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2/22/10: Ambassador Wolcott Named USCIRF Executive Director |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2010
WASHINGTON D.C.- Jackie Wolcott, a former ambassador to the United Nations
Security Council, has been named Executive Director of the U.S.
Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), it was
announced today.
“USCIRF is pleased to welcome Ambassador Wolcott as its new Executive
Director. Her more than 20 years of experience as a senior officer at
the State Department, as a U.S. representative at the United Nations,
and as a former Capitol Hill staffer has prepared her very well to help
lead the Commission in its efforts to make freedom of religion a more
important aspect of our country's foreign policy, national security,
and economic development objectives," said Leonard Leo, USCIRF chair.
Ambassador Wolcott served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for
International Organizations at the U.S. Department of State from
1990-1993 and 2001-2003, and as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N.
Security Council from 2006-2008. She served as Special Envoy
for Nuclear Nonproliferation and was Ambassador and U.S. Permanent
Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from
2003-2006.
"The United States plays a unique and critical role in promoting human
rights in the world today. Religious freedom is so inherent to
Americans, but this basic human right is under assault in many parts of
the world. I am honored and pleased to be joining the outstanding
efforts of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to
assure that the millions of people who are denied religious freedom
have a voice and are represented in the foreign policy considerations
of our own government," said Wolcott.
USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government
commission, created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
USCIRF commissioners are appointed by the president and the leadership
of both political parties in the Senate and the House of
Representatives. USCIRF’s principal responsibilities are to review the
facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom
internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President,
the Secretary of State and Congress.
To interview a USCIRF Commissioner, contact Tom Carter, Communications Director at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
, or (202) 523-3257.
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