Pro-life, human rights advocate nominated Assistant Secretary of State for Population issues

Washington D.C., Aug 30, 2005 / 22:00 pm

In an announcement due to be made public tomorrow, President George Bush has nominated Ellen R. Sauerbrey, a vocal pro-life and women’s rights advocate, who is U.S. Representative to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, as the new Assistant Secretary of State for U:S Population Issues.

In an statement today, Ambassador Sauerbrey said that she’s “honored and humbled to be nominated as Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).”

If confirmed by the Senate, the Ambassador noted that her new job “will be directing the humanitarian efforts of the Department of State to provide protection, assistance, and sustainable solutions for refugees and victims of conflict and to advance U.S. population and migration policies.”

She would also “work closely with the UN High commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization of Migration and the International Red Cross, among others, on behalf of emergency victims.”

Likewise, Sauerbrey would be responsible for overseeing a billion dollar budget and assuring that it is spent properly--a position she called, “a daunting opportunity.”

Ambassador Sauerbrey has spoken numerous times to the United Nations on issues of women’s rights across the globe.

She is a vocal advocate for educational, economic and societal advances for women particularly in the third world, and has also spoken staunchly against abortion and mandatory contraception in many of these same countries.

In a recent document entitled ‘Working for Women Worldwide’, the Ambassador said that, “In many countries, women face social and cultural barriers to their advancement, including discrimination, having to balance family life with the need or desire to work outside the home, and the biggest barrier of all — illiteracy. Additionally, women are the targets of sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and domestic violence.”

To this, she said that “The United States is determined to eliminate the repression and oppression of women and children,” and cited President Bush, who said “America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on the power of the state; and respect for women, private property, free speech, equal justice, and religious tolerance."

Sauerbrey added today that she is “grateful to President Bush and Secretary Rice for thinking that I am up to the job.” Once the formal announcement is made, she will face a period of scrutiny by the U.S. Senate to determine whether or not to confirm her nomination.