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Earlier this year, a Syrian father of eight received a text message.

It informed him that the stipend he had been receiving each month to buy food for his family was being cut from $19 to $13.50 per person. This was half of what he had been receiving the year before—when his family first reached Lebanon from the war-torn Syrian city of Raqqa—and would not be enough to feed his kids.

With that amount, he told a reporter, "You can't even get bread."

Across the region, refugees fleeing the brutality of the Assad regime and ISIL have received similar news of declining support. Just this month, 229,000 Syrian refugees in Jordan learned they would no longer receive any food assistance.

There are ways you can help. Find out how at AidRefugees.gov.

Nearly 12 million Syrians have been forced from their homes by Syria's devastating conflict, four million of whom have fled their country. Syrians given refuge in neighboring countries are safe from the barrel bombings, chemical attacks, and deadly sieges they faced at home. But with few opportunities to work, most must rely on the international community to meet their most basic needs: a roof over their heads, food on their table, a classroom for their children.

This morning, President Obama spoke to the United Nations about American leadership. As the President said, America is the strongest nation in the world, and one of the ways we have always demonstrated that strength is through our compassion for people who are less fortunate.

Syria is no exception. Our government leads the world in contributions to the Syrian crisis, having given $4.5 billion to assist those in need. We have also significantly increased the number of refugees we will admit to the United States, including Syrians. And we continue to work tirelessly towards the political solution that will bring the bloodshed to an end and allow displaced Syrians to return home, as so many wish to do.

But the profound challenges faced by these families cannot be tackled by governments alone. Americans understand this, and many are asking what they can do.

We encourage you to visit AidRefugees.gov and see how you can use your skills, resources, and energy to help Syrians and other refugees in need.

Thank you,

Ambassador Samantha Power

Last week at the Human Rights First summit, I described how advancing the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people around the world is central to, not separate from, our comprehensive human rights agenda. With LGBT people facing death, violence, persecution, and discrimination around the world, the stakes could not be higher. Seventy-eight countries have laws that criminalize consensual same-sex acts between adults, resulting in unchecked human rights abuses and exploitation by police, security officials and private citizens. In at least 5 countries, the death penalty can be applied for being gay. Even where being LGBT is not a crime, violence by state and non-state actors alike often goes unpunished and LGBT communities live in fear and isolation.

As President Obama has said, “no one should be harmed because of who they are or who they love”. To ensure a comprehensive U.S. response to these threats, one year ago, President Obama issued the first ever Presidential Memorandum to advance the human rights of LGBT persons, requiring all U.S. agencies engaged abroad to “ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons,” and to report annually on their progress.

We are continuing to lead a government-wide effort to oversee implementation of the Presidential Memorandum and ensure effective coordination across different agencies and offices. Highlights from progress made across the U.S. Government include:

Strengthening U.S. Government capacity:

• Departments and agencies are establishing new coordination mechanisms, strengthening training of key personnel, and raising internal awareness among staff and partners about LGBT issues. Secretary of State Clinton and USAID Administrator Shah have instructed U.S. embassies and USAID missions to meet regularly with the LGBT community in their host countries. The Department of State has also established a taskforce that meets monthly to oversee the implementation of its LGBT strategy, created and distributed a resource toolkit to all embassies, and established a rapid response mechanism to address emerging crises in different countries. USAID has established a new LGBT senior coordinator position and internal task force, developed e-tools including an LGBT resource page and internal listserv, and directed all USAID missions to appoint a focal point to follow LGBT issues.
• The Peace Corps is implementing LGBT training sessions for Volunteers and staff to raise awareness about the unique challenges faced by local LGBT populations as well as LGBT Peace Corps Volunteers in the field. In 2012, the Peace Corps also facilitated a regional workshop to help overseas posts foster a more inclusive and supportive environment for LGBT Volunteers and staff.

