June 17, 2009    

The U.S. Embassy congratulates Nepali filmmaker Tsering Choden whose “Democracy is…” video was chosen the winner from the South and Central Asia region.  The Democracy Video Challenge was a worldwide online competition that engaged people around the world in a global dialogue on democracy, where young video makers were asked to complete the phrase, “Democracy is…” through three-minute videos posted on the competition’s YouTube site.

More than 900 people from 95 countries entered the challenge. An independent jury co-chaired by Hernando de Soto (President of the Institute for Liberty and Democracy) and Michael Apted (President of the Directors Guild of America) selected the 18 finalists, and the online voting public chose the six winners, one from each region of the world. Public voting to select the six winners ended at midnight of June 15th.

The winners were announced in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. They are:

· Tsering Choden from Nepal (South and Central Asia)
· Chansa Tembo from Zambia (Sub-Saharan Africa)
· Aissa Peñafiel from the Philippines (East Asia and Pacific)
· Lukasz Szozda from Poland (Europe)
· Rodin Hamidi from the United Arab Emirates (Near East and North Africa)
· Anna Christa dos Santos from Brazil (Western Hemisphere) 

The winners will receive an all-expense-paid trip to New York, Washington, and Los Angeles in September, where they will meet with democracy groups, film and television companies, the media, and government organizations. Screenings of their films are planned in all three cities.

REPORT URGES GREATER ATTENTION TO COMBATING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN Nepal
Release of 2009 Trafficking In Persons Report

The Government of Nepal is making significant efforts to eliminate trafficking in persons but has not fully met the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.  This assessment was released as part of the 8th annual Trafficking in Persons Report by the U.S. Department of State on June 16 in Washington, D.C.

Speaking at the release, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, “The Obama Administration views the fight against human trafficking, both at home and abroad, as a critical part of our foreign policy agenda.  The United States currently funds 140 anti-trafficking programs in nearly 70 countries, as well as 42 domestic task forces to address the challenge here.  We are proud of the work we do, but we know we have much more ahead of us.  Economic pressure, especially in this global economic crisis, makes more people susceptible to the false promises of traffickers.
 
Today, the State Department releases our annual report on trafficking in persons.  It underscores the need to address the root causes of trafficking, including poverty, lax law enforcement, and the exploitation of women.”

United States law requires the U.S. Department of State to issue the Trafficking in Persons Report annually with the goal of stimulating action and creating partnerships around the world in the fight against modern-day slavery.  Countries determined to have a significant number of trafficking victims are assigned to one of three tiers.
Nepal maintained its status as a Tier 2 country.  The report notes that Nepal still does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.  The government continued modest efforts to prosecute traffickers and raise public awareness on trafficking during the reporting period, though its efforts to adequately punish labor trafficking could be improved.  Additionally, trafficking-related complicity by government officials remained a serious problem in Nepal.

The full report is available at http://nepal.usembassy.gov/tip_2009.html. A Nepali translation of the Nepal portion of the report will be available later in the month. 

U.S. ASSISTANT SECRETARY BLAKE VISITS NEPAL

June 12, 2009    

U.S. Assistant Secretary for Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal this morning for a two-day visit.  During his visit, he will meet with new Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, President Ram Baran Yadav, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala, and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.  He will also meet with political leaders, government officials and UN representatives to discuss the establishment of the new government, continuation of the peace process, and economic development.

May 2, 2009   

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, the United States joins the international community in celebrating the contributions of free media to the advancement of human dignity, liberty and prosperity worldwide.  Freedom of the media — a right protected by Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights — is the hallmark of a free society.  Wherever media freedom is under siege, all other human rights are under threat.

As stated in our 2008 Human Rights Report on Nepal: “Press offices and journalists were subjected to deliberate and organized assaults primarily from agitating armed groups in the Terai, youth wings of political parties, security personnel, and others. The government rarely took action to investigate the cases of violence against journalists.”

Transcript of Live Student Visa Webchat

May 1, 2009