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| HIGHLIGHTS |
New E-Journal
Kosovo
• March 4: Kosovo: The Balkans' Moment of Truth? Testimony by Dan Fried [full text] [view video] |
U.S. chairs Open Skies Consultative Commission
 U.S. Chief Arms Control Delegate Hugh Neighbour is serving as Chairman of the Open Skies Consultative Commission (OSCC) from April through September 2008. The OSCC is the implementing body for the Open Skies Treaty which entered into force in January 2002. The Treaty establishes a regime of unarmed aerial observation flights over the entire territory of its 34 signatories.
The U.S. Chair, along with other delegations and the OSCE Secretariat, is organizing the OSCC’s commemoration of the 500th Open Skies observation mission which is expected to be flown this summer. [more] |
United States invites OSCE to monitor elections scheduled for November 4, 2008
 On April 3, Ambassador Julie Finley on behalf of the United States Government extended an invitation to the OSCE participating States to observe the elections on November 4 for the U.S. Presidency, one-third of the members of the U.S. Senate, and all members of the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as many state and local officials elections. Letters of invitation were sent to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and to ODIHR. ODIHR is invited to conduct a Needs Assessment Mission in the United States in preparation for a possible OSCE observation mission.
[more]
[Press Release] |
CFE Treaty
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| LATEST OSCE CONFERENCES & EVENTS |
OSCE MINSK GROUP
CO-CHAIRS STATEMENTS
• Bucharest, April 3, 2008
• Vienna, March 20, 2008
• New York, March 14, 2008
• Madrid, November 29, 2007
• Vienna, July 13, 2007
• Belgrade, April 19, 2007
• Geneva, March 14, 2007
• Paris, February 15, 2007
• Baku/Yerevan, January 29, 2007
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on the December 10 Referendum in Nagorno-Karabakh, December 11, 2006
THE MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRS
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Report on Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism Released
The State Department Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism released on March 13th a report on Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism. It reflects the United States' deep commitment to take a strong stand against growing anti-Semitism around the world.
• Report on Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism
Country Reports on Human Rights Pratices Released
On March 11th the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor released this global report which gives details in key human rights categories. There has been some progress in the last generation regarding respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the OSCE region, but there have also been a number of countries whose records remained poor or continue to regress.
• 2007 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
U.S. Response to Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic
On February 18th, the United States recognized Kosovo’s independence. Many European countries and others from around the globe have either recognized Kosovo or are in the process of doing so. Kosovo’s independence violates neither international law nor the Helsinki Final Act.
Recognizing it is the right thing to do. Kosovo’s independence will allow all the states in the region to focus on their futures, especially membership in Euro-Atlantic institutions.
This includes Serbia. [more]
U.S. Response to the Report of the Head of OSCE Mission in Kosovo
The OSCE Mission in Kosovo is the only civilian international entity with a comprehensive
field presence throughout Kosovo. Mission staff are present in every municipality, where they
help ensure respect for human rights. The United States believes the work of the OSCE in Kosovo is unfinished,
and that the OSCE can still make certain important contributions there regardless
of how the status process is resolved. [more]
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15th OSCE Ministerial Council
The 15th Ministerial Council was held in Madrid on November 29-30. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns, head of the U.S. delegation, acknowledged the accomplishments of the OSCE in achieving a democratic peace in Europe since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. But he stressed: "The very commitments that are the mortar, the glue that hold us together, are being eroded in some parts of the OSCE region. In our view, this is not time to retrench in our commitments, but rather a time to recommit and press ahead".
[more]
Past Events USOSCE statements archived by event and year/month |
Guide to the 2008 Elections
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Latest USOSCE Statements
• Permanent Council Meeting,
May 8
• Special Permanent Council Meeting, April 30
• Permanent Council Meeting,
April 24
• Permanent Council Meeting,
April 17
| State Department Reports
• Human Rights
• International Religious Freedom
• Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism
• Trafficking in Persons Report
• Country Reports on Terrorism
• Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record |
Statements/Briefings by USG Officials
• March 12: The Balkans After the Independence of Kosovo and on the Eve of NATO Enlargement - Testimony by Daniel Fried
[video]
• February 10: Munich Conference on Security Policy - Remarks by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates
more
DOS Fact Sheets
• The United States and the Conflict Over Nagorno-Karabakh April 15, 2008
• The United States and the South Ossetian Conflict March 31, 2008
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Julie Finley, Ambassador to the OSCE
• Biography
• Interview with RFE/RL, Prague, April 2, 2007: OSCE: U.S. Envoy Sees Some Progress in Building Democracy
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KEY LINKS
• U.S. State Department (DOS)
• DOS Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
• DOS Strategic Plan "Transformational Diplomacy"
• The White House
• U.S. Embassies
• U.S. Helsinki Commission
• OSCE
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• About the USOSCE
• About the OSCE
• USOSCE Statements |
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