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Juba, Southern Sudan – At a church service this morning with President Salva Kiir of Southern Sudan, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) delivered the following remarks as voters in Southern Sudan began casting ballots in a referendum to determine whether to secede from the North. Chairman Kerry has been in Sudan...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released the following statement condemning the assassination of the governor of the Pakistani state of Punjab, Salman Taseer, who was gunned down today in Islamabad: “Governor Taseer was a proud champion of democracy and respect for the rights of women and...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released the following statement on yesterday's sentencing of Mikhail Khodorkovsky to an additional six years in prison: "The whole Khodorkovsky episode raises concerns about the strength of the rule of law in Russia and will do little to calm concerns about the...

Washington, D.C. –Today the U.S. Senate approved a resolution of advice and consent to ratification of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) by a vote of 71-26 continuing a tradition of bipartisan support for strategic arms agreements that spans four administrations. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA)...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today delivered closing remarks regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) on the Senate floor.  The full text of Chairman Kerry’s remarks as prepared for delivery: Mr. President, as we end our debate on the New START Treaty, I...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released a statement today on the United States imposing travel sanctions against members of the Gbagbo administration in Cote d’ Iviore for failing to recognize the outcome of the November 28 election.  Cote d’Ivoire’s independent...

Washington, D.C. –Following the Senate’s vote to end debate and move to final passage of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) issued the following statement:  “Today’s bipartisan vote clears a significant hurdle in the Senate. We are on the...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released the following statement today welcoming the formation of Iraq’s new government:  “I applaud the news that an Iraqi government has finally been formed.  While negotiations seemed at times interminable and distracted from Iraq’s...

Washington, D.C. -- Senators John Kerry (D-MA), John McCain (R-AZ), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), all cosponsors of the Belarus Freedom Act of 2003, issued the following statement in response to the election crackdown in Belarus: “We condemn the actions and human rights abuses of the Belarusian government, which demand a strong, determined,...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today welcomed a letter in which the country’s military leadership unanimously called for the ratification of the New START Treaty as soon as possible. “This should remind every one of us that this treaty is vital to our national security and to...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today released the following statement after a motion for cloture was filed on the New START Treaty: “We have now spent 5 days having a very good debate on New START and proposed amendments. That is as much time as the Senate spent on START I, and more than...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today responded on the Senate floor to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) comments about rushing the New START Treaty before Christmas. The Senate has been considering the treaty for over seven months, held over 20 hearings, and received...

Washington, D.C. –Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today issued the following statement on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Annual Review:  “The administration review provides welcome evidence of progress in key parts of Afghanistan, particularly the Taliban heartland of Kandahar, and underscores that the...

Washington, D.C. –Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today issued a statement in response to the State Department releasing its first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR).  The QDDR provides a short and long-term blueprint for U.S. diplomatic and development efforts. “I welcome the release...

Washington, D.C. – Today, following a press conference to discuss the New Strategic Arms Reduction (New START), Senators John Kerry, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Carl Levin, Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and Dianne Feinstein, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, released the following statements urging their...

Washington, D.C.—Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) today released the following statement on the start of debate on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START): “Today the Senate will take up the New START Treaty. This has been a long time coming. The process began last spring. The meetings,...

Washington, D.C. – Following Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) announcement this afternoon regarding the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) released this statement: “This comes down to a question of the Senate’s will, not our capacity. The...

Washington, D.C. –The Senate Foreign Relations Committee today passed bipartisan legislation written by Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) that will establish a comprehensive, five-year strategy to reduce the levels of violence against women and girls globally.  The landmark International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) identifies ways to...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-MA) tonight released the following statement on the passing of U.S. diplomat and special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke: “This awful news is almost incomprehensible, not least of all because I cannot imagine Richard Holbrooke in...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry released the following statement today after the Administration announced the appointment of Ambassador Dane Smith as Special Advisor for Darfur:    “I am pleased ­­­­­­­Special Envoy Scott Gration today announced the...