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Formed | June 3, 1976 [1] |
Headquarters | Ford House Office Building 38°53′4.2″N77°0′51.84″W / 38.884500°N 77.0144000°W |
Parent agency | United States Congress |
Website | www |
The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent U.S. government agency created by Congress in 1975 to monitor and encourage compliance with the Helsinki Final Act and other Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) commitments. It was initiated by House representative Millicent Fenwick [2] and established in 1975 pursuant to Public Law No. 94-304 and is based at the Ford House Office Building.
The commission is authorized and directed to monitor the acts of the signatories which reflect compliance with or violation of the articles of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, with particular regard to the provisions relating to human rights and Cooperation in Humanitarian Fields. The commission is further authorized and directed to monitor and encourage the development of programs and activities of the United States Government and private organizations with a view toward taking advantage of the provisions of the Final Act to expand east–west economic cooperation and a greater interchange of people and ideas between East and West. [1]
The Commission consists of nine members from the U.S. House of Representatives, nine members from the United States Senate, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce. The positions of chairman and co-chairman are shared by the House and Senate and rotate every two years, when a new Congress convenes. A professional staff assists the Commissioners in their work.
The Commission contributes to the formulation of U.S. policy toward the OSCE and the participating states and takes part in its execution, including through Member and staff participation on official U.S. delegations to OSCE meetings and in certain OSCE bodies. Members of the Commission have regular contact with parliamentarians, government officials, NGOs, and private individuals from other OSCE participating states.
The Commission convenes public hearings and briefings with expert witnesses on OSCE-related issues; issues public reports concerning implementation of OSCE commitments in participating States; publishes a periodic Digest with up-to-date information on OSCE developments and Commission activities; and organizes official delegations to participating States and OSCE meetings to address and assess democratic, economic, and human rights developments firsthand.
In February 2018, the CSCE convened in Washington, DC to address the issue of Russian doping in international sport. Central to the discussion was an exploration of the need to protect whistleblowers. The meeting included testimony from Jim Walden, [3] attorney for Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the former head of Russia's anti-doping laboratory who defected to the US. [4]
On 1 July 2022 Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania Bogdan Aurescu co-chaired a conference on Euro-Atlantic security called "BLACK SEA SECURITY SUMMIT". [5]
On 17 October 2022, while the Russian invasion of Ukraine was in full swing, the Commission called for the State Department to submit a motion to the United Nations to end the status of Russia as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. This initiative was seen as a further step in the campaign of Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.N. Sergiy Kyslytsya to unseat Russia. [6]
On 14 December 2022, in a bi-partisan effort, the co-chair of the commission Steve Cohen and the ranking member of the commission Joe Wilson submitted resolution 1517 to the House of Representatives wherein they recapitulated that Russia had committed "flagrant violations" of the U.N. Charter that call into question its right to hold a Security Council seat, [7] [8] and would urge President Biden, inter alia, "to direct the Department of State and other relevant Federal departments and agencies to pursue all appropriate steps with Allies, partners, and other countries to limit, suspend, or terminate the participation or membership of the Russian Federation in other organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations". [9]
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Term start | Term end | Chair | Co-chair | Ranking Member | Vice Ranking Member |
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1976 | 1979 | Rep. Dante Fascell (D-FL) | Sen. Claiborne Pell (D-RI) | Sen. Clifford Case (R-NJ) | Rep. John Buchanan (R-AL) |
1979 | 1981 | Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) | |||
1981 | 1983 | Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS) | Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) | Rep. Millicent Fenwick (R-NJ) | |
1983 | 1985 | Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) | Rep. Don Ritter (R-PA) | |
1985 | 1987 | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) | Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) | Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY) | Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) |
1987 | 1989 | Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) | Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) | Rep. Jack Kemp (R-NY) |
1989 | 1991 | Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) | Rep. John Porter (R-IL) | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) |
1991 | 1993 | Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) | Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) | Rep. John Porter (R-IL) |
1993 | 1995 | Sen. Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) | Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) |
1995 | 1997 | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) | Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) | Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) |
1997 | 1999 | Sen. Al D'Amato (R-NY) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) |
1999 | 2001 | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Ben Campbell (R-CO) | Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) | Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) |
2001 | 2003 | Sen. Ben Campbell (R-CO) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) |
2003 | 2005 | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Ben Campbell (R-CO) | Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) | Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) |
2005 | 2007 | Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Rep. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) |
2007 | 2009 | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) |
2009 | 2011 | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) |
2011 | 2013 | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) |
2013 | 2015 | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) |
2015 | 2017 | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) |
2017 | 2019 | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) | Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) |
2019 | 2021 | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) |
2021 | present | Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) | Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) | Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) | Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) |
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) |
Title 22, Chapter 45
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation established in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, as of 2023 it brings together 46 member states, with a population of approximately 675 million; it operates with an annual budget of approximately 500 million euros.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and free and fair elections. It employs around 3,460 people, mostly in its field operations but also in its secretariat in Vienna, Austria, and its institutions. It has observer status at the United Nations.
