Melanne Verveer, Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues, will travel to Belgium on September 17 - 18, 2012, to discuss progress in integrating women into peace and security efforts through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). She will travel with William Lietzau, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Rule of Law and Detainee Policy, who serves as the Department of Defense's lead implementer of the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. Verveer and Lietzau will meet with NATO International and International Military Staff, representatives of NATO Allied and Partner nation delegations, and with the newly appointed NATO Special Representative on Women, Peace, and Security, Marie Skaare.
In addition, Verveer and Lietzau will brief the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, a 50-nation forum for dialogue on political and security-related matters, on progress in implementing the U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. While in Brussels, Ambassador Verveer will also meet with partners at the European Union, including Vice President and Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding, and Mara Marinaki, Managing Director for Global and Multilateral Issues in the European External Action Service, to discuss opportunities to promote gender equality.
