Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback will travel to Turkey and Bangladesh April 13-20 to discuss religious freedom with government officials, civil society representatives, and a range of leaders representing both majority and minority religious communities. His travel will include a visit to the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

Follow Ambassador Brownback on Twitter: @State_IRF. For updates on the U.S. government’s human rights work, visit https://www.state.gov/j/drl/ or the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) Twitter account, @State_DRL. For press inquiries, please contact DRL at 202-647-4043.

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Today, the United States announced nearly $16 million in humanitarian assistance for Venezuelans who have fled their country due to the crisis there.

This funding from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development includes a contribution to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s regional response to the Venezuela crisis and humanitarian aid to Venezuelans and host communities in Colombia and Brazil. This assistance will help provide the people of Venezuela safe drinking water, hygiene supplies, shelter, protection from violence and exploitation, and work and education opportunities, in coordination with other humanitarian organizations and government partners.

This funding is in addition to the $2.5 million for emergency food and health assistance the United States provided last month and the more than $3 million we provided to UNHCR that assisted Venezuelans in FY 2017.

In total, the U.S. humanitarian response to the Venezuela crisis comes to more than $21 million since FY 2017.

The United States remains very concerned about the struggle Venezuelan citizens face every day to meet their families’ basic needs. As a hemisphere we must increase our support for the well-being of the Venezuelan people and the restoration of their democracy.

We greatly appreciate the generosity and compassion of countries throughout the hemisphere who are hosting hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans fleeing the crisis in their country. These include Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Guyana, Suriname, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Trinidad and Tobago, Aruba, and Curacao. We commend the humanitarian contributions made by all donors, and encourage additional contributions to meet growing humanitarian needs.

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The below is attributable to Spokesperson Heather Nauert:

Today, Acting Secretary of State John J. Sullivan and Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray co-hosted a meeting with President Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras, Vice President Jafeth Cabrera of Guatemala, and Foreign Minister Hugo Martinez of El Salvador on the margins of the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru.

The leaders discussed ways to enhance cooperation to promote security and prosperity in Central America. The Acting Secretary underscored the U.S. commitment to work together to address common challenges, including transnational criminal organizations, drug trafficking, and economic development.

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ACTING SECRETARY SULLIVAN: Good morning. It’s wonderful to be here in Lima and to participate in the Summit of the Americas. I’m especially honored to join one of the Trump administration’s most passionate advocates for issues impacting women across the globe, Advisor to the President of the United States, Ivanka Trump.

In Latin America and around the world, the United States supports policy engagement, programs, and partnerships to empower and to advance women’s participation in the economy. For almost a decade, the Department of State has launched initiatives in the region that provide training, mentoring and technology support to women entrepreneurs to help them start and grow their businesses. In 2012, we established a Women’s Entrepreneurship in the Americas initiative known as WEAmericas. Since that time, we have built over 40 WEAmericas partnerships and supported over 20,000 women in small and medium-sized enterprises across more than 20 Latin American countries.

Women entrepreneurs are an emerging market force serving as an invaluable source of innovation and job creation. From the United States Government’s perspective, the case for advancing women’s full participation in society and in business is critical. And further, advancing women’s economic participation globally is key to achieving U.S. foreign policy objectives and is directly linked to our national security.

Last year, the President of the United States declared that, quote, “In order to create economic growth and lots of very good, well-paying jobs, we must ensure that our economy is a place where women can work and thrive,” unquote. President Trump went on to say, “We need policies that help to keep women in the workforce and to address the unique barriers faced by female entrepreneurs.”

Government agencies across the United States are working to heed the President’s call to action to ensure that women are equipped with the necessary skillsets and provided equal access to the labor market, especially in those high-growth, high-wage sectors.

Now, I’m pleased to welcome my friend and colleague, the president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Ray Washburne, who will tell you more about OPIC’s recent initiatives to empower women.

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Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Carl Risch will travel to Morocco, Nigeria, and Ethiopia from April 15–21. While in Morocco and Ethiopia, Assistant Secretary Risch will meet with counterparts to discuss a range of consular issues including international legal obligations to accept the return of nationals who have been ordered removed and children’s issues.

The Assistant Secretary plans to review consular operations at our U.S. Consulates General in Casablanca and Lagos, and our U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa. He will also meet with interagency partners.

The United States is committed to long-term engagement with Morocco, Nigeria, and Ethiopia on a variety of consular issues, including efficient and equitable visa processing, protecting U.S. citizens overseas, working together on intercountry adoptions, and preventing and resolving international parent child abduction cases.

For press inquiries please contact CAPRESSREQUESTS@state.gov or (202) 485-6150.

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.