Leveraging U.S. Foreign Assistance to Protect LGBT People from Violence and Discrimination and Respond to Urgent Crises:

• Building on Secretary Clinton’s historic speech the same day the Presidential Memorandum was released, State launched the Global Equality Fund which -- in more than 20 countries worldwide -- supports emerging civil society organizations in advancing equality and protection for LGBT persons through increasing access to justice, supporting law reform, protecting individuals from violence and bolstering local advocacy efforts. Through its emergency response programs, the Fund has also provided emergency assistance so that more than 50 LGBT advocates could address their immediate protection needs. USAID has established a new Global Development Partnership to promote LGBT inclusion, build capacity of LGBT civil society and leaders, and conduct new research on the economic development costs of discrimination against LGBT people. USAID’s “Being LGBT in Asia” study, which includes six priority countries, provides much needed research on the socio-economic reality of LGBT communities. USAID missions including in Ecuador, Nicaragua and Ukraine are elevating awareness and training on LGBT issues, and promoting non-discrimination and inclusion of LGBT communities within their missions’ broader programs, and sharing those best practices across the agency.
• State and USAID are also working to improve program coordination and exchange best practices with other donors. USAID hosted the first high-level meeting with other development agencies during the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Development Assistance Committee meeting in December 2012.
•  As stated in the PEPFAR Blueprint for an AIDS-free Generation and guidance on HIV prevention for men who have sex with men (MSM), the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator continues to work with partner countries to prioritize and scale-up services for MSM.  MSM populations often experience discrimination, stigma, and homophobia, and concentrated epidemics of HIV among MSM in developing countries are severe. Recognizing the disproportionate HIV burden facing MSM in many countries, PEPFAR works to strengthen and expand HIV prevention for MSM and their partners and to improve MSM’s ability to access HIV care and treatment. This work includes a focus on reducing stigma and discrimination experienced by MSM, promoting the human rights of MSM, and helping ensure that HIV/AIDS programs are conducted in a manner that does not put MSM at risk for discrimination, violence, arrest or prosecution.

Protecting LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers:

• State has continued to implement its comprehensive LGBT refugee protection strategy in coordination with the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Health and Human Services (HHS). State is funding research on threats facing LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, supporting NGOs that work with LGBT survivors of violence, and strengthening the capacity of UNHCR and other non-government partners. State has enhanced coordinationwith DHS and other resettlement partners to expedite refugee processing for particularly vulnerable applicants, including LGBT individuals.  State and DHS will continue to work to strengthen U.S. capacity to offer expedited protection to refugees in need.
• DHS' U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) created an expanded and stand-alone lesson module, Guidance for Adjudicating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Refugee and Asylum Claims. USCIS made this expanded training on LGBT issues mandatory for all officers adjudicating refugee and asylum claims, integrated it into basic training for all new officers, and engaged in substantial stakeholder outreach on the module. Refugees being resettled to the United States are also benefiting from increased training and awareness for resettlement personnel, including through the creation of an HHS supported guide to resettling LGBT refugees and those granted asylum.
• DHS’ U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has begun deploying a new automated risk assessment instrument which directs officers to consider special vulnerabilities, including sexual orientation and gender identity, when making custody and classification decisions in the immigrant detention context. Additionally, this month Secretary Napolitano announced that DHS has proposed standards for immigration detention and holding facilities for the detection, prevention, and reduction of sexual abuse to protect the health and safety of individuals in DHS confinement facilities. Earlier this year, ICE announced that it had issued a revision of its national detention standards explicitly prohibiting sexual abuse and prohibiting discrimination or discipline on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Lastly, at Secretary Napolitano’s direction, ICE issued written guidance clarifying that agency personnel should consider a person’s longstanding, same-sex partnership with a U.S. Citizen as a positive factor when exercising their discretion for individuals in removal proceedings.

