Right of Reply to Russia on Migration in the U.S. | Statement at the 2016 ASRC

United States nameplate in the Hofburg Congress Center's Neuer Saal, location of many OSCE Permanent Council sessions. (USOSCE/Colin Peters)

I’d like to exercise a right of reply, since the speaker from the Russian Federation made some comments about the rights of refugees in the United States.

I want to reassure the Russian Federation and our other colleagues that the United States takes its international obligations in regard to refugees and migration seriously. The United States, as we all know, is a country of immigrants, and we’re proud of our record of integrating immigrants into our society and of the robust, independent civil society organizations that exist in our country that advocate for the rights and integration of immigrants.

We’re committed to leading on these issues, which is one reason why President Obama is hosting a leaders’ summit on refugees in September in New York, and will continue to pursue and take a cooperative and principled approach on these issues.

As delivered by Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs Kathleen A. Kavalec, at the 2016 OSCE Annual Security Review Conference, Vienna