarter 2009 Manhattan Residential Market Report Shows Housing Market is Turning Corner