Advancing International Norms through Multilateral Engagement:

• Throughout the United Nations system and in other multilateral forums, the United States has raised the profile of LGBT issues broadly, building on the first-ever UN resolution on the human rights of LGBT people at the UN Human Rights Council in 2011. This has included engagement in bodies as diverse as UNICEF, UNESCO, the UN NGO Committee,UN Women, and the Organization of American States. This fall, at the UN General Assembly, the U.S.successfully led effortsto insert language into a UN resolution emphasizing that people should not be killed based on their sexual orientation orgender identity.
• At the 2012 annual World Health Assembly (WHA), Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius led a historic panel discussion, co-sponsored by Brazil, Norway, South Africa and Thailand, entitled Breaking Down Barriers: Addressing Stigma and Discrimination in Health Care for LGBT Persons.  Building on momentum from the discussion,HHS successfully petitioned for this issue to be officially addressed at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) May 2013 Executive Board meeting, which is the next step in achieving our ultimate goal in 2014 of the first official WHO resolution promoting access to health care for LGBT people.  Prior to the May 2013 Executive Board discussion, WHO will also publish a report on the health of LGBT persons. 

Promoting Nondiscrimination and Combating Criminalization of LGBT Status:

• The Department of Justice (DOJ) has partnered with the Department of State to help countries such as Honduras— where President Obama called on the government to address impunity for violence against LGBT persons—investigate and prosecute LGBT hate crimes. DOJ is working to integrate LGBT issues in all of its international efforts, including the International Law Enforcement Academies (ILEA) and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). From June 13-15, 2012, DOJ’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training (OPDAT) along with the US Embassy in Tirana hosted the first USG-sponsored Regional LGBT Workshop. Over 100 participants from 18 countries participated, including U.S. officers and activists from Italy, Ukraine, Belgium, and Turkey, to name just a few.  More recently, OPDAT assisted the Philippine Judicial Academy in two roundtable discussions on emerging issues facing LGBT persons. Participants -- including judges, Ministry of Justice officials and LGBT NGOs -- learned techniques for handling cases involving violations against the civil rights of LGBT persons. DOJ is planning to review and expand its assistance to make further progress in training law enforcement and judiciaries in target countries.
• State has expanded public diplomacy and outreach efforts across the globe: nearly 90 embassies participated in Pride Week events this summer, with posts in Kenya, Laos, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan, among others, holding first-time LGBT events. State’s International Visitors Leadership Program is also playing a key role in ensuring LGBT leaders from other countries are able to learn from the experience of the LGBT movement in the United States, including learning about the U.S. experience in combating hate crimes.  This fall, Judy and Dennis Shepard, the parents of slain youth Matthew Shepard and prominent advocates for LGBT tolerance, conducted a wide-ranging State Department-supported outreach tour in Europe on LGBT rights and the promotion of tolerance.
• The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has made clear that protecting the human rights of all people, including LGBT persons, is part of the overall human rights and governance criteria on which countries will be assessed for compact eligibility.  MCC has been very explicit in communicating with governments that removing anti-LGBT laws is an important factor in assessing human rights and governance performance.  
• The Department of the Treasury (Treasury) has asked each of the U.S. Executive Directors of the multilateral development banks (MDBs) including the World Bank to raise LGBT concerns to a policy level and increase awareness of the issue. Treasury is also urging the MDBs to make effective use of all existing policies and instruments so that all individuals, including LGBT persons, can enjoy non-discriminatory access to the assistance that MDBs provide. This includes identifying and strengthening the MDBs’ existing non-discrimination safeguards to help ensure LGBT persons are not discriminated against in MDB funded activities.
• The Department of Commerce (Commerce) and the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) are considering LGBT concerns, for instance, in the context of the human rights eligibility requirement in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act and through workplace anti-discrimination programs under the labor cooperation provisions of trade agreements. Commerce is also pursuing new lines of effort to engage the private sector in expanding non-discrimination and tolerance in other countries, recognizing that hostility to LGBT employees creates an adverse business climate that can hinder economic growth and competitiveness. In response to the Presidential Memorandum, the Department of Defense is also developing proposals to integrate attention to LGBT human rights abuses in ongoing DOD partnerships and initiatives.

