Europe

Tuesday’s global agenda: Ireland Day on the Hill

by Julian Pecquet - 03/19/13 1:19 PM ET

{mosads}Painful cuts: InterAction, an alliance of more than 180 U.S.-based, non-governmental organizations, is out with a handy graphic outlining the global pain wrought by sequestration.

Message from Cuba: Human rights activist Yoani Sanchez meets with Congress’s Cuban-American lawmakers and the press this morning on Capitol Hill.

Hearings galore: It’s a busy day on Capitol Hill. The Senate Armed Services Committee kicks things off this morning with a hearing into the U.S. Strategic and Cyber commands, followed closely by an examination by Casey’s Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on Near Eastern affairs of the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

The Senate Finance Committee will probe the president’s trade agenda with Acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis. And the House Foreign Affairs subpanels on Asia and the Middle East examine the way forward in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Later in the afternoon, the Helsinki Commission probes the troubled state of democracy in Hungary.

In other news:

Syrian rebels have picked a naturalized U.S. citizen to lead an interim government. [The New York Times]

A rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo turned himself into the U.S. embassy in Rwanda. [The Wall Street Journal]

The White House has picked someone to become the new coordinator for defense policy, countering weapons of mass destruction, and arms control. [Foreign Policy]

Lobbying registrations / regulations:

The State Department has announced a meeting on the president’s FY 2014 U.S. Refugee Admissions Program from 2 to 4 p.m. on May 15.

State Department schedule

Washington, DC

March 19, 2013

SECRETARY JOHN KERRY

Secretary Kerry accompanies President Obama on foreign travel.

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DEPUTY SECRETARY BILL BURNS

9:00 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, at the Department of State.

11:15 a.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Afghanistan Ambassador to the U.S. Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, at the Department of State.

12:30 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns attends a meeting at the White House.

3:45 p.m. Deputy Secretary Burns meets with Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Tarek Mitri, at the Department of State.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS WENDY SHERMAN

Under Secretary Sherman is on foreign travel through March 20, currently in Warsaw, Poland en route to Kyiv, Ukraine.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ROBERT HORMATS

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Hormats meets with Kenneth Lieberthal of the Brookings Institution to discuss U.S.-China Energy Cooperation, at the Department of State.

UNDER SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS TARA SONENSHINE

9:00 a.m. Under Secretary Sonenshine delivers opening remarks at the Global Counterterrorism Forum Countering Violent Extremism working group meeting, at the United States Institute of Peace.

12:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sonenshine hosts a lunch with public diplomacy scholars, at the Department of State.

2:00 p.m. Under Secretary Sonenshine meets with a group of Yemeni Imams, visiting on an International Visitor Leadership Program, at the Department of State.

ACTING UNDER SECRETARY FOR ARMS CONTROL AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ROSE GOTTEMOELLER

Acting Under Secretary Gottemoeller meets with various counterparts for discussions on a range of international security issues in Geneva, Switzerland.

CHIEF OF PROTOCOL AMBASSADOR CAPRICIA PENAVIC MARSHALL

Ambassador Marshall assists with the working visit of the Prime Minister of Ireland, His Excellency Enda Kenny, at the White House.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CONFLICT AND STABILIZATION OPERATIONS FREDERICK BARTON

Assistant Secretary Barton is on foreign travel to Burma and PACOM through March 26.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION AFFAIRS ESTHER BRIMMER

11:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Brimmer meets with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (SRSG) and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Tarek Mitri, at the Department of State.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS WILLIAM BROWNFIELD

Assistant Secretary Brownfield is on foreign travel to Costa Rica to meet with senior officials and civil society leaders to discuss citizen security cooperation under the Department of State’s Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI).

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND NONPROLIFERATION TOM COUNTRYMAN

Assistant Secretary Countryman leads the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty through March 28, at the UN.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS AFFAIRS JOSE FERNANDEZ

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Fernandez meets with Deputy Secretary General of the OECD Richard Boucher, at the Department of State.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS ROBERTA JACOBSON

9:00 a.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jacobson participates in a podcast interview, at the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, CA.

9:30 a.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jacobson participates in a 100,000 Strong in the Americas roundtable, at the Institute of the Americas in La Jolla, CA.

11:30 a.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jacobson tours the San Ysidro Port of Entry facility, on the U.S.-Mexico border.

12:30 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jacobson attends a luncheon with Tijuana Business Leaders, in Mexico.

8:00 p.m. LOCAL Assistant Secretary Jacobson meets with José Guadalupe Osuna Millán, Governor of Baja California, in Mexico.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR OCEANS AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCIENTIFIC AFFAIRS KERRI-ANN JONES

10:30 a.m. Assistant Secretary Jones delivers opening remarks at an event commemorating 50 years of U.S.-Italy space cooperation, in Washington, DC.

12:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones meets with the Canadian Environmental Assessment Association President Elaine Feldman, at the Department of State.

7:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Jones attends a St. Patrick’s Day reception hosted by the Irish Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Collins, in Washington DC.

ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS AND LABOR UZRA ZEYA

11:45 p.m. Acting Assistant Secretary Zeya joins Stephen Pomper, National Security Council, at the White House.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES AND MIGRATION ANNE CLAIRE RICHARD

10:00 a.m. Assistant Secretary Richard and USAID Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA), Nancy Lindborg, testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

1:00 p.m. Assistant Secretary Richard meets with UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, at the Department of State.

5:30 p.m. Assistant Secretary Richard attends a reception for UNHCR’s Regional Representative to the United States and Caribbean Vincent Cochitel, hosted by Refugee Council USA, InterAction, and UNHCR, at InterAction.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL AFFAIRS ANN STOCK

10:15 a.m. Assistant Secretary Stock delivers remarks to high school students participating in the Future Leaders Exchange Program (FLEX) Civic Education Workshop, at the Department of State.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS LUIS CDEBACA

2:00 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca meets with Bruce Charendoff, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, Sabre Holdings, at the Department of State.

3:30 p.m. Ambassador CdeBaca meets with John Sifton, Asia Director, DC Office of Human Rights Watch, at the Department of State.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE AND U.S. GLOBAL AIDS COORDINATOR ERIC GOOSBY

2:00 p.m. Ambassador Goosby delivers opening remarks on gender-based violence at an event co-sponsored by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the “Together for Girls” public-private partnership, in Washington, DC.

AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE STEPHEN RAPP, OFFICE OF GLOBAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Ambassador Rapp is on foreign travel in Copenhagen, Denmark to meet with officials regarding global criminal justice issues.

SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR GLOBAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS RETA JO LEWIS

9:00 a.m. Special Representative Lewis meets with Ivan De Pelliegrin, President, Rio Grande do Sul Development Agency and Tarson Nunez, Senior Advisor for International Relations and Cooperation to the Governor and the Rio Grande do Sul State Government, at the Department of State.

DIRECTOR OF POLICY PLANNING DAVID MCKEAN

4:30 p.m. Director McKean meets with Richard Fontaine, President of CNAS, at the Department of State.