Response to the Head of the OSCE Program Office in Astana
The U.S. supports the Office’s work, including countering violent extremism & radicalization that lead to terrorism, combating human trafficking, & more. Read More»
Response to the Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje
We recognize the positive contributions made by the OSCE Mission to Skopje to resolve the political crisis in Macedonia. Read More»
Human Rights Violations in Crimea Must Stop
Human rights violations in Crimea since Russia's illegal occupation and attempted annexation have been severe and systemic, and Russia refuses to acknowledge or investigate these crimes. Read More»
OSCE Needs Assessment Mission for General Elections in the United States: Statement to the PC
Following our invitation to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and participating States to observe the November 8 U.S. general election, the United States hosted representatives of ODIHR and the Parliamentary Assembly for a Needs Assessment Mission May 16-20. This was the result of weeks of close ... Read More»
Cooperating on Good Environmental Governance can Strengthen our Security
Faced with the realities of climate change, environmental issues are more pressing than ever, and tackling them in our interconnected world requires joint effort. Read More»
U.S. Chair Welcomes Adoption of Additional Cyber Confidence Building Measures
PRESS RELEASE | March 10, 2016 Recent debilitating cyberattacks in the OSCE region have put cybersecurity in the headlines and high on the agenda of government leaders. The ability to maintain networks that are secure, reliable, and resilient is increasingly seen as a critical to maintaining national security and many aspects of international commerce and ... Read More»
Crimea: Two Years of Russian Occupation
Russia has instituted repression of a mass scale in Crimea, harassing individuals who oppose Russia’s occupation. Read More»
Russia/Ukraine Dominates Foreign Ministers’ Meeting; Kerry Calls For Progress on Minsk
PRESS RELEASE | December 7, 2015 In his remarks at the opening of the annual OSCE Ministerial meeting –held this year in Belgrade-on December 3-4, Secretary of State John Kerry called for Russia to fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreements, including withdrawing Russian forces and weapons, in order to resolve the conflict in eastern ... Read More»
Secretary Kerry Meets in Solidarity with Civil Society at OSCE Ministerial in Belgrade, Serbia
PRESS RELEASE | December 3, 2015 Today, Secretary of State John Kerry met with a group of civil society activists from Europe and Central Asia who had gathered in Belgrade during the Ministerial Meeting of the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The activists were participants and leaders of the parallel civil ... Read More»
USOSCE Marks the One Year Anniversary of the Downing of Flight MH17
PRESS RELEASE | July 17, 2015 Today marks the one year anniversary since the tragic deaths of 298 innocent lives – passengers, crew, men, women, children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers – on board Malaysian Air flight 17 when it was shot down over separatist-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. Our sympathy and thoughts remain with the families ... Read More»
U.S. Marks Ukraine Pilot Nadiya Savchenko’s Birthday with Continued Call for her Release
PRESS RELEASE | May 11, 2015 Today, May 11, marks the 34th birthday of Ukrainian hostage Nadiya Savchenko, who has been illegally detained for the past eleven months. Ms. Savchenko was seized by Russia-backed separatists in Ukraine in June 2014, and was illegally moved across the border and transferred to Russian custody. The continued detention ... Read More»
U.S. Reiterates Call on Russia to Unshackle OSCE, Allow Observation of Entire Russia-Ukraine Border
PRESS RELEASE | United States Mission to the OSCE | March 12, 2015 In today’s Permanent Council meeting, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Ambassador Daniel Baer joined other representatives in expressing ongoing regret that the Russian Federation once again refused to expand the geographic scope of the Russian Checkpoint ... Read More»
U.S. Welcomes Year-Long Extension of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission; Regrets Russian Obstructionism on Funding
PRESS RELEASE | March 12, 2015 In today’s Permanent Council meeting, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Ambassador Daniel Baer welcomed the extension of the mandate of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission operating in Ukraine until March 2016. “The Special Monitoring Mission has had to adapt and has dealt ... Read More»
U.S. Praises OSCE Monitors in Ukraine Amid Increasing Violence
PRESS RELEASE | February 5, 2015 In today’s Permanent Council meeting, U.S. Permanent Representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Ambassador Daniel Baer welcomed the efforts led by Turkish Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission. Ambassador Apakan gave a sobering assessment of the situation on the ground ... Read More»
U.S. Welcomes Serbian Chairmanship in First Permanent Council Meeting, Presents Goals for 2015