We will continue to build on this foundation to identify new opportunities to advance and protect the human rights of LGBT persons. We welcome the partnership of many other governments as well as non-governmental and multilateral partners in this effort, from civil society organizations to faith communities. When the International AIDS Conference returned to the United States in July for the first time in 22 years— thanks to President Obama concluding a successful bipartisan effort to end the entry ban on persons living with HIV— the White House hosted a roundtable discussion with LGBT advocates from throughout the world. Their recommendations and feedback continue to shape our work. And just last week, on the one-year anniversary of the Presidential Memorandum, I was pleased to host the Council for Global Equality for a discussion of the many challenges ahead. We look forward to continued dialogue in the months and years to come. 

We all have a stake in this: when laws such as those proposed in Uganda strip away the right to life, privacy and freedom of expression and association for the LGBT community, everyone’s fundamental freedoms are threatened. As we move forward with this work, we stand in solidarity with the many brave LGBT activists around the world - from Albania to Zimbabwe - who put their lives on the line every day. We are inspired, and we are listening.

Samantha Power is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the National Security Council.

Seeing these signs of progress, we have responded in kind, with specific steps to recognize the government’s efforts and encourage further reform. We have eased sanctions, appointed our first ambassador in 22 years, and opened a USAID mission. At the same time, we have also updated sanctions authorities that allow us to target those who interfere with the peace process or the transition to democracy, and we created a ground-breaking framework for responsible investment from the United States that encourages transparency and oversight.

We are clear-eyed about the challenges that Burma faces. The peril faced by the stateless Rohingya population in Rakhine State is particularly urgent, and we have joined the international community in expressing deep concern about recent violence that has left hundreds dead, displaced over 110,000, and destroyed thousands of homes. There is much work to be done to foster peace and reconciliation in other ethnic conflicts, develop the justice sector, and cultivate the free press and robust civil society that are the checks and balances needed in any stable democracy. But we also see an historic opportunity both to help Burma lock in the progress that it has made so far—so that it becomes irreversible—and to meet the many challenges in front of it. In May 2011, as the Arab Spring took hold, the President noted that America’s interests are served when ordinary people are empowered to chart their own political and economic futures. And to governments, he made a promise: if you take the risks that reform entails, you will have the full support of the United States. 

Last month, as part of our effort to fulfill that promise, the Obama administration held the first-ever official bilateral dialogue on human rights with the Government of Burma. Led by Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human Rights and Labor, the purpose was to initiate a new channel between our two countries to discuss challenges ahead – a high-level exchange on urgent and delicate issues that would have been unthinkable a year ago. Our delegation included not only Posner, Ambassador Derek Mitchell, and other State Department officials, but also senior officials from the White House, the Vice President’s office, USAID, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense, including both civilian officials and uniformed military. The delegation included experts on labor rights and economic development, rule of law and political reform, ethnic conflict and reconciliation, land-mine removal, and criminal justice. Our hosts included senior advisors to President Thein Sein and ministers and senior officials from across the Burmese government and military. Aung San Suu Kyi attended in her capacity as a member of parliament and the chair of a new legislative committee on the rule of law.

Before the official dialogue began, the U.S. delegation spent three days in Rangoon meeting with former political prisoners, ethnic minority leaders, labor advocates, LGBT organizations (who said that this was the first time any government had ever invited them to meet together), and other members of Burma’s nascent civil society. When we sat down for our official dialogue in Naypyidaw, we were able to convey the concerns raised in these meetings to our counterparts, while also stressing the importance of their building an inclusive reform dialogue that would seek inputs from Burmese civil society. 

The U.S. government engages with many countries around the world in official dialogues on human rights. While these discussions are often a useful forum for diplomacy, it is fair to say that these conversations can sometimes be stilted, characterized by predictable presentations rather than a spontaneous back-and-forth in which uncertainty can be expressed. The U.S.-Burma dialogue was unusually high-energy and candid.

