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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
March 22, 2001

Statement by the Press Secretary
Appointment of Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli
and Four Public Members to Represent the United States
at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights

Ambassador Shirin Tahir-Kheli has been appointed the head of the U.S. Delegation to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.  The Commission meets in Geneva from March 19 to April 27, 2001.

Ambassador Tahir-Kheli is the director of the South Asia program at The Paul Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.  She served from 1990-93 as Alternate U.S. Representative for Special Political Affairs to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador.  Ambassador Tahir-Kheli previously served on the National Security Council as Director of Near East and South Asian Affairs from 1986-89 and as Director of Political Military Affairs from 1984-86. Earlier, she was a member of the Policy Planning Staff of the Department of State.  Ambassador Tahir-Kheli has a distinguished career in academia, having taught at Temple University and the U.S. Army War College as well as SAIS.  She has received several major grants for special studies and projects.  Ambassador Tahir-Kheli received her B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition, four public members have been appointed to the U.S. Delegation.  These distinguished individuals bring special talents and experiences to the work of the U.S. Delegation during the Commission.  They are:  Ellen R. Sauerbrey, Republican National Committeewoman and former Minority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates; David A. Schwartz, partner with Irell & Manella LLP of Los Angeles, California; Nina Hope Shea, Founding Director of The Center for Religious Freedom of Freedom House; and Sichan Siv, Senior Advisor to the International Republican Institute and Managing Director of ICG Consulting in Washington, D.C.

For further information on the work of the U.S. Delegation, please see the Delegation's web site at www.humanrights-usa.net.

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