Interactive Dialogue with Professor Olivier De Schutter

Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights

Delegation of the United States of America

As Delivered by Sheridan Gardner

Human Rights Council, 50th Session

Thank you Mr. Vice President and thank you Mr. Special Rapporteur for your efforts to end extreme poverty.

As your work demonstrates, political, economic, and social empowerment help reduce inequality. The United States remains committed to investing in the well-being of its citizens and in international development.

At the General Assembly last year, President Biden said the U.S. is “opening a new era of relentless diplomacy; of using the power of our development aid to invest in new ways of lifting people up around the world.”

The U.S. believes aid is most impactful when paired with respect for human rights and good governance, and thus seeks to embed respect for human rights and democracy in our development programs.

As an example of our commitment to humanitarian needs globally, this year the U.S. committed $585 million in additional assistance to Yemen to provide lifesaving food, medical treatment, and protection interventions.

In Haiti, the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability will implement well-informed, locally led plans to foster the resilience and stability necessary to end cyclical poverty.

Question: How can governments better integrate good governance with poverty alleviation?

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