We both recognized the need to empower reformers in and out of government, protect against backsliding, and ensure the broader Burmese public feels the changes afoot. One of the most challenging aspects of reform is enlisting the country’s military, which governed the country through authoritarian rule for five decades. U.S. Army Lieutenant General Francis Wiercinski drew on his own experiences to make a powerful case to senior officials from the Burmese Defense Ministry that national security is helped rather than hindered by transparency and independent monitoring, and by compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law. The discussions, which emphasized areas where commitments to reform are necessary – including on child soldiers, forced labor, and in conflict areas – underscored that the gradual process of normalizing our military-to-military relationship will hinge on progress on human rights.

Many of the issues that we discussed in detail will likely feature in the President’s upcoming trip to Burma.  These included:

• Prisoners of conscience. The release of more than 700 political prisoners in the last year has been unprecedented. But as Secretary Clinton has made clear, for the United States even one prisoner of conscience is too many, and the State Department has passed along a list of those we are concerned remain imprisoned. In addition, as one ex-prisoner put it, “we have been released, but we are not free.” The released prisoners have a huge amount to offer a democratic Burma, but, as we noted, the government will need to lift outstanding travel and other restrictions in order for them to participate fully in society.
• Political reforms. Reforms have begun to change the political landscape, particularly as parliament has become more inclusive, and as representatives are increasingly answerable to their constituents.  But efforts to build civil society, make government ministries responsive to the public, and create a more inclusive political process have just begun. In particular, the central government needs to tackle the challenge of ensuring that any reforms that are made by the parliament and central government are felt at the local level and especially in Burma’s border areas where the majority of the country’s ethnic minorities reside. 
• Rule of law. The parliament and the executive branch have tackled part of an ambitious agenda for remaking Burma's law and legal institutions.  But the judicial branch remains the least developed of Burma's political institutions. Judicial reform, repealing outdated and restrictive laws, educating citizens of their rights, creating a vibrant civil society to protect those rights, and remaking the legal system and the legal profession all are required to lay the foundation of rule of law in Burma, and all have a long way to go.
• Peace and reconciliation. The challenge of ongoing ethnic and sectarian violence -- including in Shan State, Kachin State, and Rakhine State –  remains an area of deep and on-going concern. If left unaddressed, it will undermine progress toward national reconciliation, stability, and lasting peace. Serious human rights abuses against civilians in several regions continue, including against women and children.  Humanitarian access to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons remains a serious challenge and on-going crisis. The government and the ethnic nationalities need to work together urgently to find a path to lasting peace that addresses minority rights, deals with differences through dialogue not violence, heals the wounds of the past, and carries reforms forward. The situation in Rakhine State and the recent violence against the Rohingya and other Muslims last week only underscores the critical urgency of ensuring the safety and security of all individuals in the area, investigating all reports of violence and bringing those responsible to justice, according citizenship and full rights to the Rohingya, and bringing about economic opportunity for all local populations.

Ultimately, Burma's reforms will succeed or fail based on the efforts of the Burmese people themselves. President Obama's policy approach has been to support reform and those championing it – an investment in Burma’s future that the President will personally reinforce later this month in Rangoon. Behind this investment is a commitment to helping the Burmese people see the promise that lasting reform holds for their country. As they take charge of their destiny, the American people stand ready to help.

This week, President Obama directed a comprehensive review to strengthen the United States’ ability to prevent mass atrocities. The President’s directive states plainly that: “Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States of America.” The directive creates an important new tool in this effort, establishing a standing interagency Atrocities Prevention Board with the authority to develop prevention strategies and to ensure that concerns are elevated for senior decision-making so that we are better able to work with our allies and partners to be responsive to early warning signs and prevent potential atrocities. The directive recognizes that preventing mass atrocities is a responsibility that all nations share and that other countries must also be enlisted to respond to particular crises. Therefore, the directive calls for  a strategy for engaging key regional allies and partners so that they are prepared to accept greater responsibility for preventing and responding to crimes against humanity. 

