Foreign Ministers of the 57 OSCE participating States met in Vienna on December 7 and December 8, 2017 for the 24th OSCE Ministerial Council meeting. The United States was represented by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who in his statement described the OSCE as “an indispensable pillar of our common security architecture that bolsters peace and stability in Europe and Eurasia.”
Secretary Tillerson focused much of his statement on the conflict in Ukraine, reiterating the United States’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders; calling for full implementation of the Minsk agreements; and confirming that Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns full control of the peninsula to Ukraine. In addition, he raised the importance of addressing radicalization and terrorism; the security consequences of irregular flows of migrants; and long-running conflicts in Georgia, Moldova, and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Ministerial Council adopted decisions on reducing the risk of conflict from the use of information and communication technologies; strengthening efforts to prevent trafficking in human beings; strengthening efforts to combat all forms of child trafficking and sexual exploitation of children; promoting economic participation; as well as a statement on the negotiations on the Transdniestrian settlement process in the “5+2” Format.
Unfortunately, as has been the case for the past several years, the Ministerial Council was not able to reach consensus to adopt decisions in the human dimension, mainly due to Russian reluctance. Instead, 44 countries made a joint statement on human rights and fundamental freedoms, expressing concern about human rights and stressing the importance of civil society.
Several side events and other meetings took place on the margins of the Ministerial. Secretary Tillerson held several bilateral meetings, including one with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly held a meeting of its Bureau, and the NGO-network Civic Solidarity Platform held its annual OSCE Parallel Civil Society Conference.
Helsinki Commission staff served as members of the U.S. Delegation to the Ministerial.
