Tag Archives: Uzra Zeya – Under Secretary for Civilian Security Democracy and Human Rights – USA

U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibet Uzra Zeya to visit India and Nepal

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Bihar,INDIA / North Carolina / Washington, U.S.A. :

U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya. File | Photo Credit: AFP

U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues Uzra Zeya will travel to India and Nepal this week to deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals with the two nations, the State Department has announced.

Ms. Zeya, the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and an India-American, is expected to visit Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh during her visit to India.

Dharamsala is home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government-in-exile.

“Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights and U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues Uzra Ms. Zeya will travel May 17–22 to India and Nepal to deepen cooperation on human rights and democratic governance goals, and to advance humanitarian priorities,” the State Department said on May 16.

“She will also discuss partnering with India and Nepal during this Year of Action for the Summit for Democracy. The delegation will include U.S.AID Deputy Assistant Administrator for Asia Anjali Kaur,” it added.

It will be the first high-level contact between the U.S. and the Tibetan leadership after Joe Biden became President in January last year.

In New Delhi, people familiar with the development said last month that Ms. Zeya will hold talks with the Dalai Lama and other senior leaders of the Tibetan Government in exile in Dharamsala, signalling the Biden administration’s commitment to the Tibetan cause.

Last month, Tibetan exile leader Penpa Tsering paid a visit to Washington D.C. and met Ms. Zeya. Tsering — the elected head of Tibet’s India-based exile Government the Central Tibetan Administration — had also met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders.

China considers the 14th Dalai Lama as a political exile who has attempted to split Tibet from China under the guise of religion.

According to the people cited above, key issues relating to the Tibetan cause are likely to figure in the talks.

As the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues, Ms. Zeya has been coordinating the Biden administration’s policies, programmes and projects relating to the Tibetan cause.

Ms. Zeya was sworn-in as the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights by Secretary of State Antony Blinken on July 14 last year.

On December 20, she was concurrently appointed as the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan issues.

The U.S. has been consistently supporting the Tibetan cause notwithstanding China’s strong objection.

In 2020, the U.S. came out with legislation reaffirming the absolute right of Tibetan people to choose a successor to the Dalai Lama and the preservation of Tibet’s environment.

After the U.S. Congress passed the legislation, China had accused Washington of meddling in its internal affairs.

China has been insisting that the selection of the next Dalai Lama has to be decided within Chinese territory and that it has to have a say in the matter.

The issue of a successor to the 14th Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in Dharamsala since 1959, gained traction as he turned 86 in July last year.

Mr. Blinken had met a representative of the Dalai Lama during his visit to New Delhi last year.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> International / by PTI / Washington, May 17th, 2022

Uzra Zeya appointed U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibet

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Leaders, NRI's / PIO's, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , ,

Bihar,INDIA / North Carolina / Washington, U.S.A. :

File photo of Uzra Zeya.   | Photo Credit: AFP

The coordinator’s role involves promoting “substantive dialogue” between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama.

U.S. official Uzra Zeya has been appointed the country’s new Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues. She will hold the position concurrently with her current role as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said via a statement.

The coordinator’s role involves promoting “substantive dialogue” between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. The coordinator is also supposed to promote the unique identity of Tibet, safeguards human rights of Tibetans and coordinates U.S. policy on Tibet.

“Specifically, she [ Ms. Zeya] will promote substantive dialogue, without preconditions, between the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Dalai Lama, his representatives, or democratically elected Tibetan leaders in support of a negotiated agreement on Tibet,” Mr Blinken said in a statement, as part of a list of activities Ms Zeya would undertake in her new role.

In addition to her responsibilities around promoting human rights and preserving the distinct heritage of Tibetans, Ms. Zeya “ also will promote activities to protect the environment and sustainably manage the water and other natural resources of the Tibetan plateau,” Mr Blinken said.

The position, which was established by U.S.’s Tibetan Policy Act (2002), had been lying vacant for much of the Trump administration, i.e., from January 2017 to October 2020, when State Department official Robert Destro was appointed to the role.

Ms. Zeya was born in North Carolina to parents who emigrated from India. She quit the State Department during the Trump administration (2018), speaking and writing, after her departure, of the decline in diversity at the top levels of the administration.