Over the past two years, the Obama Administration has devoted enormous time and energy to better equipping our Government, and the international community as a whole, to be able to respond meaningfully to potential (and actual) atrocities.  He is the first president to establish a position at the White House responsible for policy on war crimes and mass atrocity.  In Sudan, we launched a full court diplomatic press that helped ensure that the South Sudan referendum occurred on time, thereby preventing the outbreak of mass violence that would have accompanied a delay.  In Kyrgyzstan, through engagement at the highest levels, we helped bring about the creation of a formidable international commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of the ethnic killings there and to prevent relapse into conflict.  In Cote d’Ivoire, we facilitated a robust international effort to protect civilians, while maintaining firm resolve that strong-man Laurent Gbagbo had to step down.  In Libya, as civilians were being targeted by their own leader for ruthless attack, we mobilized – with unprecedented speed -- an international coalition, operating with a mandate from the Security Council and at the request of the Libyan people and the Arab League, to protect civilians endangered by Qadhaffi.  When indicators of a potential relapse into conflict emerged around the constitutional referendum in Kenya, we worked with international partners and Kenyan leaders to support a peaceful and credible process.

We know that often holding those who have carried out mass atrocities accountable is at times our best tool to prevent future atrocities.  As such, we have engaged in an intensive effort to create a variety of international mechanisms charged with uncovering the facts and identifying those responsible for gross human rights abuses in Syria, Libya, Kyrgyzstan, Cote d’Ivoire, and have announced our commitment to accomplish the same in Burma. We have also intensified our focus on finding the world’s most wanted fugitive war criminals, mobilizing interagency focus and resources towards apprehending those who must face justice.   We offered our full support to the Government of Serbia as it successfully pursued the final remaining fugitives from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic, who were apprehended this year.  

In addition to the Presidential directive, which makes clear the level of priority attached to preventing mass atrocity, we are taking another important step forward in our effort to hold accountable human rights abusers by, for the first time, barring entry into the United States of persons who organize or participate in mass atrocities, war crimes, crimes against humanity, or other serious violations of human rights.   Existing U.S. law renders specific classes of human rights violators inadmissible to the United States – such as participants in genocide, torture, or extra-judicial killings. However, before today, the United States did not have an explicit bar to admission on the basis of participation in other serious human rights or humanitarian law violations or atrocities.  The President’s Proclamation fills this gap, and by enumerating these grounds for denying admission to the United States, policymakers will have a new tool to warn groups that have carried out, or may be about to carry out crimes against humanity, war crimes, and related abuses , that their conduct falls within explicit standing bans on admission to the United States.  As such, we will be able to more effectively shame those who are organizing widespread and systematic violence against civilians based on ethnicity, religion, or other protected characteristics. In banning would-be organizers of human rights violations as well as perpetrators, it allows the United States to act expeditiously before planned atrocities metastasize into actual ones.

We know that the steps this administration has taken are not panaceas to the horrifying violence being perpetrated around the world against civilians. Even today, we see violence against civilians from Syria to Sudan. But President Obama has directed us to scrub every option and bring as many levers as possible to bear in trying to influence the calculus of those promoting ethnic, religious and other forms of mass violence. The Obama administration takes very seriously its responsibility to do everything that we can to prevent atrocities, and -- with the President’s Directive and his Proclamation barring human rights violators from entering the United States -- President Obama has given the US government two new tools in the effort to meet this responsibility.

 Read the Fact Sheet

HumanRights.gov is primarily aimed at increasing the American public’s access to human rights-related information and understanding of our global engagement on these critical issues.  We hope that it proves equally valuable to citizens of other nations seeking to promote accountability and change in their own societies.

HumanRights.gov currently features content that largely comes from the U.S. Department of State.  The content will grow to include additional information from partnering Federal agencies including the U.S. Agency for International Development, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Labor.  The website is easily searchable with a comprehensive archive of reports, press releases, statements, articles, and briefings generated on international human rights concerns.  We hope you find it useful and welcome your feedback, which should be sent to HumanRightsWebsite@state.gov.

Samantha Power is Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights for the National Security Staff.

While “Sunshine Week” may be an American invention, the momentum for greater transparency and accountability in government is a global phenomenon.  In countries around the world, governments and civil society groups are taking new and creative steps to ensure that government delivers for citizens and to strengthen democratic accountability.

