Right of Reply to Azerbaijan on Media Freedom in the United States
As delivered by Chargé d’Affaires, a.i. Harry Kamian
to the Permanent Council, Vienna
August 31, 2017
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
We have taken note of the statement by Azerbaijan on media freedom in in the United States, and reserve the right to reply at a later date.
However, let me be clear. The United States has the most vibrant, pluralistic media environment in the world. We take seriously our international obligations and OSCE commitments on freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Both of these are core American values, enshrined in our Constitution.
In the past, we have heard some delegations, including that of Azerbaijan, suggest that the OSCE pays too much attention to the human dimension, purportedly out of proportion to the attention it pays to the other dimensions included in the Organization’s comprehensive concept of security. Suggestions were also made that the human dimension is used in a politicized and selective manner to criticize certain participating States. Furthermore, we have heard the assertion that expressions of concern by some participating States about human rights in other participating States amount to interference in the internal affairs of those States.
I would like to thank the delegation of Azerbaijan for their statement and for thereby acknowledging our commitments dating back to Moscow 1991, where we agreed “categorically and irrevocably that… the commitments undertaken in the field of the human dimension are matters of direct and legitimate concern to all participating States and do not belong exclusively to the internal affairs of the State concerned.”
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
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