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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