Daily Archives: June 12, 2020

American Academy of Diplomacy Calls on @StateDept to Improve Diversity

June 12, 2020 By in Diversity, Foreign Service, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, Realities of the FS, Secretary of State, Staffing the FS, State Department, Top Ranks, Trends Tags: , ,
On June 9, the American Academy of Diplomacy called on the State Department to improve diversity in its ranks. It says that it  believes that “a diplomatic service and other representatives of US foreign policy need to look like America, an essential part of representing our country abroad.” Excerpt:

The State Department falls short of this goal. Women and minorities continue to be significantly underrepresented in the Department of State, most glaringly in the senior ranks. Out of 189 U.S. Ambassadors serving abroad today, there are three African American and four Hispanic career diplomats. Thus, the Academy supports the following five commitments, the implementation of which can begin immediately:

1. The Department of State should publicly and repeatedly reaffirm and strengthen its previous commitments to establish a culture of diversity and inclusion in the Department of State. The Director General of the Foreign Service’s recent call for employees to engage in honest conversations with their peers is a good start.

2. The Department of State should expand and seek to substantially and verifiably increase the recruitment of minorities and women. This should include outreach to historically minority-serving institutions, increasing the number of Diplomats in Residence at these institutions, increasing the number of internships from minority and women candidates, and targeting future minority and women candidates starting at the high school level.The Department should significantly expand its ROTC-like fellowship programs for aspiring minority officers.

3. The Department of State should strengthen existing mentorship programs to specifically support minority and women officers. Senior officers should be assigned to mentor and sponsor younger officers from different backgrounds than their own. The Department should study best practices of how corporations sponsor future leaders who are minorities and women.

4. The Department of State should work to increase the assignment and promotions of minority and women candidates to the senior ranks and positions of the Foreign Service. A special effort should be placed on the retention of middle and senior level officers.

5. The Department should establish a culture of accountability for officers to ensure that they fulfill their diversity and inclusion objectives.

Dear @StateDept, What Are You Going to Do About Metin Topuz’s Imprisonment Besides Being “Deeply Troubled?”

June 12, 2020 By in Court Cases, Federal Agencies, Locally Employed Staff, Mike Pompeo, Pompeo, State Department, Trends, Trump, U.S. Missions Tags: , , , , , , ,

 

The United States can do a lot more than simply express being “deeply troubled” or its “deep disappointment.” The question is will it do more? How much is it willing to do when it comes to Metin Topuz, a Turkish citizen employee who worked at the U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul prior to his arrest?
The State Department has 50,059 locally employed staff at 275 posts in 195 countries.
In August 2018, the Treasury Department targeted Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu with financial sanctions over the country’s refusal to release Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor who had been imprisoned by the Turkish government on charges of terrorism and espionage. In October 2018, Brunson was convicted, by Turkish authorities, on the charge of aiding terrorism, but was released from Turkish custody and returned to the United States.

 

Related posts:

Madam Is Back With “Your Mother Taught You Better Than This”

June 12, 2020 By in Blogs of Note, Consular Work, Realities of the FS Tags: ,
Via The Consuls’ Files: Your Mother Taught You Better Than This
It figures, sadly but unfortunately also predictably, that when Madam steps out for a leisurely lunch and glass of wine, the mice come out to play.
Or rather, even more sadly, the larger variety of a different species.
Consider if you will, and if you can stomach it, this recent IG comment on certain conoffs’ behavior:
“OIG found that Consular Section managers’ failure to address adequately improper conduct by two officers had a negative effect on LE staff morale. Several months before the inspection, LE staff complained to consular managers about the officers’ conduct, which involved use of abrasive language and tone with visa applicants and frequent pressure on LE staff to translate the rude comments.
“Although consular managers attempted to address the officers’ conduct and had kept the previous DCM fully informed, the officers’ conduct continued to be a problem even during the inspection. After OIG questioned their handling of the situation, consular managers worked with the Front Office and the Human Resources Officer to take further action. As a result, OIG did not make a recommendation to address this issue.”
Continue reading here: http://theconsulsfiles.blogspot.com/2020/06/your-mother-taught-you-better-than-this.html
Folks who’ve been with us for over a decade may remember that MLC went missing way back when (The Hunt for Madam le Consul).  Now says she’s over 21 and “I can write anything I feel like writing.”
Welcome back, MLC!