The Iraq disarmament crisis was claimed as one of primary issues that led to the multinational invasion of Iraq on 20 March 2003.
The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) was founded in 1946 as a Federation of national associations. Its objectives are to promote the values of the UN Charter, defend multilateralism, work towards a better United Nations Organisation and raise awareness on the main pillars of work of the United Nations—peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.
Created on July 8, 1992 by the Helsinki Summit Meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now known as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) is charged with identifying and seeking early resolution of ethnic tension that might endanger peace, stability or friendly relations between and within the participating states of the OSCE. The HCNM focuses on the OSCE area and will alert the Organisation where a situation has the potential to develop into a conflict. The Organisation consists of 57 participating States across North America, Europe and Asia. The establishment of the HCNM is generally considered to be a “success story” and a useful instrument of conflict prevention.
The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI) is a multilateral regional initiative that has been initiated by the European Union, the United States of America and the countries of Southeast Europe within the framework of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) as a support to the implementation of the Dayton Accords in December 1996 at the inaugural session at Geneva on the basis of Final Points of Common EU-USA Understanding.
The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), now Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), to encourage a peaceful, negotiated resolution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Group of Nine (G9) was an alliance of European states that met occasionally to discuss matters of mutual pan-European interest. The alliance formed in 1965, when the nine countries presented a case study at the United Nations. They co-sponsored Resolution 2129 promoting East-West cooperation in Europe, unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1965. The alliance became the Group of Ten when the Netherlands joined by parliamentary decision in 1967. Following the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, the group attempted to reconcile its differences at a meeting held at the United Nations in October 1969, but failed and subsequently dissolved. All member states, with the exception of the dissolved Yugoslavia, are now part of the European Union.
Political leaders of the US and UK who led the arguments which resulted in the invasion of Iraq have claimed that the war was legal. However, legal experts, including the chairman of the Iraq Inquiry, John Chilcot, who led an investigation with hearings from 24 November 2009 to 2 February 2011, concluded that the process of identifying the legal basis for the invasion of Iraq was unsatisfactory and that the actions of the US and the UK have undermined the authority of the United Nations.
United Nations Security Council resolution 874, adopted unanimously on 14 October 1993, reaffirmed sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Azerbaijani Republic and of all other States in the region, called for the preservation of the ceasefire, cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of forces from recently occupied districts of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and reaffirmed resolutions 822 (1993) and 853 (1993). The Council expressed its concern at "...the conflict in and around the Nagorny Karabakh region of the Azerbaijani Republic, and of the tensions between the Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijani Republic...", and called upon the parties to observe the ceasefire agreed with by the government of Russia and OSCE Minsk Group.
United Nations Security Council resolution 884, adopted unanimously on 12 November 1993, after reaffirming resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993) and 874 (1993), the Council expressed its concern at the continuing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh and condemned violations of the ceasefire between the parties, particularly the occupation of the Zəngilan district and city of Goradiz. Resolution 884 is the fourth and last of the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The Sochi agreement was a ceasefire agreement ostensibly marking the end of both the Georgian–Ossetian and Georgian–Abkhazian conflicts, signed in Sochi on June 24, 1992 between Georgia and Russia, the ceasefire with Abkhazia on July 27, 1993.
The United States Mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe represents the United States government in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Currently, Michael R. Carpenter represents the United States at the OSCE and holds the title of ambassador.
Ambassador Ersin Erçin is a senior Turkish diplomat, with an extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy particularly on matters of international, Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security, disarmament, and economic and environmental security.
Electoral integrity refers to the fairness of the entire voting process and how well it protects against election subversion, voter suppression and other threats to the realization of a free and fair election. The consequences of unfree or unfair elections can include the legitimacy of the outcome, faith in the democratic system, and future participation.
Azerbaijan has been a member in the United Nations since March 2, 1992, after the UN General Assembly admitted Azerbaijan at its 46th session. The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan was opened in New York City in May 1992. On October 29, 1991, soon after gaining independence from the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan applied to the UN General Assembly for joining the organization. Azerbaijan was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the term of 2012–2013. Through the UN, Azerbaijan has reached out to the international community, especially Europe. Azerbaijan strengthened its relations with the UN by cooperating with UN agencies and bodies such as International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, and the financial institutions of the UN.
Relations between Azerbaijan and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) began when Azerbaijan joined OSCE’s predecessor, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), on January 30, 1992. This was the first European organization Azerbaijan joined. The CSCE transformed into the OSCE shortly afterwards in 1995.
The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was an international civilian observer mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mandated to contribute to reducing tensions and to help foster peace in Ukraine. The mission was deployed in March 2014, following the Russian annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of open conflict in eastern Ukraine. The mission ended on 31 March 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Armenia–OSCE relations began when Armenia joined the OSCE's predecessor, the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), on 30 January 1992. The CSCE transformed into the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) shortly afterwards in 1995.