President Obama witnessed this extraordinary innovation first-hand during his trip to India in November.  He attended the first-ever “Expo on Democracy and Open Government” and sampled the ways in which technology was being used by Indian citizens and civil society groups to expose corruption. One group showed him the way Indians could use a simple SMS code to obtain background knowledge on political candidates – their financial assets, any criminal backgrounds, etc. He also saw a ground-breaking website, www.ipaidabribe.com, where Indians posted their tales of having been forced to pay a bribe, in refusing to pay a bribe, and in “not having to pay a bribe” –  stories celebrating Indian public servants’ refusal to succumb to corruption.

During his speech to Parliament, he celebrated the passage of India’s Right to Information Act (RTA) and, in his interactions with civil society groups, saw how ordinary Indians are using the RTA to improve the delivery of basic services, root out corruption in government programs, andempower voters to be more informed participants in democratic politics. These innovations in democratic governance are cropping up on every continent:

• El Salvador and Liberia recently passed progressive freedom of information laws, joining more than 80 countries with legislation in place, up from only 13 in 1990;
• A few weeks ago in Paris, six new countries from Europe, Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East met the high standards of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), empowering citizens with unprecedented information about payments made for the extraction of naturalresources;
• Brazil and South Africa are pioneering innovative tools to promote budget transparency and foster citizen engagement in budget decision-making, along with tens of other countries that are making budget proposals and processes open to public input and scrutiny;
• Civil society groups are developing mechanisms to enable citizens to keep track of what happens in legislatures and parliaments, including impressive web portals such as votainteligente.cl in Chile and mzalendo.com in Kenya; and
• Experiments in citizen engagement in Tanzania, Indonesia, and the Philippines, are demonstrating that citizen efforts to monitor the disbursement of government funds for education, health, and other basic services, actually decrease the likelihood of corruption and drive better performance in service delivery.

In his address in September before the UN General Assembly, President Obama hailed open society and open government, and called on countries to bring to the United Nations this September their specificcommitments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and leverage new technologies.  In Brazil, he will welcome the joint leadership of the U.S. and Brazil in a global open government initiative that assembles countries from all over the world – and at different stages of economic and democratic development -- to share their best practices. As we push for greater openness a home, and offer our support to reformers and activists in other countries, it is clear that all of us can learn a tremendous amount from innovators that are pushing the frontiers of transparency and accountability around the globe.

Samantha Power is Senior Director and Special Assistant for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights

Today in Mumbai, President Obama attended what is likely the first ever  Expo on Democracy and Open Government. India's dynamism in the technology sector is well known, as is Gandhi's legacy in India of civic action and bottom-up change, but today's expo highlighted something very fresh: Indian civil society's harnessing of innovation and technology to strengthen India's democracy -- by fighting corruption, holding government officials accountable, and empowering citizens to be the change they seek.

Just before taking the stage at the town hall at St. Xavier's College, President Obama spent about half an hour wandering through ten booths showcasing different approaches to promoting open government and strengthening open society. He visited with the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR), a network that successfully pressed for a reform in election rules that now require candidates to disclose their financial assets, educational backgrounds, and any legal action taken against them. ADR has developed an SMS service, which allows Indians to type in their zip code, and obtain a text message providing once-unavailable background information on their candidates. In a country of 700 million cell phones, this has the power to make voting choices far more meaningful. The President stopped at a booth run by Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), a grassroots group that uses puppet shows and folk theater to popularize India's landmark Right to Information law. He heard how Indians have filed more than two million requests for information since the law was passed in 2005. In the United States it is mainly journalists, historians, and NGOs who generally use the Freedom of Information Act, while in India the RTI is used by ordinary citizens -- many in very remote areas -- who seek to use the law to ascertain why they have not received pensions, rations, or other basic services. One of the most remarkable features of the law is that Indian officials found to have withheld information from citizens, themselves have to pay fines.

