Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights María Otero will travel to Bangladesh from November 15 to 17 and to Nepal from November 17 to 19, 2012.
In Bangladesh, Under Secretary Otero will meet with Government of Bangladesh officials and civil society representatives in Dhaka on November 15 to discuss a broad range of bilateral and regional issues, including the Rohingya situation and trade and labor issues. She will also participate in the television program “A Conversation with Bangladesh.” On November 16 Under Secretary Otero will travel to Cox’s Bazar, where she will meet with a team from the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees and visit a refugee facility.
On November 17 Under Secretary Otero will travel to Kathmandu, Nepal to meet with Government of Nepal officials including Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. Under Secretary Otero will then tour Patan Durbar Square with officials from Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, which is a grantee of the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. The Under Secretary will also meet with civil society representatives, tour a school and meet Tibetan youth and teachers, hold a briefing with NGO representatives on anti-trafficking in persons efforts, and meet with Bhutanese refugees and International Organization for Migration interlocutors. Under Secretary Otero will also visit the Khumbu Glaciers and engage with official and NGO interlocutors on water security issues in the region.