Ms. Zeya has worked at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi as a  politicial-minister counselor, in addition to deputy chief of mission and charge d’affaires in Paris and postings in West Asia and North Africa.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> World / by Srriram Lakshman / December 20th, 2021

Joe Biden nominates Indian-American Uzra Zeya to key State Department position

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BIHAR / Chapel Hill (North Carolina), U.S.A :

Joe Biden nominates Indian-American Uzra Zeya to key State Department position
  • According to key nominations for the Department of State announced by Biden, Uzra Zeya has been nominated to be Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights

An Indian-American diplomat Uzra Zeya, who had quit the foreign service in 2018 in protest against the policies of US President Donald Trump was nominated on Saturday to a key State Department position by President-elect Joe Biden.

According to key nominations for the Department of State announced by Biden, Uzra Zeya has been nominated to be Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

Sharing the news on Twitter, Uzra Zeya wrote, “In my 25+years as a diplomat, I learned that America’s greatest strength is the power of our example, diversity & democratic ideals. I will uphold & defend these values, if confirmed, as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.”

_________________

Uzra Zeya @UzraZeya

In my 25+years as a diplomat, I learned that America’s greatest strength is the power of our example, diversity & democratic ideals. I will uphold & defend these values, if confirmed, as Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights.

President-elect Biden Announces Key Nominations for the Department of State / President-Elect Joe….
www.buildbackbetter.gov

Twitter

___________________

Wendy R. Sherman has been nominated to be Deputy Secretary of State, Brian McKeon as Deputy Secretary for Management and Resources, Bonnie Jenkins to be Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and Victoria Nuland to be Under Secretary for Political Affairs.

“This diverse and accomplished team, led by Secretary of State-designate Tony Blinken, embodies my core belief that America is strongest when it works with our allies,” Biden said.

“Collectively, they have secured some of the most defining national security and diplomatic achievements in recent memory — and I am confident that they will use their diplomatic experience and skill to restore America’s global and moral leadership. America is back,” he said.

Uzra Zeya served most recently as CEO and President of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, where she drew on over two decades of diplomatic experience in Near East, South Asian, European, human rights, and multilateral affairs.

As Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Paris from 2014 to 2017, she oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Embassy, six constituent posts, and 50 offices and agencies engaged in U.S. government work. She quit against Trump’s policies in September 2018.

“Up to now, Foggy Bottom’s upper echelons are looking whiter, more male and less like America,” Zeya wrote in Politico in September 2018 alleging that the State Department under the Trump Administration was facing racial and gender bias.

“In my own case, I hit the buzz saw that Team Trump wielded against career professionals after leading the US Embassy in Paris through three major terrorist attacks over three years and after planning President Trump’s Bastille Day visit,” she wrote.

She said that upon returning to Washington, she was blocked from a series of senior-level jobs with no explanation. “In two separate incidents, however, colleagues told me that a senior State official opposed candidates for leadership positions — myself and an African-American female officer — on the basis that we would not pass the ‘Breitbart test’,” she wrote in Politico.

From 2012 to 2014, Zeya served as Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour.

She joined the Foreign Service in 1990, serving in New Delhi, Muscat, Damascus, Cairo, and Kingston. From 2011 to 2012, she was Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary of State and helped shape the U.S. response to the Arab Spring and worked to deepen U.S. engagement with emerging powers.

Zeya has also served as Deputy Executive Secretary to the Secretary of State, Director of the Executive Secretariat Staff, and as UN General Assembly Coordinator.

She is a recipient of the Légion d’honneur, France’s highest civilian honour, a Presidential Rank Award, and 15 Superior Honour and Senior Performance Awards.

She is a graduate of the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.

On the key State Department nominations announced by Biden, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said, “This remarkable team of distinguished diplomats and seasoned leaders reflects the very best of our nation”.

Secretary of State-designate Tony Blinken said, “To meet this moment, we need a Department of State that looks like America, led by diverse women and men who will be unafraid to challenge the status quo.

“That is this team. America at its best still has a greater capacity than any other country on earth to mobilize others to meet the challenges of our time. These passionate, energetic, deeply experienced nominees will help keep our people and our country safe, secure, and prosperous”.

With agency inputs

source: http://www.livemint.com / Mint / Home> News> India / by Staff Writer / January 17th, 2021