WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Representative Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement condemning Russia’s malign interference in the Romanian presidential election, the second round of which is scheduled to take place Sunday, December 8th: “We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s malign interference in the Romanian election. Romania is an exemplary U.S. […]

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02), Co-Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Ranking Member Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) celebrated the release of several individuals who were unjustly detained in Russia, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, and Russian opposition […]

WASHINGTON—Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s 56-nation Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners, today welcomed news that three journalists and Paul Whelan, wrongly detained and imprisoned by Russian authorities on trumped-up charges, have been released in a prisoner exchange. Congressman Cohen made the following statement: “I have been […]

Independent Ukraine has enjoyed a robust tradition of religious freedom. As such, Ukrainians today represent a variety of faiths, including many Christian denominations. Unfortunately, Russia—which has little tolerance for independent belief systems within its own borders—has exported its worst practices to the territories it occupies in Ukraine. Russia has engaged in routine kidnapping, hostage-taking, violence […]

WASHINGTON—Today, Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) marked the fourth annual Counter-Kleptocracy Month. The U.S. Helsinki Commission has marked Counter-Kleptocracy month since June 2021 when the Commission helped to launch the Congressional Caucus against Foreign Corruption and Kleptocracy (Counter-Kleptocracy Caucus). The Caucus is also chaired by Reps. Wilson and […]

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, today announced the appointment of three Executive Branch Commissioners to the Commission. CSCE welcomed Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander, Deputy Secretary of Commerce Donet Dominic Graves, Jr., and Department of State Coordinator for […]

By Shannon Simrell, Senior Policy Advisor Between October 2-13, 11 Helsinki Commission staff joined approximately 1,400 representatives of OSCE participating States (pS) and civil society representatives in Warsaw, Poland in an annual review of the human rights records of OSCE States. U.S. leadership highlighted demands for accountability from Russia and Belarus for their human rights […]

Wednesday, September 27, 2023 2:00 pm to 3:30 p.m. Rayburn House Office Building Room 2200 Stream live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrBXYsQA0Qk In 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the largest land war in Europe since World War II. In its wake, experts and leaders like President Zelenskyy raise serious questions whether a United Nations […]

  Many leaders and experts argue that the United Nations has struggled to uphold Article I of the UN Charter which mandates the UN to “take effective collective measures for the preventions and removal of threats to the peace,”. Russia, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, has been blocking actions to defend […]

Stream here: HEARING: Vladimir Kara-Murza: Putin’s Personal Prisoner – YouTube Vladimir Kara-Murza, a father, husband, and a freedom fighter, has been in detention for over five hundred days and is currently being transferred to a prison in Siberia. As he is being moved, his family has lost all contact with him and are faced with worry […]

Switzerland has for years been a primary destination for Russian money laundering and, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a weak link in Western sanctions enforcement. This Helsinki Commission hearing examined Switzerland’s poor track record of rooting out dirty Russian money and examined potential paths forward for U.S. policymakers in persuading Switzerland to uphold its […]

The Helsinki Commission’s four senior leaders helmed the United States’ bicameral, bipartisan delegation to the 30th Annual Session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly last week in Vancouver, Canada. Co-Chairman Senator Ben Cardin (MD), serving as Head of Delegation, was joined by Chairman Joe Wilson (SC-02) as Deputy Head of Delegation as well as Ranking Members […]