U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson will lead the U.S. delegation to the conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination September 13-14 in Brussels, Belgium.

The conference, sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), will focus on identifying practical measures that the OSCE and its participating states can take to promote tolerance, according to an August 5 State Department statement.

The U.S. delegation includes Ambassador to the OSCE Stephan M. Minikes; former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson; William Cardinal Keeler, the Archbishop of Baltimore, Maryland; Dr. Maha Hadi Hussein of the University of Michigan; Robert L. Woodson, Sr., president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise; and Tamar Jacoby, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
August 5, 2004

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Names U.S. Delegation to the OSCE Conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination Sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, September 13-14

Secretary of State Powell has asked U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson to lead the United States delegation to the September 13-14 conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Brussels. Secretary Jackson was chosen to represent the United States in recognition of his strong background in housing and community development, and deep commitment to improving the lives of all Americans.

The United States delegation includes the U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Stephan M. Minikes; former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson; William Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore; Dr. Maha Hadi Hussein, University of Michigan; Mr. Robert L. Woodson, Sr., President of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, and Tamar Jacoby, Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute. The 2003 OSCE conference on Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination was held in Vienna in September last year.

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt plans to open this year's event, which will build on the results of the Vienna meeting in order to identify practical measures that the OSCE and participating states can take to promote tolerance. The OSCE is made up of 55 nations, including the United States, Canada and the countries of Europe and Eurasia.