Part of what Indian civil society groups have discovered is the importance of using personal stories and publicizing factual data in order to mobilize democratic demand.  President Obama spoke with Janagraaha, a group that created the website Ipaidabribe.com where Indians upload videos of their experiences in paying a bribe, in refusing to pay a bribe, and in "not having to pay a bribe" -- where Indian public servants provide services that citizens wish to celebrate. The website has received 120,000 hits in two and a half months. He also met with Arghyam, which holds public gatherings in rural India to test local drinking water. By ensuring that citizens are present to witness the water tests (the tests turns yellow for dirty water, purple for clean), the group is able to build bottom-up and intense pressure for clean water and hold local officials accountable if the water quality does not improve. A growing portion of this demand comes from women -- women's civil society groups, and women village leaders. The 73rd amendment to the Indian Constitution in 1993 mandated that one-third of Indian seats in government would go to women. More than one million women have been elected since this law was passed, and President Obama heard from the Hunger Project, which has trained more than 90,000 women local leaders. The President met a woman leader from a rural Panchayat who -- once elected -- overcame the opposition of the village leaders and mobilized her community to build the village's first-ever school for girls.

India is at the vanguard of figuring out how to exploit technology and innovation on behalf of democratic accountability. U.S.-based groups, as well as those throughout the developed and developing world, could learn an enormous amount from these efforts. And India may well become a kind of "city on the hill" that other countries look to for lessons on not only how to pull millions of people out of poverty, but also on how to strengthen democratic accountability. In his address in September before the UN General Assembly, President Obama hailed open society and open government, and he called on countries to bring to the  UN next September their "specific commitments" to transparency, citizen empowerment, and democratic accountability. He also said that "part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others." If Indian civil society groups should choose to share their experiences with citizens and NGOs in countries that have only recently embarked on their democratic journeys, the dividend will be profound.

Capitalizing on the creativity and innovation that Americans and Indians are bringing to these issues, President Obama and Prime Minister Singh are launching a US-India Partnership on Open Government, to drive forward our respective domestic efforts and to offer our support to the efforts of reformers and activists in other interested countries.

In support of this effort, we announced at today's expo an initial commitment of approximately $1m to support the work of Indian civil society in sharing their best practices abroad, with a matching commitment of in-kind assistance by Sam Pitroda that will harness India's technical expertise to assist governments in harnessing technology, improving services, and enhancing democratic accountability. This is precisely the kind of "partnership built on shared values" that President Obama has hailed during his visit to India.

Samantha Power is Senior Director and Special Assistant for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights

Today, in Geneva, in a landmark achievement for human rights, a diverse group of countries – large and small, rich and poor, north and south, east and west – came together to create the first-ever Special Rapporteur on freedom of assembly and association. This new position will collect critical information about how these rights are exercised, identify best practices that promote and protect these rights, and help hold governments accountable for their restrictions on civil society activity. The geographic diversity of the 62 countries that co-sponsored this resolution – including original co-sponsors the Czech Republic, Indonesia, Lithuania, the Maldives, Mexico and Nigeria – are but the latest testament to the universality of the right to assemble – a right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and acted upon every day by citizens around the world who mobilize on behalf of good government, more inclusive politics, cleaner air, media freedom, and the full stable of human rights. Most notably, many of these cosponsors were nations that emerged from tyranny in the second half of the last century. Together this group conveyed our shared belief, in President Obama’s words, that “part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others.”

Throughout history, when societies face tough economic times, we have seen democratic reforms deferred, decreased trust in government, persecution of minority groups, and a general shrinking of the democratic space. This time, though, a large and far-sighted group of countries have banded together to send a resounding message that the protection and advancement of civil society bring about the advancement of society as a whole. The Human Rights Council’s decision is both a moral and pragmatic victory. As Secretary Clinton said in Krakow this summer, “progress in the 21st century depends on the ability of individuals to coalesce around shared goals, and harness the power of their convictions.” Those who stood together today at the Human Rights Council took an important step to bring about that progress.

Samantha Power is Senior Director and Special Assistant for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights