On Thursday, March 21, 2019, in honor of Women’s History Month, International Women’s Day and World Water Day, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Water Partnership, the Aspen Institute, Global Water 2020, and the Global Water Challenge will host a conference to raise awareness about the link between women’s empowerment and water. The conference will highlight how ready access to safe water and sanitation can drastically advance the quality of life for women and girls. Globally, women and girls spend some 200 million hours every day collecting water, taking precious time away from opportunities for paid work and education. Moreover, evidence shows that improving water quality, sanitation, and hygiene access in medical facilities improves maternal and infant health.

Speakers include:

• Laura Schulz, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Economic Growth, Education, and Environment, USAID
• Marcia Bernicat, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State
• Paula J. Dobriansky, former U.S. Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs and Senior Fellow at the “Future of Diplomacy Project” at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
• Chris Long, 2018 Walter Payton Man of the Year for the National Football League and the Founder of Waterboys
• Kelly Ann Naylor, Associate Director of Water and Sanitation, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
• Salamatu Garba, Founder and Executive Director, Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN)
• Jennifer Sara, Senior Director of Global Water Practice, World Bank
• Alma Golden, Senior Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau of Global Health, USAID
• Arikana Chihombori-Quao, African Union Ambassador to the United States
• Mina Guli, Ultra Runner and Founder, Thirst

The program will take place on March 21, 2019 from 9:00 a.m. until 2:25 p.m. in the Department of State’s George C. Marshall Center.

The event is open to the press. Media representatives may attend through an RSVP no later than Wednesday, March 20 at 3:00 p.m. to OES-PA-DG@state.gov.

Pre-set time for cameras is 8:15 a.m. from the 21st Street entrance. Final access time for writers and stills is 8:45 a.m. from the 21st Street entrance.

The day of the event, participants are asked to please provide one of the following: (1) a U.S. Government-issued photo media credential (e.g., Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense or Foreign Press Center), or (2) an official photo identification card issued by their news organization, or (3) a letter from their employer on official letterhead verifying their current employment as a journalist.

Additionally, they must present an official government photo identification card (i.e., U.S. driver’s license or passport).

For further information, please contact OES-PA-DG@state.gov.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of the United States of America and Japan.

Begin Text:

The United States and Japan emphasized their commitment to strengthening energy security and promoting energy access in the Indo-Pacific region and in sub-Saharan Africa during the third meeting of the Japan-United States Strategic Energy Partnership (JUSEP) in Washington, DC, on February 28, 2019. The United States and Japan reaffirmed the importance of coordinating investments and priorities through JUSEP in an effort to align the Japanese government’s target of $10 billion in public and private investment and capacity building training with the United States’ Asia EDGE (Enhancing Development and Growth through Energy). They also confirmed the importance of working closely on liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector development and on fostering business-to-business connections. This meeting showcased public-private events that have been held in the Indo-Pacific region and previewed an Indonesia-U.S.-Japan LNG workshop held in Jakarta, Indonesia on March 5, 2019, that highlighted opportunities for U.S. and Japanese firms to partner with Indonesia to further develop the LNG sector.

End text.

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External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

Today, the United States takes necessary actions to prevent the former Maduro regime from further plundering Venezuela’s assets and natural resources.

On November 1, 2018, President Trump signed Executive Order (E.O.) 13850, which targets persons operating in the gold sector of the Venezuelan economy. Today, the United States is designating the Venezuelan state-owned gold-sector company, MINERVEN, and its president, Adrian Antonio Perdomo Mata, for operating in this sector.

Maduro and his illicit network are misusing Venezuela’s gold-mining operations as another way to steal from the Venezuelan people after having mismanaged and plundered Venezuela’s crumbling oil industry.

Today’s action will prevent Maduro and other corrupt actors from further enriching themselves at the expense of the long-suffering Venezuelan people. In addition, it will help stop mining-related environmental damage and labor exploitation in Venezuela’s gold industry.

U.S. sanctions need not be permanent. The United States has made clear that the removal of sanctions is available to those who refuse to take part in human rights abuses, and who take concrete and meaningful actions to restore democratic order; speak out against abuses committed by the former Maduro regime; and combat corruption in Venezuela.

The United States continues to stand with interim President Juan Guaido, the democratically elected National Assembly, and the people of Venezuela as they peacefully restore constitutional order and prosperity to their country.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

On March 18, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation Christopher Ford and Brazilian Minister of Foreign Relations Ambassador Ernesto Araujo signed the Technology Safeguards Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil on technology safeguards associated with U.S. participation in space launches from Brazil.

Upon entry into force, the Agreement will establish the technical safeguards to support U.S. space launches from Brazil while ensuring the proper handling of sensitive U.S. technology consistent with U.S. nonproliferation policy, the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), and U.S. export control laws and regulations.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.

On March 19, the United States co-sponsored an event with Albania, Argentina, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Romania, and the United Kingdom at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland to highlight the dire human rights situation in Venezuela. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Carrie Filipetti led a panel that included a former prisoner of conscience, an investigative journalist, a legal expert, and a Member of the National Assembly who shared firsthand accounts of repression and explained the depth of the human rights crisis under the former Maduro regime.

This event highlighted how the former Maduro regime has clung to power by abusing human rights and instilling fear in its citizens. Reports of widespread use of torture, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, raids by secret police, closure of independent media, and bans on political activity worsen by the day. The panelists presented a panorama of the former Maduro regime’s systematic repression of human rights.

Please contact DRL-Press@state.gov for more information, visit https://www.state.gov/j/drl.htm, or follow us @StateDRL.

The Office of Website Management, Bureau of Public Affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the U.S. State Department.
External links to other Internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein.