Reply to Russia and Azerbaijan on ODIHR Director’s Follow-up to the 2015 HDIM: Statement to the PC

I think it’s important to recognize that ODIHR does us a service by organizing the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, by facilitating it, by setting up the sessions, by making sure that there are note takers, and all the rest of it; if there are criticisms of the way certain actors around the table behave, those …

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Response to ODIHR Director on Follow-up to the 2015 HDIM: Statement to the PC

We thank Director Link for his presentation on this year’s Human Dimension Implementation Meeting. We also would like to once again thank Poland for hosting the HDIM. Once a year, we spend a significant amount of time and resources to conduct a comprehensive review of how all OSCE participating States are doing in implementing the …

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Reply to Azerbaijan on ODIHR’s Election Observation Mandate: Statement to the PC

The United States deeply regrets that Azerbaijan has decided once again to raise this issue. The director of ODIHR has not violated his mandate. Azerbaijan has regrettably sought to interfere with and restrict ODIHR in the exercise of its mandate, and this has resulted in the regrettable situation where the kind of credible and robust …

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Reply to Azerbaijan on ODIHR and the 2016 Unified Budget Proposal: Statement to the PC

Because our distinguished colleague from Azerbaijan alleged that we have collectively failed to respond to Azerbaijan’s allegations against Director Link, I wanted to take a moment to answer that allegation. First, I agree with our distinguished Azerbaijani colleague that ODIHR’s cancellation of observation efforts for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan is regrettable. But it’s …

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Reply to Azerbaijan on ODIHR Election Observation: Statement to the PC

I wanted to just respond to some of the comments made by our distinguished Azerbaijani colleague, as well as by the European Union. I recall the ambassador of Norway’s point of a few minutes ago that this seems an odd conversation – and particularly this conversation, which is about a personal accusation leveled at the …

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Closing Plenary Statement: HDIM 2015

As we conclude another OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM), our thanks go once again to Poland for hosting the conference and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). Michael Link and his team have worked tirelessly to prepare and facilitate these last two weeks, and we are grateful to them for …

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Democratic institutions, including democratic elections: HDIM 2015, Session 9

More than 20 years ago, OSCE participating States offered a visionary blueprint for building pluralistic, democratic societies underpinned by free elections. As stated in the 1994 CSCE Budapest Summit Declaration, democratic institutions are among “the foundations of peace and security, representing a crucial contribution to conflict prevention, within a comprehensive concept of security.” Participating States …

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Response to Azerbaijan on OSCE Election Observation Commitments: Statement to the PC

We regret that ODIHR will not be observing parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on November 1. In a September 1 press statement, Azerbaijan called ODIHR’s intention to deploy 30 long-term and 300 short-term observers “excessive” for Azerbaijan’s November 1 parliamentary election. The statement said that Azerbaijan was “ready to welcome” only six long-term and up to …

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Response to the Director of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Michael Link: Statement to the PC

Welcome back to the Permanent Council, Director Link. It is impressive how much the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights accomplishes each year with a small staff and – in real terms – an ever smaller budget. The United States supports ODIHR’s desire to do even more because we believe that our comprehensive security …

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