PRESS RELEASE | January 15, 2015 The U.S. delegation warmly welcomed Serbian Foreign Minister Dačić to the inaugural Permanent Council meeting for the Serbian OSCE Chairmanship on January 16, 2015. Launched in the wake of the recent tragic terror attacks in Paris, the Serbian Chairmanship will focus on swift implementation of the declarations recently adopted in Basel, particularly in countering foreign fighters and kidnap for ransom . ... Read More»
Human Rights 365: Today and Every Day
PRESS RELEASE | December 10, 2014 Today we celebrate UN Human Rights Day, created to mark the passage of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year’s theme, Human Rights 365, aptly underscores the belief that today, and indeed every day, our goal should be to spread awareness and support for human rights ... Read More»
OSCE Ministerial Held Against Backdrop of European Security Crisis
PRESS RELEASE | December 5, 2014 On December 4-5, 50 ministers led delegations to the 2014 Basel Ministerial of the OSCE, the 57-country European security body based in Vienna. Secretary of State John Kerry led the U.S. delegation. Russia’s destabilizing actions in Ukraine dominated the Ministerial’s plenary sessions. Joining others, Secretary Kerry urged Russia to fully implement the agreements they signed in Minsk, to end their destabilizing actions in Ukraine and elsewhere in the region. “Russia’s intervention in Ukraine and purported annexation ... Read More»
Secretary Kerry Stands with Civil Society at OSCE Ministerial in Basel, Switzerland
PRESS RELEASE, December 5, 2014 Yesterday, Secretary of State Kerry met with civil society activists from Europe and Central Asia who had gathered in Basel during the Ministerial Meeting of the 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The activists were participants and leaders of the parallel civil society conference convened by the ... Read More»
U.S. Welcomes Cyber Security Showcase Highlighting Confidence Building Measures
PRESS RELEASE | November 7, 2014 Today, the Swiss OSCE Chairmanship convened a meeting of government officials, civil society, private sector and other security experts to discuss progress and challenges in the realm of cybersecurity. The meeting will highlight the first year of implementation of the OSCE’s cyber confidence-building measures, sharing best practices, and identifying ... Read More»
U.S. Announces $400K to tackle Explosive Hazards and Small Arms Challenges in Central Asia
PRESS RELEASE | November 6, 2014 The United States is pleased to announce $402,000 in assistance to the OSCE towards training and proper storage of small arms and light weapons (SALW) in the Central Asia region. The funds will support two projects based in Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. One grant of $120,000 will support ... Read More»
U.S. Lauds Release of Handbook on Combating Forced Domestic Servitude
PRESS RELEASE | November 4, 2014 Today, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the OSCE Ambassador Daniel Baer joined Ambassador Madina Jarbussynova, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Ambassador Thomas Greminger, Representative of the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the OSCE, the United Nations and the International Organizations in the ... Read More»
OSCE Ambassadors Show Support for Ukraine on Visit to Kyiv and Odesa
PRESS RELEASE | October 7, 2014 U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Daniel Baer is joining 34 other ambassadors to the OSCE on a visit that has brought the majority of the OSCE’s Permanent Council to Ukraine. “This is a way to show our support to the people and the government of Ukraine,” Baer said, “and ... Read More»
US, EU decry backsliding on human rights, crackdown on activists in Russia, Azerbaijan
PRESS RELEASE | October 6, 2014 Russia once again found itself isolated at Europe’s largest human rights conference, when diplomats and activists gathered in Warsaw for the OSCE’s annual human rights meeting. At the closing session on October 3, the U.S. delegation called upon OSCE participating States to fulfill their commitments related to security, prosperity, ... Read More»
U.S. Rejects Russian Federation’s Targeted Discrimination against Crimean Tatars and Other Minorities at HDIM
PRESS RELEASE September 29, 2014 Today, the U.S. delegation publicly rejected the Russian Federation’s targeted discrimination of Tatars and other ethnic minorities in Crimea, during the OSCE’s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting session on National Minorities. The meeting is held against the backdrop of threats to the fundamental principles upon which European security and the OSCE ... Read More»
Russia Rejects Calls for Substantial Monitoring of Russian Side of Border
PRESS RELEASE | July 24, 2014 Today, as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Permanent Council convened, the United States, as well as other participating States, continued to mourn the shoot down of Malaysian Air flight 17 over separatist-controlled territory – a senseless tragedy in which nearly 300 innocent men, women and children lost ... Read More»
Statement on the Security Incident in the Abkhazia Region of Georgia
As delivered by Political Counselor Christopher Robinson to the Permanent Council, Vienna March 8, 2012 The United States is concerned about the reports of several security incidents in Georgia along the Abkhazia Administrative Boundary Line (ABL). We are troubled by the increase in security-related events in this area in the last three months, the latest ... Read More»
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