Population Action International Condemns Sauerbrey's Recess Appointment to the U.S. State Department

January 5, 2006

Washington, D.C. -- Population Action International (PAI) today joins a growing list of nongovernmental organizations who are condemning the appointment of Ellen Sauerbrey to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration during the Senate’s holiday break.

PAI President Amy Coen states, "By evading the Senate's confirmation process, the Bush administration has confirmed what many of us have known all along: Ellen Sauerbrey is unqualified to oversee the U.S. government’s refugee and international health and family planning programs and is not capable of withstanding extensive Senate scrutiny. Continues Coen, “The person in charge of a nearly $1 billion annual budget and U.S. responses to humanitarian emergencies overseas, like last year's tsunami, should be of the highest caliber with years of expertise—not a political crony."

The three previous occupants of this position—appointed by both Democratic and Republican presidents—brought to the job a wealth of hands-on expertise and knowledge about administering refugee and emergency relief programs. Their previous service included leading the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development or as UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees.

In stark contrast, Sauerbrey has no such experience. And based on her past performance as U.S. Ambassador to the UN Commission on the Status of Women, PAI questions Sauerbrey’s ability to deal effectively within the UN system with the responsibilities related to women’s reproductive health that would be under her purview.